Written and Developed by

Howard Coambes, Grassland ConservationistNatural Resource Conservation Service, Stockton, Missouri

Dr .John Jennings, Agronomy Specialist

University Extension Service, West Plains, Missouri

David E. Pitts, Wildlife Management BiologistMissouri Department of Conservation, Springfield, Missouri

The above writers wish to extend a special "Thank You" to the following for theirtechnical review and support during the many years that it took to develop this Contest:Melodie Marshall, District Conservationist, N.R.C.S., Rolla, Mo., for her leadership andcoordination at the State and District Contest levels; Mr. Bob Birkenholz, University ofMissouri-Columbia; Mr. Jim Welker, Agricultural Education Supervisor and the many VocationalEducation Instructors throughout the State who helped evaluate the contest many times duringit's development~ Mr. Jan Dellamano, Curriculum Specialist, M.D.C., for his editorialassistance; Veronica Feilner, Project Coordinator, Instructional Materials Lab., M.U., and herstaff for the production of the materials that are now available through I.M.L.

Second Edition: May, 1997

United Stat.&Department ofAgriculture

NaturalResourcesConservationService

UniversityExtensionINVERSITY OF I.USSOURI SYST£MlI'fCOUI \HVERSITY

1

GRASSLAND EV ALUA TION

TEACHER'S GUIDE

Introduction

The Grassland Evaluation program consists offour sections: (I) Grassland Condition, (2)Soil Evaluation, (3) Wildlife Habitat and (4) Plant Identification. Each of these factors must beconsidered in evaluating pastures or grasslands to best utilize the resource and to help make useful

management decisions.

NOTE TO INSTRUCTORS: See section "Suggested References" for additional sources ofinformation for use with this Contest Guide.

Contest La):out

The judging site will be a typical pasture or area used for livestock grazing. Within thepasture area. a 50 by 50 foot plot will be marked-offwith flags. Participants will not be allowedto walk into or touch plants within this plot. This area will be used by the participants to answercertain parts of the Wildlife and Pasture Evaluation Score Cards. Additional flags at or near thissite will also be used to determine the percent of soil slope as required on the Soils Score Card.Additional areas or sites may be designated by the Contest Officials as needed to complete theContest.

A "scenario with a landowner's goals for livestock and wildlife production" will beposted at the Contest site. Appropriate soil survey information, aerial photos, maps, score cardsand any other relative information will be made available to the contestants on the day of theContest. This information must be considered to complete each Score card.

Plants marked for the Plant Identification portion of the Contest, will be marked in thefield or they may be displayed as mounted specimens. Depending upon the plants available,certain plants may be temporarily "transplanted" to the site for purposes of identification.Participants will not be allowed to touch the plants marked for plant identification purposesduring the Contest.

Grassland Condition

Grassland evaluation is a process of appraising present conditions in a field and makingdecisions to correct problems or to utilize the resource in a manner that better suits thelandowner's goals.

Many problems in grasslands and pastures develop from mismanagement or lack ofplanning. In order to correct problems you must first determine the condition of the field thenmake corrective decisions that are based on sound agricultural practices compatible with the

landowners goals.

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The landowner's goals will be provided for each judging site. Livestock production shouldbe the primary interest for the field when filling out the Grassland Condition and Managementscorecard with wildlife production only as a secondary goal.

Wildlife Habitat

To increase wildlife numbers you mu.st provide adequate food and permanent cover theyear round. Wildlife numbers cannot increase iffood or cover is continually grazed and trampledby livestock throughout the year, especially in winter. When scoring the Grassland WildlifeHabitat scorecard, consider wildlife improvement as the primary goal for the field with livestockproduction only as a secondary goal. Management decisions may differ between the two uses.Certain portions of the Wildlife Score Card will be answered by referring to the 50 X 50 foot plotas outlined above.

Soil Evaluation

Soil properties strongly influence both forage selection and field management. Soilsurveys published by the Soil Conservation Service are a basic tool to the grassland manager .They provide information about the properties of all the soils in a county.

