Conservation grazing

Changes in land use, implementation of protective measures and a warming climate have improved the survival rate of geese, resulting in considerable increases in the majority of Western Palaearctic goose populations during recent decades. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study aiming to understand the impact of goose grazing on carbon cycling in their winter habitat. To this end, the impact of goose grazing pressure on biomass, litter decomposition and CO2 fluxes (net CO2 exchange partitioned into photosynthesis and ecosystem respiration) was studied in the coastal polders of Belgium, a wintering habitat for geese of international importance. Experimentally manipulated grazing by Anser anser (Greylag Geese) in grassland mimicked four different grazing pressures, including a control treatment from which geese were excluded. We found that grazing pressure by geese has a significant, but variable effect on carbon fluxes during the entire year. In winter, at the end of th...

African Journal of Range & Forage Science is co-published by NISC (Pty) Ltd and Informa UK Limited (trading as Taylor & Francis Group) Invasive alien species (IAS) are one of the most important factors driving extinction rates worldwide. Among the IAS, the impacts of introduced mammals on native biodiversity are most severe, with the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) being the most problematic. Globally, European rabbits have been introduced to five continents and more than 800 islands or island groups where they are a threat to biodiversity and human livelihoods. The impacts of European rabbits on biodiversity and human livelihoods have been extensively studied across the globe. However, some regions of the world, such as the offshore islands along Africa's southern coast, have been sparsely studied. In this study, we monitored change in grazing capacity on a South African offshore island, Robben Island, following an attempt to eradicate European rabbits between 2008 and 2009. Grazing capacity on the island increased following rabbit control, driven by the recovery of palatable plant species in response to release from herbivory. There was no change in grazing capacity at sites under Eucalyptus plantations because of the inhibitory effects of the alien trees on understory vegetation dynamics. We believe that grazing capacity changes on Robben Island are indicative of potential vegetation changes on other southern African offshore islands.

Eutrophication through atmospheric nutrient deposition is threatening the biodiversity of semi-natural habitats characterized by low nutrient availability. Accordingly, local management measures aiming at open habitat conservation need to maintain habitat-specific nutrient conditions despite atmospheric inputs. Grazing by wild herbivores, such as red deer (Cervus elaphus), has been proposed as an alternative to mechanical or livestock-based measures for preserving open habitats. The role of red deer for nutrient dynamics in protected open habitat types, however, is yet unclear. Therefore, we collected data on vegetation productivity, forage removal, quantity of red deer dung and nutrient concentrations in vegetation and dung from permanent plots in heathlands and grasslands (eight plots à 225 m2 per habitat type) on a military training area inhabited by a large population of free-ranging red deer over one year. The annual nutrient export of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) by red dee...

Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and biodiversity are critical to explain the delivery of fundamental ecosystem services across drylands worldwide. Increasing grazing pressure reduced ecosystem service delivery in warmer and species-poor drylands, whereas positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and species-rich areas. Considering interactions between grazing and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of dryland ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.

Understanding the effects of traditional livestock grazing abandonment on the ability of mountain grasslands to sustain multiple ecosystem functions (ecosystem multifunctionality; EMF) is crucial for implementing policies that promote grasslands conservation and the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. In this study, we evaluated the effect of short- and long-term transhumant sheep abandonment on EMF through a grazing exclusion experiment in a grassland of the Cantabrian Mountains range (NW Spain), where transhumant sheep flocks graze in summer. We considered four key ecosystem functions, derived from vegetation and soil functional indicators measured in the field: (A) biodiversity function, evaluated from total plant species evenness, diversity and richness indicators; (B) forage production function, evaluated from cover and richness of perennial and annual herbaceous species indicators; (C) carbon sequestration function, evaluated from woody species cover and soil organic carb...

