from the standpoint of infi ltration and fi ltration.” Some soils hold more water than others do, but all
soil types can be improved. As little as a 1 percent increase in the amount of organic matter in the soil — decaying plants, insects and other things — can drastically increase the amount of water that is held in place, Wright explains. “Regardless of the type of soils on your property, the
health of all soil types can be improved. Water tends to freely fl ow through sandy soils. Increased organic matter in sandy soils can hold some of this water. Heavy clay soils tend to compact and seal off, forcing water to run off. Increased organic matter in heavy clay soils will help to keep these soils open to accept and hold water. Increases in organic matter content are important in all soils.”
Traffi c on the soil There can be a lot of traffi c on a ranch — hunters,
oil and gas workers, or general ranch help. Traffi c af- fects soil, which affects water retention, but there are still tips to help manage rainfall on higher traffi c areas. “In a healthy system, the soil is made up of the
parent materials, organic matter, and then there’s a lot of space in there for air and water. When you start running a vehicle over it, or start concentrating traffi c over the top of it, you tend to compact that soil. What compacts are those spaces in between. Your infi ltration, the amount of water you can absorb into the ground, is greatly reduced anytime there is compaction. “In areas where there are roads and pads, these
areas are usually highly compacted and rainfall is going to run off. A rancher can do great things by working along the edges of these areas, putting up check dams and other small structures to catch the runoff and hold it.” “If water is running off of a compacted area, catch
it somewhere. If it’s running off the road, catch it in small areas as it runs off the road. The catchments don’t have to be big. If you can catch that water, you can grow grass with it. Hold it on your place and use it.”
Riparian areas and stock tanks Slowing the water down allows the impurities to
settle out of the water. This is helpful around stock ponds and riparian areas. A riparian area is the “transition zone between
the edge of the water, stream, creek or pond, and the uplands,” Wright explains. “It has different vegetation than other areas of the ranch. It is really important that we protect these areas. They are special. From a water quality standpoint, it’s the last chance we have to catch and fi lter out something before it hits the water.” “We should try to protect, not overgraze, the areas
around stock ponds and the riparian areas along streams and creeks. We need a good fi ltration system in these areas . By allowing grass to grow in these areas, the runoff that we do catch in our ponds is fi ltered before it gets there. We don’t want to fi ll it up with sediment. Slow the water down and catch the sediment.” Riparian areas can be part of a prescribed grazing
system, Wright says. “Fence those areas off and make them a river pasture. You can run livestock in there and when they begin to get to the point where they are tak- ing too much vegetation, pull the cattle out. We need to protect those areas. It’s the last chance we have of catch- ing any kind of contaminant before it hits the water.”
ACT for better water quality Managing water quality on rangelands is a simple
ACT, Wright says — Avoid, Control, Trap. “Avoiding the problems of increased sedimenta-
tion and runoff is best and we do that by maintaining healthy vegetative cover on the ranch. If something can’t be avoided then do what you can to control it. This is where prescribed grazing and proper stocking rates are important. We are controlling the grazing and the amount of vegetation we are leaving. The third part is trap. Trap and hold any water we can. If we can trap it and slow it down, we have the opportunity to hold the water longer. It will be fi ltered as it soaks into the soil and moves through it. We’ll have cleaner water in the end.”
tscra.org
May 2016 The Cattleman 71
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