| Abstract | The objective of this study was to evaluate the degree of redcedar control by goats at sites in Oklahoma and Missouri. There were three research plots in Oklahoma with eight goats each: Langston, Oklahoma City and Mannford, and one in Neosho, Missouri, with 12 goats, all plots were 0.81 hectares. The redcedar population was inventoried, quantified as to height, width, and GPS coordinates during the summer of 2016. One year later, trees were scored for browsing: 0 being unbrowsed, between 1 and 5 medium browsed and from 5 to 9 was considered severely browsed. Percent of trees dead (0% green) or live according to size (short; ≤ 1.83m or tall; > 1.83m) were analyzed using Chi-Square statistics. A subsequent multiple regression analysis was conducted for tree height, tree width, and browsing score. The goats in Neosho killed 18% of the trees, as compared to 1% at other locations (P < 0.001). A greater percentage of trees in Neosho were more severely browsed than the average at the three sites in Oklahoma, 60% and 8% respectively (P < 0.001). In Mannford, the shorter trees were most scored as medium browsing than the taller trees (1.97% vs 1.68%, P < 0.05). In Oklahoma City, the taller trees were more severely browsed than the shorter trees (6.88% vs 4.93%, P < 0.05), although more short trees were killed by browsing (P < 0.05). This may indicate that shorter trees are more sensitive to browsing. Redcedar trees were more effectively controlled by goats in Neosho, Missouri. |
