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Guo Z, Li Y, Chen X, Chang S, Hou F. Exclusion of livestock decouples the relationship between plant production and diversity, species richness on complex topography in typical steppe in the Loess Plateau, China. Sci Total Environ 2024; 930:172787. [PMID: 38677430 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 04/12/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024]
Abstract
Grazing is widely used in more than one-forth of global terrestrial ecosystems, with three quarters are distributed on complex topography. Grazing and topography have both resulted in degradation of approximately 49 % of natural grasslands. However, research on the interaction between topography and livestock exclusion on grassland characteristics is scarce. This study was carried out on a typical steppe to explore the effect of topography and enclosure year on vegetation characteristics. Aboveground biomass, and species richness were examined for three different enclosure years (0, 3, and 6 years), on four slopes (0°, 15°, 30°, and 45° slope), and three aspects (flat, shady and sunny). The results indicated that: The aboveground biomass on the 0° slope had a greater value after 6 years of the enclosure. Aboveground biomass increased with the increasing enclosure year, while it decreased with increasing slope except enclosure for 0 year on shady slope. Aboveground biomass on the shady slopes was greater than on the sunny slopes. Species richness of community and perennial plants increased with increasing slope and enclosure year. The annual plants richness inversely correlated with slope and enclosure year. All plant diversity indexes increased with increasing enclosure year. Margalef and Shannon-wiener indexes decreased with increasing slope, while Simpson and Pielou indexes increased. This paper demonstrates that aspect, slope and enclosure affect aboveground biomass by affecting other vegetation characteristics. In conclusion, grassland production can be improved with moderate livestock exclusion under different topography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoxia Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Yanhong Li
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Xianjiang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Shenghua Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China
| | - Fujiang Hou
- State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agro-ecosystems, Key Laboratory of Grassland Livestock Industry Innovation, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Engineering Technology Research Center for Ecological Restoration and Utilization of Degraded Grassland in Northwest China, National Forestry and Grassland Administration, College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China.
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Arroyo AI, Pueyo Y, Barrantes O, Alados CL. Interplay between Livestock Grazing and Aridity on the Ecological and Nutritional Value of Forage in Semi-arid Mediterranean Rangelands (NE Spain). Environ Manage 2024; 73:1005-1015. [PMID: 38300314 PMCID: PMC11024040 DOI: 10.1007/s00267-024-01939-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
Rangeland-based livestock production constitutes a primary source of livelihood for many inhabitants of dryland regions. Their subsistence relies heavily on maintaining the productivity, biodiversity and services of these ecosystems. Harsh environmental conditions (e.g., drought) combined with land use intensification (e.g., overgrazing) make dryland ecosystems vulnerable and prone to degradation. However, the interplay between livestock grazing intensity and aridity conditions in driving the conservation and nutritional value of forage in arid and semi-arid rangelands is still not fully understood. In this study, we performed structural equation models (SEM) to assess the simultaneous direct and indirect effects of livestock grazing intensity and aridity level on community structure, diversity, biomass, forage production, forage C:N ratio and forage fiber composition in two semi-arid Mediterranean rangelands, NE Spain. Not surprisingly, we found that higher livestock grazing intensity led to lower community plant cover, especially when combined with higher aridity. However, both increasing grazing intensity and aridity were associated with higher forage production after one year of grazing exclusion. We did not find any adverse effect of livestock grazing on plant diversity, although plant species composition differed among grazing intensity levels. On the other hand, we found an aridity-driven trade-off in regard of the nutritional value of forage. Specifically, higher aridity was associated with a decrease in the least digestible fiber fraction (i.e., lignin) and an increase in forage C:N ratio. More interestingly, we found that livestock grazing modulated this trade-off by improving the overall forage nutritional value. Altogether, our results provide further insights into the management of semi-arid Mediterranean rangelands, pointing out that maintaining traditional rangeland-based livestock production may be a sustainable option as long as rangeland conservation (e.g., community plant cover) is not severely compromised.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio I Arroyo
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE), CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain.
