Effects of Grazing Management on Selected Stream Bank Characteristics and Stream Bank Erosion

Six 30-acre cool-season grass pastures, containing predominantly smooth bromegrass and bisected by a 642- foot stream segment, were grouped into 2 blocks and assigned one of three treatments: continuous stocking - unrestricted stream access (CSU), continuous stocking - restricted stream access (CSR), and rotational stocking (RS). Stream bank condition and surface roughness and stream morphology were evaluated pre-, mid-, and post-grazing from 2005 to 2007. Stream bank erosion was monitored monthly from May through November over the same three years. Stream banks in CSU pastures had greater vegetative cover, stability, and condition scores than did the CSR or RS pastures implying that the stream banks in pastures in which cattle had unrestricted access were more susceptible to erosion than stream banks in pastures in which cattle access to stream banks was restricted or controlled. However, no effect of grazing management on the rate of change of stream cross sectional area, net stream bank erosion, or erosion deposition activity was observed in any of the three years