Vegetation and erosion characters

EROSION SPOTS are openings in the vegetation cover. When the grazing is intense the vegetation can open up leading to the formation of the spots. The spot erosion can lead to more serious erosion and vegetation degradation.

HUMMOCKS are usually a very distinct character of Icelandic rangelands where grazing has been intense. The hummocks become more visible where grazing is intense and there is little standing plant material on the range. Intense grazing may also increase hummock formation. Under prolonged over-grazing and trampling the hummocks begin to open up and erode, which is a very distinct sign of a very poor condition of the range.

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GRAZING MARKS on the vegetation. How obvious is it when looking over the rangeland that the vegetation has been grazed? If the grazing has been very light one can hardly notice any marks left by the grazing animals on the vegetation. At moderate grazing the vegetation is unevenly grazed, with grazed areas and untouched in between. At intense grazing the vegetation becomes very short and evenly grazed all over the range.

FLOWERS of grasses and sedges can be a useful character as these plants are important in good horse ranges. Under light grazing the flowering is not disturbed considerably and the flower shoots become very conspicuous in the range with the progression of the growing season. When grazing is intense most of the flower shoots are grazed or trampled and they become few and far in between. Absence of flowers of grasses and sedges on the range in the autumn is usually a sign of over-grazing.

STANDING DEAD plant material is a good indicator of vegetation utilisation. In the autumn the vegetation fades and what is ungrazed will be left standing dead on the range and shelter the surface over the winter. Standing dead material is most noticeable in the autumn, winter and spring. A range that is grazed to the extent that there is no standing dead material is overutilised.