| | - Yolanda Pueyo
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE), CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Olivia Barrantes
- Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Facultad de Veterinaria (Universidad de Zaragoza), C/ Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
- Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón -IA2- (CITA-Universidad de Zaragoza), C/ Miguel Servet 177, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain
| | - Concepción L Alados
- Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología (IPE), CSIC, Av. Montañana 1005, 50059, Zaragoza, Spain
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Kéfi S, Génin A, Garcia-Mayor A, Guirado E, Cabral JS, Berdugo M, Guerber J, Solé R, Maestre FT. Self-organization as a mechanism of resilience in dryland ecosystems. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2305153121. [PMID: 38300860 PMCID: PMC10861902 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2305153121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Self-organized spatial patterns are a common feature of complex systems, ranging from microbial communities to mussel beds and drylands. While the theoretical implications of these patterns for ecosystem-level processes, such as functioning and resilience, have been extensively studied, empirical evidence remains scarce. To address this gap, we analyzed global drylands along an aridity gradient using remote sensing, field data, and modeling. We found that the spatial structure of the vegetation strengthens as aridity increases, which is associated with the maintenance of a high level of soil multifunctionality, even as aridity levels rise up to a certain threshold. The combination of these results with those of two individual-based models indicate that self-organized vegetation patterns not only form in response to stressful environmental conditions but also provide drylands with the ability to adapt to changing conditions while maintaining their functioning, an adaptive capacity which is lost in degraded ecosystems. Self-organization thereby plays a vital role in enhancing the resilience of drylands. Overall, our findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between spatial vegetation patterns and dryland resilience. They also represent a significant step forward in the development of indicators for ecosystem resilience, which are critical tools for managing and preserving these valuable ecosystems in a warmer and more arid world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kéfi
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, Univ. de Montpellier, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Montpellier 34095, France
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501
- Ecosystem Modeling Group, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Alexandre Génin
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, Univ. de Montpellier, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Montpellier 34095, France
- Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3508TC, The Netherlands
- Estación Costera de Investigaciones Marinas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Las Cruces 2690000, Chile
| | - Angeles Garcia-Mayor
- Environmental Sciences, Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Utrecht 3508TC, The Netherlands
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Emilio Guirado
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramón Margalef," Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
| | - Juliano S Cabral
- Ecosystem Modeling Group, Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
- School of Biosciences, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Miguel Berdugo
- Department of Biodiversity, Ecology and Evolution, Faculty of Biology, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid 28040, Spain
| | - Josquin Guerber
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (ISEM), CNRS, Univ. de Montpellier, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), Montpellier 34095, France
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO), MNHN, CNRS, Sorbonne Univ., 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ricard Solé
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501
- Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies-Complex Systems Lab, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)-Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08003, Spain
| | - Fernando T Maestre
- Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramón Margalef," Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
- Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante 03690, Spain
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Peng F, Lai C, Li C, Ji C, Zhang P, Sun J, Chen X, You Q, Xue X. Plasticity in over-compensatory growth along an alpine meadow degradation gradient on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. J Environ Manage 2023; 325:116499. [PMID: 36257227 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Over-compensatory growth of plants after disturbance is generally preferred by grassland users and managers because of more forage. How the grassland productivity and the plant growth condition before disturbance affect the compensatory growth are important for grazing management and the understanding of grassland degradation, yet they are not well understood. A clipping experiment was conducted on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to understand the compensatory growth and conditions for the occurrence of over-compensatory at alpine meadows with different degradation status. Results showed the competition for light constrains the plant growth post-clipping at non-degraded and slightly degraded alpine meadows, while the reduction of soil nitrogen limits it at heavily degraded alpine meadow. The biomass accumulated post-clipping was positively correlated with the growing season biomass in unclipped plots and the biomass at clipping in clipped plots. When the aboveground biomass at clipping was less than 40.10 g m-2 and the growing season biomass was between 38 and 97 g m-2, the over-compensatory growth of alpine meadow could occur. Higher clipping rate is required for the alpine meadow with high productivity but the maximum clipping rate should be less than 0.71 to induce the over-compensatory growth. Equal-compensatory occurred at non-degraded and slightly degraded, while over-compensatory growth was observed at moderately degraded and a marginally significant over-compensatory growth at heavily degraded alpine meadow. The over-compensatory growth occurred at moderately degraded alpine meadow is mainly due to the performance of forbs. Our results suggest that grazing at moderately degraded alpine meadow may induce the over-compensatory growth at the community level, but the over-compensatory growth of forbs at moderately degraded alpine meadow may aggravate the alpine meadow degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Peng
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China.
