Chapter 12. Chapter 12: Grasslands

How do overgrazing and undergrazing affect grasslands?

Interactive Study Guide
false
true

Guiding Question 12.3

How do overgrazing and undergrazing affect grasslands?

Why You Should Care

There can be both too much and too little of a good thing, especially with grasslands. The grasses that form grasslands are often stimulated to grow by various forms of damage, like fire and grazing, but too much of this damage will kill them. When overgrazing kills grass, there is no longer an anchor for the soil and it is more likely to erode or simply blow away. Grasslands that are degraded this way are difficult to regenerate because of the compromised soil. Grazing animals aren’t just eating grass, however; they are also eating tree and shrub seedlings that would otherwise colonize the grassland and convert it to forest. Not only does woody vegetation overshadow grass, remove animal habitat, and alter the structure of the soil, but it also serves as extra fuel for fires. Short and dense or thicket-like woody vegetation burns hotter and longer than grasses, so fires in grasslands that have been undergrazed often cause much more damage to the ecosystem and surrounding human property.

Infographic 12.2: Desertification

Question 12.1

3B0eIeh5va3o/BstiSDimhqbCk9mO8iKVjtHNOJb9I2H7TJYLPtkmF09Y5QNHPtnCuqeDdL8e/9Nc8TMpg9S1IQeDrW1xeBMKY90VlVy4YGuQ6LaX3Aj6dpU2Yt4vmk2XScg4f6wAOD8rLdHFBkPSRUskyeRODLWNjRgO1gPZv7Txo5dpgsZbIjOpmFK7jscQbJFL4aVjtkXY026otqlsVxL1ShZjsbfYBMXG6sEki+s6LEUsMzX2wFUN/H3geifyNbwxjpS2gbYbMLS0QUBibWCczI=
999
Try again.
Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 12.2

rsHlSuboE8nUJiUlyyvFXX5OEcfy/hXdiIBfLy3bfMB/8PvLjrHwS0AVFojn55VFxKJZlvruG//qBc7VDB/jX2nfpnqnNl9u7cx4W+m5yUq7Tdda6HfgqmbssYSGpDbJS1OryByRRiiv8549VFxP0IfqLxFYWROlZw52MPaF4723wN9OzoKQ0Drger8fbkS+mupMBurKY48BwpXFyGN7Z2fENCFhUew2Yj0n/eoYG072A1ENMx40L6azUlCIbKw9mtOQWfH2nazd3AJQSQkUOx1hbIKGMuCBGQR6O9wnEy7BvBzYRec8aD16ri/NmCIP7YRrYadBuDSUtR3h/U5uG4AgL7c=
999
Try again.
Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 12.3

Overgrazing leads to 64Qb987T2W6HRlwPt7DzBjzy9fPd1GbcTmkHg2ExrQAAvU3xwaEly1JLQCzJki1iUyu1gvLB7+5yR4xWOJEPOAngibR4fNS87+nsXcOiRN409rJ6npCRlK3EdhI=, which leads to soil loss and degredation, which leads to a reduced capacity to regenerate.

999
Try again.
Correct.
Incorrect.

How does overgrazing compare to natural grazing? Arrange the blocks below in the proper order.

Interactive 12.6

Question 12.4

DxxoG8bFCZ1aSg0H6pK0UdGqFR7RhRmNJxLRC3utrXVFC/pyjwmWgRrVcZHpkCuo1w3TpCi0OkRjW1n9i24sWqglNs/v2Uyfg7X8Rkn3ogM+AvNsmzoiJJd7f7OHg1oZIPiq3w8+MWdUG5UtyK7K8UHaZ0vx7vmwnf6HEDqNGZW8rQVoXFqihc451vDJLRqpBTlhXQTEG77nHfrVJUPcjnelHe1x1Aa+Khfp54R+zpf6GdYmioewI81mXejHc0VXhr9zQAzTyV4a/SmE5Rj3M60nhOcPbGGBexJPqtVW9pUEbbbp+EISveVJeww1jvDCfUttvs1G+MrIw2TO
999
Try again.
Correct.
Incorrect.

Question 12.5

k6+MIulvriMG2ahEk0FVrLHcqWzwYAcmdcUHFCNB1cYuvVkDgvQCxUCFDJHzbfKLLd7HibwYh9RLKX0E0tsfq6Q18ym7X28soN2kArvkl+8QzdJMhoXo8emWQC3DcbI6Y5Psujo/o9bR8wD8r0Oo7XhxbsVJfvf/7eh0l9rzzd592ozn
We will learn about rotational grazing, but besides that, maximizing the area that sheep have to graze will lessen the overall impact of their grazing. Wildlife grazing can be detrimental when there is overpopulation of herbivores such as elk in the western United States.

Question 12.6

3c5eyQgCfl7mzd/FIgom1B6tfsDRK8AQKI1H+Iz8LUL9rFSNROAQYup/XCZYxqnY/4xBMq4NBHRt0a3CJLcppAY69Dp/Ab8NDl4/gcQTOiIOLw/konwvJFJC/uUkpEkRzLr0elImP/HHGGORXzcnojmC9DIMLc7LNj2HC8elYuw1nUGqDnMLebGIaTCP7bnuJenVmYURIztosYDfaWR22U36IX2IMRGADqE/IILU47oV8cWvEiEhuxazHBXG/0hcS5MPm/pIeR+xKoNb+yFLb79RxhEnp+EZ
999
Try again.
Correct.
Incorrect.
Infographic 12.7

Question 12.7

ggCRd4N/T6aQ9Gnb63cTtJ1Na/6QLVGncIJgXF79Y4m0XfCg513ej9swtREn+TOX4x4mz6jLBGZPrnoZvQXvgmGHw9dGzu6lw4knSud037BeBXdnNtBgSxRC7zoyNfgl+H+CCbF8A0QfF0Y6hMvUSBO9BTLNFTZf45bmkLlblHCEd4G3+eGkVA==
The best strategy would be to leave animals in the grazed area long enough to eat the palatable grass and then have to resort to eating the weeds. Care would have to be taken not to force the animals to overgraze, however, since that would lead to a die-off of most plants, the loss of their roots to stabilize the soil, and the inability to grow back much of anything for the animals to eat.