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ARS Home » Plains Area » Miles City, Montana » Livestock and Range Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #409678
Research Project: Development of Management Strategies for Livestock Grazing, Disturbance and Climate Variation for the Northern Plains

Location: Livestock and Range Research Laboratory

Title: Differential response and interactions of livestock species to patch burning in Mesquite-Oak Savanna

Author
item GAO, WEIQIAN - Texas A&M University
item Angerer, Jay
item TOLLESON, DOUG - Texas A&M Agrilife
item WALKER, JOHN - Texas A&M Agrilife
item WU, X. BEN - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Landscape Ecology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/24/2026
Publication Date: 2/11/2026
Citation: Gao, W., Angerer, J.P., Tolleson, D., Walker, J., Wu, X. 2026. Differential response and interactions of livestock species to patch burning in Mesquite-Oak Savanna. Landscape Ecology. 41. Article 43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-026-02306-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-026-02306-1

Interpretive Summary: With increasing woody plant encroachment on rangelands resulting from changing climate and fire suppression, fire is being reintroduced as a management strategy to reduce increases in woody plants. Fire implementation on rangeland landscapes in a prescribed manner can alter livestock grazing behavior as grazers are generally attracted to the vegetative regrowth after fire. Prescribed fire, in the form of patch burns, can be combined with grazing management strategies that employ multiple livestock species to take advantage differing preferences for herbaceous and woody vegetation among livestock on the landscape, thus reducing livestock producer’s reliance on one vegetation component only (e.g., grasses), and increasing grazing pressure on encroaching shrubs. Although studies have been implemented that use GPS technology to examine how livestock use rangelands after fire, most of these studies have focused on one livestock species. This study used GPS technology to examine spatial and temporal grazing patterns for three livestock species after implementation of patch burns on a large ranch (1560 ha) over a two-year period. Results indicated that cattle and goats had higher preference for both herbaceous and woody-dominated vegetation in recently burned areas compared to sheep. Goats generally preferred areas with more woody vegetation than herbaceous-dominated vegetation in both burned and unburned areas. Sheep had a higher preference for both herbaceous and woody-dominated vegetation in unburned areas. Cattle, sheep, and goats rarely grazed together. Among the three species, goats and sheep had the greatest distances between herds. The fact that sheep preferred unburned areas appears to be a unique result as other studies have shown that sheep will preferentially graze burned areas. Further study is needed to better understand reasons for animal behavior differences that could occur under mixed species grazing.

Technical Abstract: 1. Production of sheep, goats, and cattle are major agricultural enterprises on US rangelands , especially in the Edwards Plateau of Texas USA. In this region, fire has been reintroduced as a management tool for reducing woody plant encroachment and improving grazing management. Previous studies have used global positioning system (GPS) technology to evaluate how cattle use landscapes where fire has been used as a management tool. However, few studies have examined combinations of livestock species grazing together on patch-burned areas. 2. This study’s objective was to examine the grazing patterns of cattle, sheep, and goats, both spatially and temporally, in areas where patch burning has been implemented in a Mesquite-Oak-Savanna ecosystem. Two patch burns, representing 29% of the total ranch area, were implemented on a research ranch in the Edwards Plateau. After burns, animals from the resident herd were randomly selected and GPS collars were placed on 34 goats, 33 sheep, and 8 cows with collar numbers reflecting the proportion of animals in the herd. The GPS collars were set to collect movement data every 10 minutes and over a two-year period. Gates and fences within the ranch were opened and livestock were free to choose areas to graze. 3. Results indicated that cattle and goats had higher preference for herbaceous and woody-dominated vegetation patches in recently burned areas compared to sheep. Goats generally preferred areas with more woody vegetation than herbaceous-dominated vegetation in both burned and unburned areas, and sheep had a higher preference index for both herbaceous and woody-dominated vegetation patches in unburned areas. 4. The average distance between herds indicated that cattle and sheep herds grazed closer together than cattle and goat herds. Among the three species, goats and sheep had the greatest distances between herds throughout the study. 5. This study will assist livestock producers in understanding how patch burning and mixed-species livestock grazing would influence their management of grazing lands.