Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Some Morphological And Chemical Responses Of Blackbrush (Coleogyne Ramosissima) To Goat Browsing: Influences On Dietary Blackbrush Selection By Goats And Cattle, Frederick D. Provenza

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Domestic goats were used to modify the growth form of blackbrush, a spinescent shrub occurring in nearly monospecific stands on several million hectares of rangeland in the southwestern United States. The objective of this research was to evaluate goat browsing as a means of improving these rangelands for cattle. Winter goat browsing stimulated spring twig growth from basal and axillary buds which resulted in increased production.

Twig production by heavily browsed plants (>95 percent removal of current season's twigs) was a function of precipitation, soil depth, branch location on the plant, and period of rest after browsing. As precipitation …