The adaptation of plants to certain soils is also an important aspect of grasslandmanagement. Some plants thrive in deep, well drained soils but do poorly in shallow, poorlydrained soils. Factors that limit plant adaptation may be soil fertility, poor soil drainage, soildepth, or droughtiness. A successful grassland manager determines the soil type and matchesadapted forages to that environment.

Soil survey information will be provided for each judging site. The correct soil series mustbe determined by locating the judging site and soil mapping unit on an aerial photograph of thefarm.

The soils slope will be detennined using the site that is identified with flags as describedabove.

Plant Identification

You cannot successfully manage grasslands without a working knowledge of plantidentification. You must be able to identify the plants you are managing and also the weedyinvaders that might occur. A basic knowledge of the plants that are considered good food forwildlife is necessary to successfully increase numbers. It is also important to know the life cycleof the major plants found in grasslands and pastures. Perennial plants are managed differentlythan annual plants. Likewise, control of undesirable plants depends upon whether it is an annual.perennial, broadleaf, grass or grass-like plant.

DISTRICT & STATE

GRASSLAND EV ALUAnON CONTESTRULES

The "GRASSLAND EV ALUAnON CONTEST GUIDE" will provide additional details asto how the GRASSLAND EV ALUAnON CONTEST is to be set up and conducted at the contestsite. All contestants should familiarize themselves with this information along with these CONTESTRULES (revised annually).

RULES DURING COMPETITION:

I. A contest team will consist of a mayjmum of four (4) or a minimum of three (3) students who areeither currently enrolled at the high school level (FFA or 4H) or have graduated at the end ofthe school year prior to the contest. Only one scoring team per FFA chapter or 4H club (orgroup) will be allowed to compete, however, additional teams are encouraged to participate.The scoring team must be designated prior to the start of the contest.

2. Contestants will be supplied score cards, appropriate maps or aerial photos and any necessaryinformation. All score cards, maps and aerial photos will be coUected at each judging site.

3. Contestants will be allowed twenty-:6ve (25) minutes to judge each of the four (4)segments of the contest with three (3) minutes to move between judging sites. Total contesttime is approximately two (2) hours.

4. Contestants may use non-prograroable hand-held calculators. Each participant will furnish theirown pencils, calculator and clip board.

5. Contestants will NOT be allowed to:A. talk to anyone during the contest or use other printed materials for reference.B. touch plants used for the plant identification.C. leave the contest site during the contest. There will be NO exceptions.D. step into or touch plants within the 50 X 50 ft. plots.

6. Only contestants and officials will be allowed within the contest area during the contest.

7. Judge's decisions will be final concerning any questions involving the contest.

(continued)

SCORING RULES AND ADDmONAL GUIDELINES:

8. The winning team will be detennined by adding together the highest three (3) team member'sscores. Ifless than three (3) members ora team are present, they may enter and compete asindividuals.

9. In case of a score tie, the Plant I.D. score will be used to detennine the winner.Should this score also result in a tie, the Grassland Condition Score will be used followed by a" coin-t1ip " in the event of another tie.

10. Each of the six (6) Vocational Education Districts and each of the seven (7) ExtensionRegions may send three (3) top scoring teams to the State Contest.

II. The highest scoring three-member FFA &lor 4H team(s) at the State Contest willbecome the State Champion Team(s)

12. The five highest scoring teams (FFA &lor 4H) will be elgible to represent Missouri atthe Mid-America Grassland Evaluation Contest. Should any team be unable toattend, the instructor is asked to provide notice at least sixty (60) days prior to theMid-America Contest.

13. Members of the first place team in the State Grassland Evaluation Contest will not beeligible to participate in the next year's contest.

SCORE CARD CLARIFICAnON NOTES:

14. Plant Identification: This part of the contest involves two answers (common nameand life cycle) for each oftbe twenty plants. Both answers must be correct for the questionto be considered as correct.

15. Grassland Condition: Question no.3, "Matching Livestock & Forage". Theanswer to this question must be within a ten percent (10%) range of the final correct answerdetermined by the judges at the contest site -within five percent (5%) above or five percent(5% ) below the correct answer.

16. ~: Contestants will determine "soil slope" from designated stakes located at ornear the "soils" site.

