Quantitative assessment of aboveground plant production and its components in steppe pasture

The production of aboveground plant matter was assessed in a deserted-steppe pasture in the northern Caspian Depression. This pasture consists of vegetation consumed by animals, matter damaged by trampling (fall), and standing biomass (living and dead standing plants). The consumed mass was estimated from the amount of feces produced in the time of record and the digestion coefficient of the plant consumed. After 500 ha of the pasture were grazed by 850 sheep (1.7 individuals/ha) in the spring and summer (April through September), 29% of the aboveground plant mass remained standing; the consumed biomass constituted 27%, and the biomass destroyed by trampling was 44%. The total aboveground production was 2070 kg/ha, which was the same as in a reserved site (2060 kg/ha), but less than in a pasture experiencing mild winter grazing (2425 kg/ha).