Improved Grazing Management Increases Terrestrial Invertebrate Inputs That Feed Trout in Wyoming Rangeland Streams
This paper shows that proper grazing management in riparian areas can have a beneficial impact on trout populations. The biomass of trout in areas under a type of grazing called “high-density short-duration” (HDSD) were twice that of those in similar areas under “season-long (SL)” grazing. The hypothesis is that increased riparian vegetation observed via HDSD grazing leads to greater insect populations (“terrestrial invertebrates”) that fall or crawl into the rivers and become a protein source (“input”) for trout consumption. Measurements are made of the riparian vegetation and trout biomass.