DISTRICT & STATE RULES REVISED: January, 2000

1

A GLOSSARY OF SELECTED TERMS FOR

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE USE.

Aacid 8oil: Soil with a pH value Ins than 7.0; for moat practical purposes. a soil with a pH value leas than 6.6.

The term is usually applied to the surfece layer or to the root zone unleaa specified otherwise.

agricultural land: All land devoted to crop or livestock production; e.g., farmsteed, drainage and irrigetiondItches. ponds, cropland, and grazing land on farms.

agricultural use: The use of any tract of land for the production of animal or vegetable life; use8 include, butare not limited to, the p88turing, grazing, and wetering of livestock and the cropping, cultivetion, andharvesting of plants.

animal unit: A measurement of livestock numbers based on the equivalent of a mature cow (approximately1,000 pounds live weIght); roughly, one cow, 1.4 yearling cettle, one horse, one mule, five sheep, fiveswine, or six gOat8. Abbr. A.U.

annual food plot: A small eree of lend planted to e mixture of ennual plents which produce an abundance ofsmell seeds -supplamental food for wild animal.; the crop is not harvaated, but is left standing in the

field.

annual plant: A plant that completes its life cycle and dies in one year or less.

a88ociBtion: A climax plant community identified by the combinBtion of dominant species present.

available forage: Forage that is accessible for animal consumption. The standing dry matter yiald of forage ina paddock or grazing unIt. May be maasurad from desirad grezing height.

available water: The portion of water in a soil that can be abeorbed by plant roota.

§.backgrounding: Practice of raising a beef animal from weaning until and placement in the feedlot.

Backgrounding may alther take place on p88ture or with stored feed.

bienniel plent: A plent thBt requires two veer. to complete its life cycle.

biomaa8: The amount of living matter in a given unit of the environment.

border (wildlife management): A strip of herbaceous or woody vagetation. usually low-growing and more than

ten feat wide. established along the edges of fields. woodlands. or streams.

brush pile: A smell stack of cut brenchee, shrubs, and other woody vegetetion which servee 88 protectivecover for small wild animals.

browso In): Rofora to tho nutritious buds or tips of branchos of shrube. vin08. saplings and forbe that arosolected for food by wbrowsing. wildlife such as deer.

bunchgrass: gra8ses with growth forms that are clumped or tufted, rather than singla-8temmed, sod-forming

£canopy: The more or less continuoua cover of branches end foliage formed collectively by the crowns of

adjecent trees and other woody growth.

carrying oapeclty: The maximum population that a given eco8Y8tem can 8Upport indefinitely.

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clutch: The total number of bird or reptile eggs laid in one nesting.

community: An aggragation of organisms within a specified erea.

conservation: 1. The wise use of natural resOUrc08. (The criteria for .wise use. can be the original concept ofconservation by Pinchot: .greatest good for greatest number in the long run..) 2. .A state of harmonybetween man and the land AIdo Leopold.

consummable forage: The average annual dry matter forage requirements for an animal unit X the number ofavailable animal units.

continuous grazing: The grazing by domestic livestock of e specific aree throughout the grazing seeson; notnecessarily synonymous with year-long grazing.

controlled burning : The deliberate use of fire so as to restrict the burning to a predetermined area and intensity

controlled grazing: Grazing management designed to improve utilIzation of forage by allocating p88ture insubunits with grazing period. typically lese than five day..

cool-eeason plant: A plant that makes its mejor growth during the cool portion of the year. For example, 0001-season grasses grow when the soil temperature is just above 32 degreas IF} and nearly stOp8 growthwhen the soil tempereture is above 78 degrees IF}.

cover: Vegetation or other material used by wild animals for neating. rearing of young. resting. escape frompredators. or protection from adverse weather conditions.

covey: A smell flock or number of birds together, often functioning somewhet 88 e unit; the term i. chieflyapplied to partridg88 (including quail) .

