South Dakota's Grassland Resource

Definitions

Agricultural product is an item made from cultivating soil, growing crops, or raising livestock.

Animal unit (AU) is one mature cow of approximately 1,000 pounds and a calf up to weaning, usually 6 months of age, or their equivalent.

Animal-unit-month (AUM) is the amount of forage required by an animal unit for one month.

Buffers are living filters. Most are relatively narrow strips of land, and all feature a permanent cover of plants, including grass, shrubs, and/or trees. They protect elements of the natural environment, such as streams or lakes, or man-made structures, such as bulidings or roads, from damage. Larger strips of open space that achieve conservation objectives, including aesthetics, are also considered buffers.

Carrying capacity is the maximum stocking rate possible without inducing permanent or long-term damage to vegetation or related resources. The rate may vary from year to year in the same area as a result of changes in forage production.

Cool season plants begin their growth early in the spring when the soil temperature is around 40 degrees F. They complete their cycle during the cooler months before the hot summer weather. They are usually dormant in the summer months. These grasses are an important source of protein and vitamin A. They generally make the major portion of their growth late in the fall, in winter, and in early spring. Cool season species generally exhibit the C-3 photosynthetic pathway.

Cultural resources are evidence of past human activity that are at least 50 years old. These may include pioneer homes, buildings, or old roads; prehistoric village sites; historic or prehistoric artifacts or objects; rock inscription; human burial sites; prehistoric mounds or other earthworks.

Distributionmeans the location, arrangement, or frequency of use of an area over a period of time.

Diversity is a measure of the number of species and their relative abundance in a community; a variety of living things.

Ecological site is a distinctive kind of land with specific physical characteristics that differs from other kinds of land in its ability to produce a distinctive kind and amount of vegetation.

Economically viable means operating with little wase or at a savings, allowing continued operation.

Erosion is the detachment and movement of soil or rock fragments by water, wind, ice, or gravity.

Forage is all plant material available and acceptable to grazing animals, or that may be harvested for feeding purposes.

Forbs are any broad-leafed herbaceous plant other than those in the Gramineae (or Poaceae, the grass family), Cyperaceae, and Juncacea families.

Grass is the common name for a family of flowering plants with jointed stems, flowers in spikelets, and slender, sheathing leaves.

Grassland is land on which the vegetation is dominated by grasses, grass-like plants, and/or forbs.

Harvest efficiency is the total percent of vegetation harvested by a machine or ingested by a grazing animal compared to the total amount of vegetation grown in the area in a given year.

Infiltration Ring is used to measure how long it takes one inch of rain to absorb into the ground.

Livestock are domestic animals used for the production of goods and services.

Management-intensive Grazing (MiG) is a goal-driven approach to grazing management characterized by balancing animal demand with forage supply through the grazing season and allocating available forage based on animal requirements.

Mixed grass prairie is a plant community that occurs in the transition area between tall and short grass prairie.

Nutritional means providing an ingredient required for or aiding in the support of life.

Overgrazing is grazing that exceeds the recovery capacity of the individual species or the plant community.

Overstocking means placing a number of animals in a given area that will result in overuse if continued to the end of the planned grazing period.

Overuse means utilizing an excessive amount of the current year's plant growth which, if continued, will cause damage to the plant community. (See also overgrazing, overstocking)

Paddock is a pasture subdivision within a grazing unit.

Persistence means continuing to exist.

Planned grazing system is a system in which two or more grazing units are rested and grazed in a planned sequence over a period. Planned grazing systems are designed and applied to meet the needs of the vegetation, the animals, and the overall objectives of the operator.

Renewable resource is a resource that can be naturally restored to its original state after depletion or use.

Resource base is the sum of the avialable resources.

Riparian describes an area, zone, and/or habitat adjacent to streams, lakes, or other natural free water, which have predominant influence on associated vegetation or biotic communities.

Sheathing means the leaf wraps around the stem.

Short-grass prairie is a plant community dominated by short grasses, typically 18 inches or less in height. They are low growing and form a mat that covers the soil surface. These sod-type grasses are what we see in lawns, parks and golf courses.

Shrubs are plants that have persistent, woody stems, a relatively low growth habits, and generally produce several shoots at the base instead of single trunks. A shrub differs from a tree in its low stature and form. Maximum height is generally 4 meters.

Spikelets are small, few-flowered spikes that make up the flower of a grass or sedge.

Stocking Rates represent the relationship between the number of animals and the grazing management unit utilized over a specified time period. May be expressed as animal units per unit of land area.

Stocking density is the relationship between number of animals and area of land at any instant of time. (See also stocking rates.)

Tall grass prairie is a plant community dominated by tall grasses, which grow four to eight feet high. These grasses are usually abundant in higher rainfall areas and along streams and moist valleys.

Warm season plants make most or all their growth during the late spring and summer and are usually dormant in the winter. These plants usually exhibit the C-4 photosynthetic pathway

Weeds are any unwanted growing plant or a plant with a negative value within a grazing management system.

Woody Draw is another term for riparian area.