ABSTRACT
A long term and continuing question about defoliation is the proper use of rangelands; or how much and when grazing defoliation can take place without damaging the plants physiological processes. The grazing manager purpose is to use a pattern of defoliation that maintains production levels and fosters better range conditions. Plants and herbivores have evolved an interdependent relationship and tolerance in which defoliation is as much a part of the system as is the need for herbage by grazing animals. Grazing and defoliation can get out of balance, as illustrated by overpopulation and overgrazing by either wild or domestic animals. Clipping of container plants is the common procedure for separating effects of frequency from those of intensity of defoliation. Effects of defoliation by grazing animals have been studied in many experiments using several stocking rates. Defoliation, including removal of perennial stems, alters normal structural changes that occur during the development of plants.
