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EFFECTS OF SIMULATED GRAZING ON SOIL TEMPERATURE, MOISTURE, AND RESPIRATION IN A SHORTGRASS STEPPE IN NORTHEASTERN COLORADO

Cattle grazing, a common form of land use on grasslands, could alter the climate at the surface. This study focused on how physical landscape changes associated with grazing could have a significant impact on soil temperature and moisture, and subsequently on soil respiration on a shortgrass steppe in northeastern Colorado. Using micrometeorological data, the objective of this research was to discern the connections between energy, water, carbon and land use, particularly grazing. To achieve this objective, the research was divided into two sections, each with its own objectives and results, yet both related to the overall objective. The first section examined the impacts of simulated grazing on soil temperature and moisture. Plots with varying fractions of bare ground were used to simulate grazing density. Results indicated that both soil temperature and soil moisture increased with an increase in the fraction of bare ground. In addition, this section investigated the effects of the arrangement of bare ground on soil temperature and moisture. Soil temperature was found to be similar under contiguous and mosaic patches of bare ground while soil moisture was found to differ.