Water is the factor that most commonly limits production on rangeland. Water is needed for plant growth. When range plants receive enough water, they grow rapidly. When there is a shortage of water, all plant and animal life suffers.

Have you heard about the natural water cycle? It begins at the ocean, goes to the sky, to the land and back to the ocean. Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean into the atmosphere as moisture. Air currents lift the moisture. Clouds form, causing precipitation to fall back to the earth as rain or snow.

We are interested in receiving and holding rain and snow on the range. As precipitation falls, part of it is intercepted by the vegetation, part of it goes into the ground and part runs off into streams and eventually back to the ocean. Water that runs off too fast may cause damage by carrying soil with it. Runoff may also rob plants of needed moisture.

Soils vary in their ability to catch and hold moisture. Soil texture, structure and organic matter are all important factors in soil moisture relationships. The amount of moisture a soil can hold and the length of time into the growing season the moisture can b held are important factors influencing which plants will grow on a given site.

Kansas Grazing Land Water Quality Program