Q.deciduous plent: A plant that sheds all its leeves every year at a certain seeson (usually eutumn).

decreeser plent species: The plent species of original vegetation that wHI generelly decre88e in relative amountwith continued overuse; commonly termed decreesere.

deferred grazing: The discontinuance of livestock grazing on a area for a specified period of time during thegrowing seaaon to promote plant reproduction, establishment of new plants, or restoration of vigor by

old planta .

dogredetion: 1. To wear down by ero.ion. espeolally through stream action. 2. To be oont.mineted by s.lts.chemical.. or other pollutant. before being returned to the environment .fter being used by men.

density: In biology, the number of organisma per area unit at a given time.

diveraity: The variety of species within a given association of organisms. Areas of high diveraity erecharacterized by a greet variety of species; usually reletively few Individuals represent anyone species.Areas with low diveraity are characterized by few species; often reletively large numbera of indlviduelsrepresent each species. Diversity enhances ecosystem etability.

dominant (ecology) : A species which by its activity. behavior. or number h88 considerable influence or controlupon the conditions of existence of 88societed species; a species which .controls. its habitet and food

web.

dry matter forage: Vegetative material suitable for forage that has been dried to remove 811 moisture.

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fecology: The study of interreletionship8 of organisms to one another and to thair environment.

ecosystem: A contrection for .ecological system;. the interecting system of a biological community and its

non-living environment.

edge or ecotone {wildlife): The transitional zone where one cover type ends and another begins. The junctionzone may have considerable linear extent, but is narrower than the adjoining community areas

them8elves.

edge effect: The influence of two or more edjoining communities upon the composition and density ofpopulation. within the bordering area.

endengered speciee (native): A apecies of native fish. wildlife or plant threatened with extinction becauae its

habitat is threatened with destruction. drastic modification, or severe curtailment; or because of over-exploitation. disease, predation, or other factors. Its survival requires eesistance.

endemic species: An organism or species that is restricted to a relatively small geographic area or to anunusual or rare type of habitat.

energy (or food) pyramid: The passage of energy as food from one trophic level to another. Since about 80 to90 percent of the energy in each transfer is lost as waste heat, the resulting shape of the energy levels

is that of a pyramid.

exotic: An organism or species that is not native to the region in whloh it is found.

ffood web (food cycle): All of the interconnecting food cheine in 8 community.

for8ge inventory: A compilation of the carrying capacity in animal units and animal unit months for allman8gement units within a farm being evaluated. The carrying capacity of each man8gement unit is thesum of carrying capacities of the pasture units it contains. The carrying capacity of each man8gement

unit is determined by dividing land area by the stocking rate (AC/AU).

forage production: The total amount of dry matter produced per unit of area on an annual baai8.

forb: A herbeceous plant which is not a grass, sedge, or rush. A broadleaf flowering plant.

forest: A plant association predominantly of trees and other woody vegetation.

~geme animal: An animal sought for ite fur, feethere, fleeh, or trophy velue, and which is coneidered to po8888e

those eporting qualitiee thet enhance the hunt or angling experience.

gr88S: A member of the botanical famIly Gramineae, characterized by bledellke, narrow le8V88 arranged on theculm or stem (jointed) in two ranks, flowere in spikelete, and eeedlike fruit, e.g. wheet, oete. sorghum,

fescue, big bluestem, etc.

greaalend: Lend on which the exiating plent cover is domlneted by gre8aea.

grazing: The eeting of eny kind of .tending vegetation, except browse, by dom88tio livestock or wild enimels.

grezing capacity: The m8ximum stocking rate possible without inducing damage to vagatation or related

reeourcas.

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grazing land: Land used regularly for grazing. The term is not confined to land suItable only for grazing.

Cropland and pasture used in connection with a system of farm crop rotation ara usually not Included .

grazing cell: A parcel of lend subdivided into peddocks and grazed rotationally.

grazing period: Tho length of time that livo8tock ere pro8ont on a particular paddock during a particular grazing

cycle.

grazing season: The portion of the year that livestock. graze, or are permitted to graze, on a given range orpasture. It is somatime8 called grazing period.

grazing system: A specialization of grazing management which defines systematically recurring periods ofgrazing and deferment for two or more management units.

grazing unit: An area of rangeland or pa8tureland, public or private, that is grazed 8S an entity.

green browse: Herbaceous plants which are planted specifically for grazing (or browsing) by wildlife. 08pecially

geese.