| | - Chimin Lai
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Chengyang Li
- Department of Geography, Lingnan Normal University, China
| | - Chen Ji
- Beiluhe Observation and Research Station on Frozen Soil Engineering and Environment in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | | | - Jianbo Sun
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Xiaojie Chen
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Quangang You
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
| | - Xian Xue
- Key Laboratory of Desert and Desertification, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
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Jordan SE, Palmquist KA, Burke IC, Lauenroth WK. Small effects of livestock grazing intensification on diversity, abundance, and composition in a dryland plant community. Ecol Appl 2022; 32:e2693. [PMID: 35708008 DOI: 10.1002/eap.2693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 03/21/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Livestock grazing is a globally important land use and has the potential to significantly influence plant community structure and ecosystem function, yet several critical knowledge gaps remain on the direction and magnitude of grazing impacts. Furthermore, much of our understanding of the long-term effects on plant community composition and structure are based on grazer exclusion experiments, which explicitly avoid characterizing effects along grazing intensity gradients. We sampled big sagebrush plant communities using 68 plots located along grazing intensity gradients to determine how grazing intensity influences multiple aspects of plant community structure over time. This was accomplished by sampling plant communities at different distances from 17 artificial watering sources, using distance from water and cow dung density as proxies for grazing intensity at individual plots. Total vegetation cover and total grass cover were negatively related to grazing intensity, and cover of annual forbs, exotic cover, and exotic richness were positively related to grazing intensity. In contrast, species richness and composition, bunchgrass biomass, shrub density and size, percentage cover of bare ground, litter, and biological soil crusts did not vary along our grazing intensity gradients, in spite of our expectations to the contrary. Our results suggest that the effects of livestock grazing over multiple decades (mean = 46 years) in our sites are relatively small, especially for native perennial species, and that the big sagebrush plant communities we sampled are somewhat resistant to livestock grazing. Collectively, our findings are consistent with existing evidence that indicates the stability of the big sagebrush plant functional type composition under current grazing management regimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel E Jordan
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
| | - Kyle A Palmquist
- Department of Biological Sciences, Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia, USA
| | - Ingrid C Burke
- School of the Environment, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA
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Abalori TA, Cao W, Weobong CA, Li W, Wang S, Deng X. Spatial Vegetation Patch Patterns and Their Relation to Environmental Factors in the Alpine Grasslands of the Qilian Mountains. Sustainability 2022; 14:6738. [DOI: 10.3390/su14116738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Globally, grasslands are affected by climate change and unsustainable management practices which usually leads to transitions from stable, degraded and then to desertification. Spatial vegetation patch configurations are regarded as key indicators of such transitions. Understanding the relationships between this grass-land vegetation and its environment is key to vegetation restoration projects. Spatial vegetation patch patterns were chosen across different soil and topographic conditions. Patch numbers, perimeter, and cover of each patch were measured along transects of each patch type. Using field surveys and multivariate statistical analysis, we investigated the differences in vegetation biomass and distribution and soil properties of four typical alpine plant species patches along with a range of environmental and topographic conditions. It was found that topographic conditions and soil properties, particularly soil moisture explained most of the variation in spatial patch vegetation characteristics and thus control vegetation restoration in the alpine grassland. The Kobresia humilis, Blysmus sinocompressus and Iris lactea patches under the drylands recorded small patch sizes, large patch numbers, low connectivity, and large total perimeter per unit area. Generally, species within the high moisture sites recorded small patch numbers, a large fraction of vegetation cover and a small total perimeter per m2. Patches in limited soil moisture areas recorded patch configurations indicating they are unstable and undergoing degradation and therefore need urgent restoration attention to forestall their further degradation and its resultant effect of desertification. These results would provide quantitative easy-to-use indicators for vegetation degradation and help in vegetation restoration projects.
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Zhu G, Yuan C, Gong H, Peng Y, Huang C, Wu C, Duan H. Effects of short-term grazing prohibition on soil physical and chemical properties of meadows in Southwest China. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11598. [PMID: 34164237 PMCID: PMC8194418 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Grassland plays an important role in the ecosystem, but overgrazing harms the grassland system in many places. Grazing prohibition is an effective method to restore grassland ecosystems, and it plays a great role in realizing the sustainable development of grassland systems. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out research on the influence of regional grazing prohibition on the physical and chemical properties of different grassland systems. Methods In Potatso National Park, Southwest China, we selected experimental plots in the artificial grazing meadow area to study the effects of grazing prohibition on plant and soil indexes in subalpine meadows and swamp meadows. We investigated the biomass and species diversity of grazing prohibition treatment and grazing treatment plots and sampled and tested the soil index. The variation percentage was used to remove the original heterogeneity and yearly variation, allowing us to compare differences in plant index and soil index values between grazing prohibition and grazing treatments. Results Grazing prohibition increased the aboveground biomass, total biomass, total meadow coverage, average height, richness index, Shannon diversity index and evenness index and reduced the belowground biomass and root/shoot ratio in the subalpine meadow and swamp meadow. Additionally, grazing prohibition reduced the pH and soil bulk density and increased the soil total carbon, soil organic carbon, soil total nitrogen, soil hydrolyzable nitrogen, soil total phosphorus and soil available phosphorus in the subalpine meadow and swamp meadow. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis showed that both plant indexes and soil indexes were significantly different between grazing and grazing prohibition treatments and between meadow types. Short-term grazing prohibition had a great impact on improving the fertility of meadow soil in the study area. We suggest that long-term and extensive research should be carried out to promote the restoration and sustainable development of regional grassland systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guiqing Zhu
