Story: Grasslands

Burning and grazing

Burning and grazing

These narrow-leaved snow tussocks (Chionochloa rigida) are regenerating on the St Bathans Range in Central Otago, in October 1958. The grassland had been burnt a year earlier. To the left of the fence, a large area was burnt. This allowed sheep to spread widely, and plants were able to recover. On the right, the smaller burnt area led to concentrated grazing, which has killed most of the tussocks. There is very little growing between tussocks on either side of the fence.

Using this item

University of Otago
Photograph by Alan Mark

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page:

Alan F. Mark, 'Grasslands - Human impact', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/13361/burning-and-grazing (accessed 25 April 2024)

Story by Alan F. Mark, published 24 Sep 2007