.t!.habit8t: The environment in which the life neads of an organism, popul8tion, or community era suppliad.

hayland: Land used primarily for the production of hay from long-term stands of adapted forage plants.

herb: Any flowering plant except those developing persistent woody bases and stema above ground.

herd: A group of enimel8. 88pecially cattle or big game, collectively considered 88 a unit.

home range: The total area traversed by a wild animal engaged in faeding, breeding, loafing, and seeking

refuge during its life cycle.

hybrid: An organism resulting from a cross between parent. of different specie8. subspecies. or cultivar .

!increaser plant species (increasers): Plant species of the original plant community that genarally increase in

relative amounts, at least for a time, under continued use. The particular species will vary dua to

location, kind of site, kind of grazing animals, season of use, and other environmental influences.

indicator plant: Any plant that by its presence. its frequency. or It. vigor indicates any particular property of

the site.

indigenous: An organism born, growing, or produced naturally in a region or country; native

intake: The mess of forage dry matter consumed by the grazing animal par day. Usually expressed as apercent of bodyweight or pounds per day.

intensive grazing management: Grazing management where a grazing unit is subdivided into subunits(paddocks) with grazing periods typically les8 than five days. Usually involves an increase in s~ocking

rates, forage utilization, labor, and results in increased produotion per unit area or per animal. Preferredterm i8 Wmanagement-intenslve grazing because it is management and not neoes8arlly grazing that 18intensified.

intensive rotational grazing: Synonymous with -intensive grazing management-,

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interspersion (wildlife): The distribution of heterogenous cover types and plant species in a limited area. Thedegree to which environmental type8 are intermingled or inter8paced on a landscape. A measurement ofsy8tem unit location or relationship8. It is the intermixing of units ad different habitat types.

invader plant species (invaders); Plant species that were absent in undi8turbad portions of the original plantcommunity, but will invade under disturbance or continuad overuse.

!.key management species: 1. Those forage species whose use serves as an indicator of the dagree of use of

associatod species. 2. Those species on which management of a specific unit is baeod.

hlandscape: All the natural features, such aa fields, hilla, fornts, and water that diatingui8h one part of tha

earth'a aurface from another part; uaually that portion of land or territory which the eye cancomprehend in a single view, including all of its natural characteristics.

land use plan: A composIte of information, ideas. policies, programs, and activities related to existing andpotential uses of land wIthin a given area; such describes the racommended looation and intensIty ofdevelopment for both public and private land uses such 88 residential, commercial. industrial.racreational, and agricultural.

life cycle: The steges through which en organism passes during its existence.

limiting factor: A factor whose absence, deficiency, or excessive concentration exerts some restraininginfluence upon a population through incompatibility with spacies requirements or tolerance. Theparamater or item in an animal's habitat that outwelgh8 all othere in lImiting productivity.

livestock: Domestic enim81s produced or kept prim8rily for farm, ranch, or market purposes; lIvestock Includes

beef and dairy cattle, hogs, sheep, goets, and horses.

oMmanagement unit: An area of land that has distinct boundaries. usually fenced. so that it may be managed

seperately from other units; i.e.. fields. paddocks. peatures.

rnonoculture: The raising of crops of 8 single species, generally even-aged.

multiple use: The use of land for more than one purpo8e; e.g., grazing of liv08tock, wildlife production,recreation, waterahod, and timber production. Multiple u8e is not necessarily the combination of US08that win yield the highest economic return or greatest unit output.

!i.native species: A species that le a part of an areas's original fauna or flora.

natural resources: The air. land. soil, water. plants. animals. minerals. source. of energy. and other person.upon which and whom man depends for his neceaaitiea. needs. and wants.

natural revegetation: The natural re-establishment of plants; the propagation of new plants over an area bynatural processes.

niche: The functional role of an organism or population in its community. EaCh component haS 8 certainfunction or role in the scheme of .nature..

nitrogen fixetion: The-conversion of elemental nitrogen to organic combinetion8 or to forma readily usable inbiological proces8e8. The conversion is normally carried out by bacteria living symbiotically in legumes,or by free-tiving soil bacteria.