- School of Geography and Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Chaoxiang Yuan
- School of Geography and Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hede Gong
- School of Geography and Ecotourism, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Yanling Peng
- Technology Department, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Changjiang Huang
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, Anhui, China
| | - Chuansheng Wu
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Environmental Hormone and Reproduction, Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Embryo Development and Reproductive Regulation, Fuyang Normal University, Fuyang, Anhui, China
| | - Huachao Duan
- College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise S. Gornish
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Tucson AZ 85721 U.S.A
| | - Hasbagan Ganjurjav
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing 100081 China
| | - Maowei Liang
- Institute of Ecology, College of Urban and Environmental Science and Key Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes of the Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing 100871 China
| | | | - Mitchel P. McClaran
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment University of Arizona Tucson AZ 85721 U.S.A
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Affiliation(s)
- Gastón R. Oñatibia
- CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) Av. San Martín 4453 (C1417DSE) Buenos Aires1417Argentina
- Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires1417Argentina
| | - Rodolfo A. Golluscio
- CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) Av. San Martín 4453 (C1417DSE) Buenos Aires1417Argentina
- Departamento de Producción Animal Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires1416Argentina
| | - Marcos Texeira
- CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) Av. San Martín 4453 (C1417DSE) Buenos Aires1417Argentina
- Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires1417Argentina
| | - José M. Paruelo
- CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) Av. San Martín 4453 (C1417DSE) Buenos Aires1417Argentina
- Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información Facultad de Agronomía Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires1417Argentina
- INIA La Estanzuela Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria Ruta 50 km 11 Colonia Uruguay
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Oñatibia GR, Amengual G, Boyero L, Aguiar MR. Aridity exacerbates grazing‐induced rangeland degradation: A population approach for dominant grasses. J Appl Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gastón R. Oñatibia
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Cátedra de Ecología Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Gerónimo Amengual
- Facultad de Agronomía Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Cátedra de Ecología Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Luciano Boyero
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Cátedra de Ecología Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
| | - Martín R. Aguiar
- Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA) CONICET‐Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
- Facultad de Agronomía Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente Cátedra de Ecología Universidad de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires Argentina
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Ganjurjav H, Zhang Y, Gornish ES, Hu G, Li Y, Wan Y, Gao Q. Differential resistance and resilience of functional groups to livestock grazing maintain ecosystem stability in an alpine steppe on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. J Environ Manage 2019; 251:109579. [PMID: 31563601 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/14/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Ecosystem stability is one of the main factors maintaining ecosystem functioning and is closely related to temporal variability in productivity. Resistance and resilience reflect tolerance and recovering ability, respectively, of a plant community under perturbation, which are important for maintaining the stability of ecosystems. Generally, heavy grazing reduces the stability of grassland ecosystems, causing grassland degradation. However, how livestock grazing affects ecosystem stability is unclear in alpine steppe ecosystems. We conducted a five-year grazing experiment with Tibetan sheep in a semi-arid alpine steppe on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. The experimental treatments included no grazing (NG), light grazing (LG, 2.4 sheep per ha), moderate grazing (MG, 3.6 sheep per ha) and heavy grazing (HG, 6.0 sheep ha). We calculated resistance and resilience of three plant functional groups and ecosystem stability under the three grazing intensities using aboveground primary productivity. The results showed that with increasing grazing intensity, aboveground biomass of each functional group significantly decreased. As grazing intensity increased, the resistance of forbs first increased then decreased. The resilience of graminoids in HG was significantly lower than in LG plots, but the resilience of legumes in HG was higher than in LG and MG plots. The resilience of graminoids was significantly higher than legume and forbs under LG and MG treatments. In HG treatments, resilience of legumes was higher than graminoids and forbs. Ecosystem stability did not change under different grazing intensities, because of dissimilar performance of the resilience and resistance of functional groups. Our results highlight how the differential resistance and resilience of different function groups facilitate the tolerance of alpine steppe to grazing under even a heavy intensity. However, the degradation risk of alpine steppe under heavy grazing still needs to be considered in grassland management due to sharp decreases of productivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hasbagan Ganjurjav
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yong Zhang
- National Plateau Wetlands Research Center, College of Wetlands, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, 650224, China
| | - Elise S Gornish
- School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, Tucson, 85821, USA
| | - Guozheng Hu
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yue Li
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Yunfan Wan
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China
| | - Qingzhu Gao
- Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China.
