1 National Program 215: Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems Accomplishment Report 2005-2010 National Program 215: Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems Agricultural Research Service U.S. Department of Agriculture Table of Contents Introduction 2 Program Component 1. Rangeland Research 5 Program Component 2. Pasture Research 36 Program Component 3. Harvested Forages 58 Program Component 4. Turf 68 Appendix 1. Overview of ARS 72 Appendix 2. Overview of NP215 74 Appendix 3. Plant Improvement Impacts 77 Appendix 4. Rangeland References 78 Appendix 5. Pasture References 108 Appendix 6. Harvested Forages References 120 Appendix 7. Turf References 126 2 Introduction Purpose of this Report This report summarizes selected accomplishments of the Agricultural Research Service’s national program focusing on Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems. A key purpose of the report is to provide information for an external assessment of the program’s performance over the past 5 years. This assessment will also provide recommendations for the future direction of the program. Because of space limitations not all of the program accomplishments have been presented. The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) The ARS is the principal in-house research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is one of the four component agencies of the Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. An overview of the ARS mission, structure, planning process, and relationships with other agencies is provided in Appendix One. National Program 215: Pasture, Forage and Rangeland Systems Our Nation's grass and shrub lands- including pastures, hay, feedstock, turf and range lands- provide forages, bioenergy, open spaces and ecological services that contribute significantly to our agricultural, environmental, economic, and social well-being. Rangeland, pasture, and forages together comprise about 55% of the total land surface of the United States, about a billion acres. Privately owned lands comprise about 45% of this amount. The Nation’s 30-40 million acres of turf lands are found around homes, schools, municipal and commercial buildings, in our parks, greenbelts and recreational areas, and along our roadsides, airports and right-of-ways. These lands represent the largest and most diverse land resources in the U.S. The goals of this national program are to contribute significantly to meeting national needs for food, fiber, fuel and ecosystem services by restoring, conserving and using the Nation's pasture, hay, turf, and range lands in a way that meets the objectives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the REE (Research, Education and Economics) Mission Area. Goals and objectives are met through basic and applied research that develops and transfers economically viable and environmentally sustainable conservation, production and monitoring practices and strategies that incorporate an improved understanding of ecological and agronomic processes, enhanced plant materials, advanced technologies, and user-friendly decision-support tools based on sound science. Outputs of National Program 215 (NP215) research support the “Actionable Strategies” of the ARS Strategic Plan associated with the following objective and performance measures: Objective 6.3: Conserve and Use Pasture and Range Lands Efficiently Healthy, vigorous plant communities on diverse lands protect soil quality, prevent soil erosion, and provide sustainable forage and cover for livestock and wildlife. They also provide fiber and a diverse habitat for wildlife, improve water quality and sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The four serious threats that pose an increasing risk to the values, goods, and services provided by public and private pasture and range lands are wildfire, invasive species, loss of open space, and reduced profitability. ARS works with public and private land stewards to maintain/enhance watersheds and landscapes and their environmental services. The Agency produces the scientific knowledge needed to actively manage pasture and range lands and maintain the health, diversity, and resilience of these ecosystems. Performance Measure 6.3.1: Improved management practices and technologies for managing pasture and range lands to improve economic profitability and enhance environmental values. 3 Actionable Strategies: Provide new environmentally acceptable practices and technologies for controlling invasive weeds and reduce wildfires. Provide science-based information and technologies to better manage environmental services while improving the economic effectiveness of forage-based livestock, bioenergy, and turf systems. Provide improved grass and forage legume germplasm to meet economic and environmental objectives including conserving and improving pasture, forage, turf, and rangeland condition; plant vigor and diversity; water management; and environmental stewardship. Accelerate development of methodologies and technologies to measure and monitor pasture and range land health and assess and document the benefits of conservation practices. Provide cost-effective practices and strategies for restoring degraded pasture, forage, and range lands. Develop and promote grazing and harvested forage practices and technologies for livestock and bioenergy production that reduce input costs and increase sustainability. Develop and promote management practices and technologies that reduce animal exposure to toxic plants. NP215 Collaboration Solving today’s complex problems requires sustained research by interdisciplinary teams working at multiple scales. Creating such teams requires collaboration between (1) ARS scientists and locations; (2) between ARS scientists and scientists in other federal, state, local and private research institutions; and (3) between scientists and those citizens who use the products of research. An overview of ARS locations with projects in NP215 and internal and external collaboration is provided in Appendix Two. Beneficiaries of this National Program: Since 2/3 of the world’s agricultural land is pasture, hay and range lands, the research done in this research program will benefit the country and the rest of the world in meeting their economic, social and environmental needs. Livestock producers and Natural Resource Conservation Service and Extension workers that provide information to land owners will benefit. The products of this program will benefit federal land stewardship agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Defense, and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) that are responsible for almost a billion acres of public land. Beneficiaries include state land management agencies responsible for state-owned grazing lands, and policymakers and rural and urban community organizations that need information and technologies to assess and improve the management of the nation’s lands. Finally, the public at large will benefit through improved management of the Nation's pasture, forage, turf and range lands through greater economic opportunities, access to high quality food, and improved recreational opportunities, new bioenergy resources, and enhanced ecological services. Summary of Technology Transfer Activities Activity Number of activities Total attendance Field days 276 14,484 Popular press 389 articles Radio-TV items 1284 Decision support 11 tools Presentations to 980 44,192 customers K-12 School 439 19,496 Events Patents and 27 CRADAS Germplasm 28 releases Exhibits at Fairs 21 4 Component 1: Rangelands Management Systems to Improve Economic Viability and Enhance the Environment Integrating Across Research Problem Areas to Meet National Needs: Developing science- based databases and decision-support tools for formulating land management strategies at a national level is an an increasingly important priority. The research from its national network of laboratories over the past 50 years has positioned ARS scientists to make significant contributions in working with other Federal agencies to develop nationally oriented analyses, databases and decision-support tools essential to meet policy needs. Two examples where ARS grazingland research has contributed significantly to aiding other Federal agencies in meeting their mission objectives are CEAP (Conservation Effects Assessment Project) and ESDs (Ecological Site Descriptions). Problem Statement A Need for economically viable rangeland management practices, germplasm, technologies and strategies to conserve and enhance rangeland ecosystems. Objective A.1. Develop management and monitoring strategies and decision support tools that conserve natural resources while maintaining economic objectives. Management Strategies and Decision-Support Tools Research in this section is focused on issues such as soil erosion, woody plant management, carbon sequestration, and estimating precipitation over broad areas. Some accomplishments provide decision support models, which can be used directly by managers, and some provide background information of value to both managers and policymakers. Saving the Nation's soil resources. Nationally 20% of non-federal rangelands generate over 65% of the average annual soil loss, and between 23 and 29% (92-106 million acres) of the Nation’s rangelands are vulnerable to accelerated soil loss. ARS scientists in Reno, NV with ARS scientists in Tucson, AZ and Boise, ID, and NRCS scientists developed the Rangeland Hydrology and Erosion Model (RHEM), a process-based model for assessing