Progress 09/01/13 to 08/31/16
Outputs
Target Audience:Range-based livestock producers and professionals (cooperative extension, NRCS, resource conservation districts, consultants, and others) that provide advice and guidance to range-based livestock producers. Changes/Problems:We were challenged to produce results and conclusions from datasets that were previously collected due to unforeseen difficulty in adapting the original study designs to questions relevant for this grant. After spending some time on this effort to synthesize past data, we chose to focus instead on making more progress with some of the new avenues of research and extension that were available to us. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Talks have been given on this work at the Society for Range Management Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA (February 2015), the California Invasive Plant Council Annual Symposium in Chico, CA (October 2014), and the University of California Berkeley Rangeland Labs Seminar (November 2015). Two workshops featuring UC scientists presenting the the current state of science on medusahead and barb goatgrass biology and IPM approaches were held at the UC Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center in November 2013 and June 2016, reaching a combined 130 participants. Four field days at medusahead IPM treatment demonstration sites were held in April and November 2015 reaching about 60 participants. Some of these talks, workshops, and field tours included pre-approved Continuing Education Units for Certified Professionals in Rangeland Management through the Society for Range Management and for pesticide-related license holders through the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Research findings and decision-support material were made available on websites (sfrec.ucanr.edu and ebipm.org), and videos of presentations have been produced and made available on youtube.com/user/ucsfrec and ebipm.org. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Through the talks, workshops, field days, and publications described previously, plus a repository of information available on our websites (http://sfrec.ucanr.edu/Outreach/Workshops/Medusahead_-_Barb_Goatgrass/ and http://www.ebipm.org), we have used multiple tools to communicate the results of this work to the communities of interest while engaging them and providing opportunities to ask questions and get additional information. The website includes links to videos from the November 2013 workshop at SFREC and presentation slides from the June 2016 workshop at SFREC, with videos to be added in the coming months. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We expect to continue to publish articles that are relevant to land managers and livestock producers based on work that has begun under this grant. In particular the study of the effects of medusahead abundance in a rangeland system on livestock gains will continue into another year and we will continue to synthesize the results of the observational study looking at the effects of medusahead abundance on in grasslands across the state on a variety of ecosystem services.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Porter Gains Study To directly estimate the cost of medusahead to livestock production, we began a study using steers on 13 five-acre paddocks with varying levels of medusahead abundance, with four to ten steers per paddock, depending on initial standing crop of forage. We measured forage production through the grazing season (March to May) and will be analyzing samples taken for forage quality, while also measuring steer weight gains at the start, mid-point, and end of the grazing season to correlate the effects of forage production, quality, and medusahead abundance on steer weight gains. Initial results suggest that, for each 10% increase in relative medusahead abundance as a proportion of total forage available, steer gains per acre decreases by 30 pounds over the grazing season. These results suggest a substantial impact of this invasive annual grass for cattle production and profitability that has not been quantified through an experimental approach before. We expect to repeat this study an additional year to verify and yield stronger confidence in these results. Demonstration Ranches We worked with four ranchers, two in California (Glenn and Stanislaus Counties) and two in Oregon (Grant and Cook Counties) to establish demonstration projects that integrate IPM treatments within the context of a livestock production businesses. These were then used as the basis for field tours and workshops to which we invited range professionals and ranchers to discuss the experiences of implementing these larger-scale treatment projects on a working ranch. At the Glenn County demonstration ranch we collected data to evaluate the effectiveness of broadcast seeding on a 330 acre pasture. Using these data we will be comparing vegetation composition and productivity on this pasture to a comparable 380 acre pasture on the same property. This area was substantially affected by the recent drought and there is the possibility of investigating whether this kind of seeding strategy may also serve as a post-drought recovery practice, as well. At the Stanislaus County demonstration ranch we assessed the effects of drill seeding annual ryegrass and targeted grazing on livestock production, vegetation composition, and forage production. At this site we also continued to work with the rancher to develop an IPM strategy for managing medusahead. Implementing this strategy, we broadcast seeded and harrowed three 25 to 30 acre pastures with annual ryegrass in the fall of 2015. We will be comparing vegetation composition, productivity, and animal performance on these pastures to two comparable, adjacent 25 to 30 acre pastures on the same property. In the spring of 2016, all five of these pastures were grazed with randomly assigned mixed herds of cattle at the same stocking rates to measure grazing days as well as cattle weight gains. Grazing was at moderate intensities with a goal of about three months to reach forage utilization targets. Data collected at