Master's Theses

Department

Biology

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Abstract

One of the most important phases of agriculture in Western Kansas today is grazing. Little attention was given grazing activities until the 1930s, the period of the great drought (Albertson, et al., 1953). During this period, yields of native vegetation, which had probably averaged from 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre, were reduced to little more than 100 pounds (Weaver and Albertson, 1944). It was not until this disastrous period that federal and state agencies began giving serious thought to the ecology and economics of overuse of grasses (Albertson, et~., 1953). The main problem confronting the range manager today is the discovery and application of methods for maximum utilization of range land with a minimum deterioration of it. In order to establish proper management methods, extensive research must be in progress at all times. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a program of study on range land was initiated at Fort Hays Kansas State College and has continued unbroken since that time (Albertson, 1949). In 1946, similar studies were initiated at the Fort Hays Branch Experiment Station (Kansas State College) to study areas with three intensities of grazing--light, moderate and heavy~ In these three pastures exists a type of animal life often unseen by the human, that which includes the rodent, rabbit and other forms of wildlife which utilize the pastures to a great extent. An investigation of relative animal populations in the three areas was begun in November, 1955, and was terminated in late April, 1956. The purpose of the study was to gain a knowledge of kinds and relative numbers of rodents utilizing the three areas in winter. A survey of literature revealed that no previous study of this kind has been made in the mixed prairie in western Kansas.

Keywords

Range management, Grassland ecology, Soil conservation, Prairiess, Hays (Kan.), Ellis County (Kan.), Fort Hays State University

Advisor

Dr. Edwin P. Martin

Date of Award

Summer 1956

Document Type

Thesis - campus only access

Rights

© The Author(s)

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