Rangeland restoration projects often target restoration of forage plants, a task that can be quite challenging in the presence of foraging herbivores. In some cases herbivores provide the initial impetus for restoration, for example in cases of habitat improvement for wild ungulates or mitigation of degradation associated with inappropriate livestock grazing. Large herbivores may in turn serve as a principle barrier to success, for example by limiting establishment of restoration plantings, but in some cases may also be used as a tool to help achieve restoration goals. Large herbivores can play all of these roles on sagebrush rangelands that provide important habitat and forage for both wild ungulates and domestic livestock.
Results/Conclusions
Here I present experimental research demonstrating that: 1) restoration success may be improved by prioritizing soil types where wild ungulates are least likely to limit sagebrush populations, 2) manipulation of wild ungulate distributions is a potential tool for enhancing the herbaceous understory, and 3) livestock management practices can promote or inhibit restoration and recovery of perennial grasses in sagebrush rangelands following fire. These studies illustrate that the positive and negative effects of large herbivory should be explicitly considered in restoration projects to optimize restoration success.