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Kelemen A, Tölgyesi C, Valkó O, Deák B, Miglécz T, Fekete R, Török P, Balogh N, Tóthmérész B. Density-Dependent Plant-Plant Interactions Triggered by Grazing. Front Plant Sci 2019; 10:876. [PMID: 31333709 PMCID: PMC6624794 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2019.00876] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Plant species performance in rangelands highly depends on the effect of grazing and also on the occurrence of unpalatable benefactor species that can act as biotic refuges protecting neighboring plants from herbivores. The balance between facilitation and competition may changes with the benefactor density. Despite the high number of studies on the role of biotic refuges, the density dependent effects of unpalatable herbaceous plants on the performance of other species, and on the habitat heterogeneity of rangelands are still unclear. Therefore, we performed a study to test the following hypotheses: (i) Performances of understory species follow a humped-back relationship along the density gradient of the unpalatable benefactor species. (ii) Small-scale heterogeneity of the vegetation decreases with increasing benefactor density. We studied meadow steppes with medium intensity cattle grazing in Hungary. We surveyed understory species' performance (number of flowering shoots and cover scores) along the density gradient of a common, native unpalatable species (Althaea officinalis). Our findings supported both hypotheses. We found unimodal relationship between the benefactor cover and both the flowering success and richness of understory species. Moreover, small-scale heterogeneity declined with increasing benefactor cover. In this study we detected a humped-back pattern of facilitation along the density gradient of an herbaceous benefactor in pastures. Indeed, this pattern was predictable based on such conceptual models like "consumer pressure-abiotic stress model," "humped-back model," "intermediate disturbance hypothesis," and "disturbance heterogeneity model"; but until now the validity of these relationships has not been demonstrated for herbaceous species. By the demonstration of this effect between herbaceous species we can better forecast the responses of grasslands to changes in management.
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Affiliation(s)
- András Kelemen
- MTA’s Post Doctoral Research Program, MTA TKI, Budapest, Hungary
- Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Csaba Tölgyesi
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Szeged, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Orsolya Valkó
- MTA-DE Lendület Seed Ecology Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Balázs Deák
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Tamás Miglécz
- Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Réka Fekete
- Department of Botany, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Péter Török
- MTA-DE Lendület Functional and Restoration Ecology Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Nóra Balogh
- Juhász Nagy Pál Doctorate School, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
| | - Béla Tóthmérész
- Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
- MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Debrecen, Hungary
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Oñatibia GR, Aguiar MR. Grasses and grazers in arid rangelands: Impact of sheep management on forage and non-forage grass populations. J Environ Manage 2019; 235:42-50. [PMID: 30669092 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.01.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2018] [Revised: 01/10/2019] [Accepted: 01/13/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ecological modeling that includes plant population processes as a critical determinant of vegetation dynamics is useful for sustainable rangeland management. However, we know little about how long-term sheep grazing pressure drives the plant community structure through changes in different native grass species at both individual and population levels. In this study, we hypothesized that plant populations perform differently under different grazing management due to their specified preference by livestock animals. We also tested whether grazing-rest management, aimed at increasing long-term rangeland sustainability, improves the plant growth of forage grass species. We evaluated plant density, individual morphology and plant-size distribution of dominant grass populations in permanent exclosures and open fields under moderate and intensive grazing pressures in Patagonian steppes (South America). We also examined the effects of seasonal grazing-rest managements on the growth and tillering (asexual reproduction) of forage species plants, using temporary mobile exclosures. Grazing intensity changed population density and structure according to species. Compared to permanent exclosures, moderate grazing maintained the plant density of palatable species highly preferred by sheep, reduced the standing-dead biomass proportion of individual plants, and promoted the green biomass of tussocks. Conversely, intensive grazing (double stocking rates) decreased the plant density and individual size of species highly preferred by sheep, and increased the plant density of non-preferred species. Grazing-rest enhanced forage grass species growth and reproduction compared with year-round grazing management, especially during the growing season of a wet year. Our studies support that sheep can be managed to control the plant-size distribution of dominant grass species, their population dynamics, and thereby the overall forage availability at the community level. Both moderate grazing and grazing-rest management can improve the forage availability and preserve the dominant native grasses. We suggest applying a plant population dynamics perspective to facilitate sustainable management of global rangelands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gastón R Oñatibia
- IFEVA, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Av. San Martín 4453, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina.
| | - Martín R Aguiar
- IFEVA, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, CONICET, Av. San Martín 4453, Buenos Aires, C1417DSE, Argentina
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