this site will evaluate the effectiveness of the treatments while also supplementing the analysis of medusahead correlations with the provision of ecosystem services from rangelands (described below). While rainfall on this site in Stanislaus County was dramatically lower than normal in 2014-15, the near-normal timing of germinating rain, frequent heavy fog, a naturally-occurring soil hardpan, and reliable water sources combined to mitigate drought effects on this site, resulting in a seemingly near-normal year for forage production. Both demonstration ranches in Oregon were photo-sampled in July 2015 and 2016 to track changes in vegetation composition and medusahead abundance. These ranches were significantly affected by drought during the past year. At the Grant County demonstration ranch, fall targeted grazing on medusahead was conducted for a second consecutive year using supplement blocks to manage livestock distribution. At the Crook County demonstration ranch, water improvements were completed to allow greater flexibility in grazing management, including improved livestock distribution for increased grazing on medusahead. Measuring Ecosystem Services To measure the correlation between medusahead abundance and provision of several ecosystem services from rangelands, we set up a series of observational plots across the state, from Tehama to Monterey County. At a total of 28 plots, we have measured vegetation composition--including medusahead abundance--and insect community composition in the spring and early summer of 2015 and 2016. Similar data is being collected at the Stanislaus County demonstration site. Following the arthropods collections in 2015, we have cataloged 8,210 specimens from about 76 families. These plots will provide information to begin to form hypotheses on the effects of medusahead on vegetation diversity arthropod diversity, abundance of beneficial and pest arthropods, and forage production. At an additional 5 sites (Tehama, Yuba, Stanislaus, and Contra Costa Counties), we tested relationships between medusahead abundance and nitrogen cycling by comparing plots of differing initial levels of medusahead by tracking stable isotopes of nitrogen added to the plots in the fall of 2015 before germination and again mid-winter before the rapid growth period of spring. The samples collected from the nitrogen cycling plots are still to be analyzed. Interviews and Decision Support In an effort to better understand how ranchers and rangeland managers access and use information on invasive plant management in their management decisions, we conducted in-person, semi-structured interviews with private ranchers and individuals with rangeland management responsibilities for public lands and land trusts (UC Davis IRB ID 773400-1). We selected initial interviewees based on existing contacts with University of California Cooperative Extension Livestock and Natural Resource Advisers and used these initial interviewees to inform the selection of further interviewees, following a "snowball" technique. In total, we spoke with 42 individuals who were dispersed geographically from Tehama to Fresno counties and from the Coast Range to the Sierra Nevada, an area that roughly encompasses the extent of medusahead invasion in annual rangeland in California. Our purpose was to understand the opportunities and constraints that managers face when trying to control invasive plants across large spatial scales. We are preparing a manuscript for publication that will provide insight on how best to address the information needs of ranchers and rangeland managers as well as how to deliver advice so that the best available research can be incorporated into decision-making. These interviews will also assess the adoption of current research and identify real or perceived barriers to adoption of effective treatment practices.
Publications
- Type:
Websites
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
EBIPM.org is a website of decision-support information for ranchers and rangeland management professionals providing guidance on ecologically-based invasive plant management. Material on this website creatued for this grant include the publications: Managers guides to Grazing Invasive Annual Grasses, Establishing Weed Prevention Areas, and Applying Ecologically-based IPM and a video A Working Ranch with an Effective Medusahead Management Program .
- Type:
Other
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
This is a webpage linking to information and documents produced as part of this grant that provide review of the current understanding of medusahead and barb goatgrass management and effects on ecosystem services. This includes published material guiding treatment efforts, presentation slides from workshops, and a link to the youtube videos of presentations (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3gkHh7q6F6udU9k0PHCT7UCC1_HONIXA), made available for people that were unable to attend the workshops.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
James, J. J., E. S. Gornish, J. M. DiTomaso, J. Davy, M. P. Doran, T. Becchetti, D. Lile, P. Brownsey, and E. A. Laca. 2015. Managing Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae) on Rangeland: A Meta-Analysis of Control Effects and Assessment of Stakeholder Needs. Rangeland Ecology & Management. 68(2): 215-223.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brownsey, P., J. J. James, S. J. Barry. T. A. Becchetti, J. S. Davy; M. P. Doran, L. C. Forero, J. M. Harper, R. E. Larsen, S. R. Larson-Praplan, J. Zhang, and E. A. Laca. Accepted. Using phenology to optimize timing of mowing and grazing treatments for medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae). Rangeland Ecology & Management.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2016
Citation:
Brownsey, P., J. S. Davy, T. A. Becchetti, M. L. Easley, J. J. James, and E. A. Laca. Accepted. Barb Goatgrass and Medusahead: Timing of Grazing and Mowing Treatments. University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. [Soon to be available at: http://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/]
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