Impacts of Strategic Grazing on Density and Ground Cover of Naturalised Hill Pasture

Low ground cover by perennial species is a major problem in naturalised pasture on steep hill country in southern Australia. This leads to water and nutrient runoff, recharge to groundwater, and soil erosion, all of which impact on the environmental sustainability and profitability of grazing enterprises. Restoration of perennial components, particularly the native grasses for these marginal land classes, is of great importance for improving water balance, halting land degradation (Ridley et al. 1997), extending growing season, and increasing pasture production. The objective of this study was to use strategic grazing management to increase the ground cover and plant population density of perennial species in steep hill country