ABSTRACT
Fertilization of rangelands has without question increased seasonal and total forage production, improved nutritive qualities of forage, enhanced seedling establishment, and altered palatability. The objective in this chapter is to review the major responses to rangeland fertilization and to suggest management of fertilized rangeland within the ranch or firm context. The lows, highs, and unusual events in weather cause variation in responses to fertilization. The major benefits from rangeland fertilization center on increased amounts of seed and herbage that have higher nutritive qualities than the same feeds grown without fertilization. Range fertilization seeks a managerial ideal: the ability to furnish each plant with the nutrients it needs on each particular site as required within the vagaries of weather; the ability to control species composition of the forage; and the delivery of that forage to animals in ways that produce profit for the ranch enterprise.
