Contribution of Grazing in Diurnal Temperature Change at Texas

Abstract Global temperature change disturbs the ecosystem and has negative effects on vegetation. Grazing is one of the causes of temperature change, and this study focuses on continuous data collection (data logger) in the microclimate. The research questions include: Does grazing affect temperature and humidity in the microclimate? The interaction among plant biomass and other parameters has been evaluated. The research was carried out in Texas with 10 experimental plots (in a grassland). The data relevant to temperature and moisture were monitored continuously during the study. Soil samples were analyzed to record the soil attributes. The mean values and level of significance were evaluated by using a t-test. It has been observed that vegetation cover causes a fluctuation in temperature (decrease) and humidity (increase), while fog appears in ungrazed plots only. Grazing increases air temperature by 1 °C while decreasing dew point temperature by 0.35 °C. The mean values of grazed and ungrazed plots show significant differences ( p <0.05) in biomass weight and mass water content (decrease by 85% and 15%, respectively). The linear regression revealed that air temperature and biomass weight show an interaction with other parameters in grazed and ungrazed plots. The novelty of this study includes the interaction of air temperature and biomass (in a natural setting) with soil and air properties in experimental plots. The results of this study revealed that grazing significantly affects temperature, humidity, and soil attributes. Therefore, grassland conservation is important for ecosystem management and for the sustainable development of the ecosystem.