Range Science Masters Papers

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    Winter Feeding Beef Cattle: A Review on Bale Grazing in the Northern Great Plains
    (North Dakota State University, 2019) Bachler, Jessalyn Juel
    Bale grazing is a relatively unexplored winter feeding option for most beef cattle operations in the Northern Great Plains. Recently, several producers have been looking into using a bale grazing system for winter feeding due to the lower labor requirements and possible reduced cost. When bale grazing, it is not only important to ensure that cattle have adequate nutrition and protection from the winter climate, but also to analyze the positive impacts it has on the ranching ecosystem. Many positive environmental and economic changes have been seen from bale grazing including more efficient nutrient cycling, positive soil health impacts, increased forage production and quality, improved cattle nutrition, lowered production costs, and a decrease in nutrient waste, machinery use, and labor. Overall, bale grazing has shown to be a promising opportunity for ranchers to become more efficient and sustainable while winter feeding beef cattle on their operation.
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    Timing is Everything : How Environmental Change May Disrupt the Timing of Plant-Pollinator Interactions
    (North Dakota State University, 2012) Solga, Michelle Jene
    Ecosystems are experiencing environmental change brought about by warming temperatures, altered precipitation, and increasing atmospheric CO2, among other factors. These changes could alter interspecies’ relationships, including those between plants and pollinators. One important change may be to the timing of when flowers bloom and when pollinators are active. Environmental cues drive the phenology of many flowers and insect pollinators, so an alteration in timing for either species could jeopardize the plant-pollinator relationship. Previous studies indicate that many plant species have changed flowering dates in response to an environmental cue, but the response is species specific. Some pollinators may not be "keeping pace" with flowers, leaving this mutualism at risk. Since not all plants and pollinators are responding equally to change it is important to develop a better understanding of how environmental change may influence vulnerable species in this mutualism and the possible implications to the function and diversity of ecosystems.