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nitrogen-fixing plant: A plant that can assimilate and fix, with the aid of bacteria living in the root nodules, the

free nitrogen of the atmosphere. Legumes with the esaociated rhizobium bacteria in the root nodules arethe moat important nitrogen-fixing plants.

nutrients: Those elements or compounds essential to growth and development of living things: carbon,oxygen. nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, otc.

Qodd area (wildlife): A small area of land, such as a fence corner or an irregularly shaped area, that may be used

to produce wildlife habitat.

optimum yield: The maximum sustained yiald of any harvestabla crop.

organism: Any living thing.

overgrazing: An intensity of grazing so heavy that it impairs future forage productIon and causes degradation(deterioration) through damage to plants. soil, or both.

overstocking: The placing of a number of animals on a given area that will re8ult in overuse at the end of the

planned grazing period.

f.paddock: A subdivision of land within a grazing call (can be temporary or permanent).

palatability: The plant characteristics or conditione that stimulate a selective response by animals.

pan: A horizon or layer in soil that is strongly compacted, Indurated, or very high in clay content,

perent meteriel (soils): The unconsolideted, more or leas chemic811y weathered minerel or orgenic matter fromwhich the solum of soils has developed by pedogenic processes. The C horizon mayor may not consistof materials similar to those from which the A and B horizons developed .

pasture: An area devoted to the production of forage. introduced or native. which i8 harvested by grazing. Inmost countrias. wpasturew refers only tc a planted grass sward.

pasture improvement: Any practice of grazing, burning, mowing, fertilizing, liming, seeding, scatteringdroppings, contour furrowing, or other methods of manogemont designed to improve vegetation for

grazing purposes.

pasture management: The applicetion of practices to keep pasture plents growing actively over as long aperiod as possible so thet they will provide palatable feed of high nutritive value.

perenniel plant: A plant that normally lives three or more years.

permanant pasture: Grazing land occupied by perennial pasture plants or by self1eeding plants. usually both.

which remains unplowed for many years.

peaticida: Any substanca or chemical applied to kill or control waeds. in8act8. algae. rodants. and othar

undasirabla pasts.

pH: A numericel measure of aoidity or hydrogen ion aotivityo A pH value of 7 00 Is neutral; pH values below

7.0 are ecid; pH valuas above 7.0 are alkaline.

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photo8Yntheai8: The manufDCture by plants of carbohydrates and oxygen from carbon dioxide and water in thepresence of chlorophyll, u81ng 8unlight as an energy 8ource.

plant succession: The vegetetion development whereby an ere a becomes successively occupied by different

plant communities, each of higher ecological order, progressing toward tho .climax. vegetetion.

pollution: The condition caused by the presence in the environment of substances of such character, and in

such quantities, that the quality of the environment is impaired or rendered offensive to life.

population: A group of org8ni8m8 of the 88me kind

ppm (parts per millIon): The ratio of the number of parts of a subatanca In air or a lIquId to one million.

prairie: A tract of level to hilly land that has a dominance of grasses and forba, a scarcity of shruba, and istreeless. The natural plant community consists of various mixtures of tall, mid, and short growingnative species, respectively known ea true prairie, mixed prairie, end 8hortgreas prairie.

prescribed burning: The delIberate use of fire under conditions by which the eree to be burned, the intensIty ofheat, end the rate of spreed ere controlled so es to achieve predatermined, professionelly recommendedobjectives for silviculture, wildlife management, grezing, fire-hezerd reduction, atc.

primary productivity: The rate at which organic matter is stored by photosynthetic and charnosynthetic actIvity

of producer organisms (autotrophs); e.g. grams per day.

