Sediment losses from a pastured watershed before and after stream fencing

Livestock induced sediment loss is one of the potential detrimental impacts from grazing grasslands. Near Coshocton, Ohio, a 26-ha unimproved pasture watershed was grazed year-around, and no fertilizer was applied. A beef cow herd had access to the entire watershed study area including the small stream that originated within the watershed, i.e. there was no rotational grazing in the pasture. Sediment loss via the stream was measured at the base of the watershed. Following 7 years of this management practice, the stream and the wooded areas on the sides of the stream were fenced so that the cattle no longer had access to them. During the next 5 years, with the cattle fenced out of the stream, the annual sediment concentration decreased by more than 50% and the amount of soil lost decreased by 40%. Average annual soil losses were reduced from 2.5 to 1.4 Mg/ha while annual precipitation averages were similar during each management period.