Impact of Grazing on Alberta’s Northern Temperate Grasslands

• Author / Creator

  Lyseng, Mark Patrick

• Understanding factors affecting elemental carbon stocks on Alberta’s grasslands is of special importance with recent policy shifts focusing on climate change and carbon (C) emissions. A large part of Alberta is native prairie utilized by the beef industry. This study examined soil and vegetation over more than a hundred Alberta grassland sites to better understand the effects that regional climate and grazing have on grassland C. Overall, grazing maintained plant production and increased vegetation diversity. In high precipitation environments, grazing tended to reduce woody species, favor introduced plants, and increase herb production as well as total C stores. Grazing decreased C mass in litter, but led to more C mass in soil, especially in regions with higher precipitation (>475mm). These results suggest that grazing is an important component for maintaining large C masses in soil.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Parkland
  • Diversity
  • Vegetation
  • Livestock
  • Mixedgrass
  • Biomass
  • Grasslands
  • Carbon
  • Montane
  • Grazing
  • Sub-region

• Graduation date

  Spring 2016

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3NP1WP93

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.