.8.reproductive potential: The maximum rate of incre88e in numbers of individuals of 8 species or population

under the most optimum conditione. in contrut to actual reproduction obtained under exi.ting

conditions.

residual: The amount of forage remaining after a grazing period. Expressed as mass of dry matter per acre oras height from ground level. Not synonymous with residue.

residue: Dead. deceying plant mBterial present on the soil surface.

rest period: Then length of time between two consecutive grazing periods on a particular paddock.

riparian land: Land situated along the bank of a stream or other body of water.

roost: The place. or the support upon which. birds rest -especially at night.

root zone: The part of the soil the! is penetrated, or can be penetrated, by plant roots.

rotation grazing: A system of pasture utilization during which 8hort periods of heavy 8tocking are followed byperiods of rest for plant recovery during the same season.

roughage: A feed. such 88 hay. with high fiber content and low total digestible nutrient8.

runoff (hydraulics): That portion of the pracipitation on a drainage area that is discharged from the area in

stream channels.

.§:.se88onal grezing: Grezing restricted to e specific se88on.

.elective grazing: The tendency for grazing animal. to graze certain plant. in preference to others.

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slope: The degree of deviation of a surface from the horizontal. measured in a numerical ratio. percent. ordegrees. Expreesed as a ratio or percentege. the firet number ie the vertical dietance (riee). and thesecond is the horizontal di8tance (run). as 2:1 or 200 percent. Expressed in degreas, it ie the angle ofthe slope from the horizontal plane with a 90 degrae slope being vertical (maximum). and 45 degreesbeing a 1 :1 elope.

soil: The unconsolidated mineral and organic material on the immediate surface of the earth that serves as anatural medium for the growth of plants.

soil classification: The systematic arrangement of soils into group. or categorias on the basis of their

characteristics.

soil loss tolerance m: Tha maximum average annual soil loss (expressed in tons per acre per year) that shouldbe permitted on a givan soil.

soil survey: A general term for the systematic examination of soils in the field and in laboratories: theirdescription and classification; the mapping of kinds of soil; the interpratation of soil. according to theiradaptability for various crops, gr888es, and treos; their behavior under u8e or treatment for plantproduction or for other purposes; end their productivity under different manogemont systema.

species (both singular and plural): A natural population or group of populations that transmit specificcharacteristics from perent to offspring. They ere reproductively isolated from other popul8tions with

which they might breed.

speciea diversity: The ratio of the number of species in a community to the number of individuals in eechspecies. (Low diversIty occurs when there are few species, but many indlvidu818 in eech species.)

standing crop: 1. Tha total biomass of an area at a given time. 2. The quantity of a givan 8pecias at a gIven

time.

stocker: A beef animal in the period between weaning and feedlot placement.

stocking: The release of wildlife species that have been captured. or propagated in captivity. into a suItable

habitat .

stocking rete: The number of animals. animal units, or total animallivewelght as81gned to a grazing unIt for an

extended period of time. USUBl\y expressed on a per acre bBSis.

succession: The progressive development of vegetation toward its highest ecological expression, the clImax;the replacement of one plant community by another .

8ustalned yield: ;A condition in which the rate of utilization or consumption of a resource does not exceed the

rate of recovery or production.

sward: Grass covered soil,

Itemporery pesture: A pesture. usuelly consisting of ennuel plents. intended to provide grazing for only e short

period.

tillage: The oper8tion of implements through the soil to prepare seedbeds and root beds, control unwantedveget8tion, aer8te the soil, and cause faster breakdown of organic matter.

transect: A cross section of an area used as a sample for recording, mapping, or studying vegetetion and ituse. A transect may be a series of plots, a belt, strip, or line, depending on why it is being used.

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!!undergrazing: An intensity of grazing in which the available forage is not fully utilIzed.

~vegetation: The sum total of plants that cover an area; plants in general.

vegetation type: A plant community with distinguishable characteristics.

~warm-eeaaon plant: A plant that complates most of its growth during the warm portion of the year, generally

late spring and summer. For example, warm-eeason grasses stert growth when the soil temperaturereaches 55 degrees (F) and nearly stops growing when it reaches 90 degrees (F).

water penetration: The depth to which irrigation water or precipitation penatratea soil before the rate of

downward movement becomes negligible.

watershed: The land area that drains toward a natural 8urface water system. (More precisely, a given point on

such a system.)

wildlife: Undomesticeted 8nim8ls, considered collectively.

wildlife menagement: The technique of producing susteined annual crops of wildlife.

woQdland: Any land used primarily for growing trees and shrubs, compared to open land used for grezing or

othar egricultural purposas.

