The effect of sheep trampling and grazing on soil physical properties and pasture growth for a red-brown earth

Abstract

The experiment reported examined the effect of sheep trampling and grazing during wet conditions on soil physical properties and pasture growth over three winter seasons. The soil type studied was a structurally unstable sandy clay loam (a calcic red-brown earth) located in a dryland agricultural area (307 mm average annual rainfall) of Western Australia. Deferred grazing was investigated as a management option to reduce structural deterioration at the soil surface. Changes in soil physical properties as a result of trampling were related to soil water storage and pasture productivity. Infiltration rates were reduced as a result of sheep trampling, but there were no measurable changes in soil bulk density. Differences in pasture production between continuously grazed and ungrazed treatments were related to the amount of stored soil water, which in turn was related to infiltration rates. Pasture root growth during the season was also reduced as a result of trampling. Deferred grazing yielded the same quantity of biomass for feed over the reduced period available for grazing and proved to be a beneficial management practice since reasonably high infiltration rates were maintained. Results from the study also indicated that pasture must be adequately grazed to reduce leaf area later in the season when evaporative demand increases. A high leaf area over this time period may result in early pasture senescence.