Ultrahigh stocking density (113,000 kg of beef per ha to as high as 1 million kg per ha) or mob grazing has been suggested to build soil, increase forage production and plant diversity, and improve grazing distribution compared to less intensive grazing systems. Experimental evidence does not completely support such conclusions. The overall focus of this research is based on the approach of bui...

Ungulate grazing and trampling strongly affect pastures and ecosystems throughout the world. Ecological population models are used for studying these systems and determining the guidelines for sustainable and economically viable management. However, the effect of trampling and other resource wastage is either not taken into account or quantified with data in earlier models. Also, the ability of...

Birds and rodents eat pine seeds needed for regeneration, and the larger mammals destroy established seedlings by browsing or trampling. Some of the problems they cause have been solved or solutions are near; some still defy solution.

Herbivores can affect plants not only directly through browsing and trampling, but also indirectly through other species. For example, herbivores could affect the interaction between plants and their pollinators. Because plant population density may affect plant–pollinator interactions and plant reproductive success, we hypothesized that herbivores could affect pollination and plant reproductio...

This study investigated the effects of human trampling on cover, diversity and species richness in an alpine heath ecosystem in northern Sweden. We tested the hypothesis that proximity to trails decreases plant cover, diversity and species richness of the canopy and the understory. We found a significant decrease in plant cover with proximity to the trail for the understory, but not for the can...

In order to promote an increased ability to compare results from different studies, a standard protocol for controlled trampling experiments is suggested. The procedure will provide information on both damage to vegetation in response to short-duration trampling and subsequent recovery over a one-year period. Changes in vegetation cover, vegetation height, bare ground cover, and the cover of in...

The purpose of this study was to establish what effects soil trampling impacts may have had on tree growth and plant community succession at subalpine elevations in the North Cascade Mountains of Washington. While soil penetrability of an impacted site was not different from that of control sites, other soil characteristics were significantly different. Species diversity was greater at the impa...