SUGGESTED REFERENCES

The following curriculum guides are available from the "Instructional Materials Laboratory"(I.M.L. ), Columbia, Missouri.

10-1201-1 & 10-1201-S "Introduction to Grassland Management" (1997)10-1203-1 & 10-1203-S "Crop & Grassland Plant Identification" (1997)10-4853-1 & 10-4853-S "Fish & Wildlife Management"

I 0-5050-1 & 10-5050-S "Soil Science"10-1200-S "Grass & Legume I.D.10-1220- V "Rotational Grazing" video

The following guidesheets are available from the county University ofMissouri Extension Center.

G46S0 -Establishing ForagesG46S1 -Renovating Grass Sods With Legumes

G4S1S -Annual LespedezaG4SS0 -Alfalfa

G4620 -BermudagrassG4639 -White, Ladino & Sweet CloverG4640 -Birdsfoot Trefoil

G4610 -The BluegrassesG4673 -Big Bluestem, Indiangrass and Switchgrass

G4674 -Caucasian Bluestem

G6710 -OrchardgrassG4638 -Red CloverG4646 -Tall FescueG209S -Backgrounding Calves -Part IG2096 -Backgrounding Calves -Part 2

G21.01 -Grass TetanyG2072 -Grain and Protein Supplements For Beef Cattle on Pasture

G2062 -Wintering Beef CowsG2037 -The Systems Concept of Beef Production.

G2099 -Hot Weather Livestock Stress9112- Interpreting Missouri Soil Test Reports -

ADDmoNAL REFERENCE BOOKS

100 Native Forage Grasses in 11 Southern States, Ag. Handbook, No.389 U.S.D.A., Soil

Conservation Service, Washington D.C.

Dalryrnple, R.L., Forage and Crop Management Specialist, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation,

Available through: Agricultural Division, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc., Ardmore, OK

73402

Dietz, Harland E., Range conservationist (retired), S.C.S., Grass: The Stockman1s Cro12--How toHarvest More Of It Available through: Sunshine Unlimited, Inc., P.O. Box 471, Lindsborg, KS67456

Ke~ to the Perennial Grasses, Midwest Region East of The Great Plains (abstracted fromHitchcock's Manual of the Grasses) SCS -TP-151 U.S.D.A., S.C.S., Washington D.C.

Manual of the Grasses of the United States, Second Edition, A.S. Hitchcock, two volumes, Dover

Publications, New York, 1051 p.

Martin, Zim & Nelson; American Wildlife & Plants. A Guide to Wildlife Food Habits, Dover

Publicatiops, Inc., New York

Pasture and Range Plants, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas. Available through: Fort

Hays State University, Hays, Kansas

Range Grasses orKansas, #C567 Cooperative Extension Service Manhattan, Kansas

Range Plant Handbook, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Dover Publications, New

York, 811 p., No.0-486-25783-5

Settergen, Carl & R.E. Mcdermott, Trees ofMissouri University ofMissouri, Ag. ExperimentStation .

Steyermark, Julian A., Flora ofMissouri The Iowa State University Press, Arnes, Iowa

Stubbendieck, Hatch & Hirsch, North American Range Plants, 1989, Third Edition, 465 p.

University of Nebraska Press

Symonds, George WoD., The Shrub Identification Book William Morrow & Coo, New York

Waller, Steven S., Lowell E. Moser, Patrick E. Reese; Understanding Grass Growth: The Ke~ ToProfitable Livestock Production. Available through: Trabon Printing Co., Inc., 430 Bannister

Road, Kansas City, MO 64131

Weeds of the North Central States, N.C. Regional Pub. No.36, Circular 718 of the University if

Illinois, Ag. Experiment Station, Urbana, n..

Wildlife Management For Missouri Landowners, Pitts, David E., Mo. Dept. ofConservation, Box

180, Jefferson City, Mo. 65101. (Booklet free upon request)