Plant biodiversity of short-grass prairie on an eastern Colorado cattle ranch from 1988-2024

This survey examined the possible effects that rotational grazing and large-scale beef cattle production has on plant diversity in short-grass prairie rangeland. The survey was conducted on the Frasier Ranch, a working cattle ranch in eastern Colorado. Plant diversity was measured via species richness, ratio of cool to warm season grasses, and Shannon-Weiner Diversity Index. In this case study, it was determined that plant diversity did not change significantly in recorded years from 1988-2024.