Question

In an effort to express concern over the effects of overgrazing, some people refer to grazed grasslands as "cow deserts." Write a 300 word report to explain how grassland can become like a desert by the action of livestock like cows. Then explain how farmers can practice sustainable use of rangeland to prevent serious environmental harm to grasslands. Give 3 specific ways this can be done. Finally, explain how your individual life would be directly or indirectly affected if all of America's rangelands were disturbed to the point that they could no longer be used.

Answer 1

When cows overgraze in a range, they devastate the whole vegetation of  the habitat. This results in an uncovered soil that is prone to elements of soil erosion such as wind and water. When the soil is eroded, it becomes less fertile because the nutrients have been carried away by erosion. Eventually, the habitat is unable to support vegetation and desertification begin.

 

One sustainable use of rangeland is herd management. This is ensuring that the number of cattle in the habitat does not surpass the carrying capacity of the rangeland. The other is grassland management. this ensures that the crop is given enough time to re-grow after grazing for  a particular period of time.

 

Herd management can be done through castration of bulls in the herd to prevent unregulated increases in the stock population. Grassland management can be done by fencing the rangeland into the different portions. This way the herd can feed in one while it waits for the grass to regenerate in the other. Another way is controlled burning of the vegetation to spur regeneration.

 

The desertification of the rangeland would reduce the ecological diversity of the area hence agriculture, even in nearby regions would have reduced yields. This is because pollinator numbers and diversity would reduce hence rate of pollination and fertilization would reduce. There would, also, be increased sandstorms in the region hence pollution of breathable air.