@conference {51553,
	title = {Browsing arid rangeland shrubs under multispecies management strategies},
	booktitle = {IV International Rangeland Congress},
	year = {1991},
	month = {1991},
	pages = {188},
	abstract = {The deciduous shrub tarbush (<i>Flourensia</i><i>cernua</i> DC.) grows on fertile clay loam soils of 5 to 6 x 106 ha of North America{\textquoteright}s Chihuahuan Desert. Blooming tarbush is toxic to ruminants, whereas vegetative tarbush can be safely browsed.  Under conventional management strategies tarbush seldom exceeds 15\% of free-ranging animal diets.  In an attempt to defoliate tarbush cattle, sheep, Spanish goats and Angora goats (8:20:17:2; 23 AU/ha) were used to stock eight 0.6 ha paddocks, four at a time, for 8 to 9 days during vegetative growth between August and September 1989.  Mean tarbush canopy cover, estimated using line-point transects, was 17\% and 11\% before and after stocking, respectively.  Daily tarbush defoliation was monitored on 120 plants randomly chosen among the eight paddocks.  In addition, 20 tarbush plants, adjacent to the paddocks, were hand-harvested and -separated.  Mean annual tarbush leaf, flower and twig production was 385 kg/ha.  Individual tarbush plant defoliation ranged from 5 to 99\%.  Cattle refused to browse only tarbush and were the first animal species removed due to a lack of other available forage.  Sheep consistently lost liveweight (2.3 to 3.0 kg/hd) and body condition (0.8 unit) regardless of paddock.  Goat body condition did not change overall.  In four of the paddocks, Spanish goats gained 0.5 kg/ha while Angoras lost 1.4 kg/hd.  Goat liveweight in the remaining four paddocks did not change (P > 0.05).  Overall, 48, 67, 82 and 84\% of cattle, sheep, Spanish goat and Angora goat diets were tarbush, respectively.  Short intervals of high-density multispecies stocking reduced tarbush foliage.  However, unique plant and animal differences existed which affected tarbush use.},
	author = {D.M. Anderson and Gibbens, Robert P. and Clarence V. Hulet and Kris Havstad and Richard E. Estell}
}
