Silvopastoral Management in Post-fire Restoration

Commodities

• Additional Plants: trees
• Animals: goats, sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing management
• Crop Production: forestry, silvopasture

Over the past decade, the State of California has invested significant effort to use prescribed grazing as a forest management tool.  Despite this, limited research exists on the effectiveness of small ruminant grazing in forested ecosystems.  In 2022, the Mosquito Fire burned a significant portion of Blodgett Forest, creating a unique opportunity to experimentally apply goat and sheep herbivory towards wildfire recovery. 

Traditional post-fire restoration relies on re-establishing conifer crops as quickly as possible – typically through site preparation with chemical control.  This proposal will apply sheep, goat, and herbicide treatments across a randomized block design to assess small ruminant grazing effectiveness site preparation.  Furthermore, this proposal will build on current efforts by two of the producers (NM Ranch and Blodgett Forest) evaluating nutritional value and herd behavior in forests. This proposal differs from existing efforts by strategically timing the grazing application to an earlier phase of shrub development, thereby minimizing root establishment as compared with more conventional approach of targeting browse once woody fuels are established.

Results will identify the potential for small ruminant grazing during post-disturbance restoration.  It will also help provide guidance for policy makers, land managers, property owners, and practitioners on best management practices (BMPs) relative to targeted grazing in forestlands.  

Publications –

• Factsheets on how to use small ruminant grazing in post-fire site preparation
• Guide on avoided plants/weeds in mid-elevation mixed conifer forests
• Cost Study comparing targeted grazing to herbicide use.

Extension –

• Field Trips, landowner training, and producer workshops (livestock and forestry)

• Evaluate feasibility and effectiveness of small ruminant grazing to manage shrub competition in post-wildfire reforestation.
• Evaluate potential for small ruminant silvopastoralism in forested environments with an emphasis on animal nutrition and herd management.
• Evaluate appropriate interval to re-introduce livestock post-fire.
• Extend findings through a multi-faceted outreach initiative.