Livestock grazing is the primary land use of grasslands worldwide. Grazing has been asserted to alter grassland ecosystem functions, such as productivity, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity conservation. However, few studies have focused on the impact of grazing intensity on the ecosystem multifunctionality (EMF) of alpine grasslands. We conducted a field experiment of manipulating sheep grazing intensity effects on alpine steppe by surveying plant community characteristics and ecosystem functions. Our results showed that plant community composition was altered with increasing grazing intensity, and the dominant species shifted from grasses and sedges to forbs. EMF was the highest under no grazing (CK) and the lowest under heavy grazing (HG), but there was insignificant difference between CK and HG. HG significantly decreased some indicators that reflected nutrient cycling functions, such as soil available nitrogen, plant leaf nitrogen (PN) and phosphorus content (PP). Furthermore, plant diversity had strong correlations with SOC, total nitrogen (TN), and PN. The results could provide scientific bases for biodiversity conservation and sustainable grazing management of alpine steppe.

Grazing practices affect the soil and vegetation of grasslands, which further influence the provision of ecosystem services and the productivity of grasslands. We determined the ecosystem resilience of a mesic grassland under three grazing management systems in the Pakkies area, (30 • 33 08 S, 29 • 25 22 E), South Africa: cooperative (continuously grazed since 2017), commercial (rotationally grazed for >20 years), and communal (continuously grazed for >20 years) farms. This was carried out by measuring the penetration resistance and infiltration, soil nutrients, forage quality contents for livestock, veld condition, plant species composition and richness, and functional diversity. The soils had a higher penetration resistance in the continuously grazed communal farm, while water infiltration was highest in the continuously grazed cooperative farm. The plant species and functional diversity were greater in the rotationally grazed commercial farm than in the continuously grazed communal and cooperative farms. The continuously grazed cooperative farm had the highest veld condition score (97%), while the rotationally grazed commercial and the continuously grazed communal farms had 82% and 56% veld condition scores, respectively. The forage quality and soil nutrients were generally similar among all farms. The lower plant diversity observed with continuous grazing may indicate that the ecological system was not as resilient concerning this type of grazing. However, for forage quality, soil nutrients and veld condition, continuous grazing was resilient, which indicates that rotational grazing may not be better than continuous grazing for livestock production in this specific region. As long as a minimum level of ecological resilience can be retained, continuous grazing can sustain effective animal production, particularly for small-holder farmers.

1) Estimation of grazing livestock intake is the basis for studying animal-plant relationships and the nutritional status of grazing livestock and has important implications for grassland composition and productivity. (2) We used the saturated alkanes method to determine the feed intake and vegetation nutrient digestibility of livestock at different grazing intensities and in different months. (3) We found that C 31 had the highest concentration in both pasture and fecal output, and the average recovery of C 31 was 77.99%. The different grazing intensities significantly affected livestock intake. As the grazing intensity increased, there was a decreasing trend of livestock intake and the highest livestock feed intake was 6.11 kg DM/day in light grazing. With the increase in grazing season months, the highest livestock intake was 6.67 kg DM/day in the cold period in September. The month also had a significant effect on the digestibility of livestock for all nutrient variables when compared to the grazing intensity. Livestock weight and medium palatability species are more important for livestock intake. (4) Our study provides a more accurate measurement of grazing livestock intake, which can be used as a reference for the scientific management of grazing livestock and the rational use of grazing pastures.

Rangelands are significant providers of ecosystem services in agroecosystems world-wide. Yet few studies have investigated how different intensities of livestock grazing impact one important provider of these ecosystem services-native bees. We conducted the first large-scale manipulative study on the effect of a gradient of livestock grazing intensities on native bees in 16 40-ha pastures in the Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass Prairie. Each pasture was exposed to one of four cattle stocking rates for two years and grazing intensity was quantified by measuring utilization. We measured soil and vegetation characteristics related to floral and nesting resources as well as several metrics of the bee community. Increased grazing intensity significantly reduced vegetation structure, soil stability, and herbaceous litter and significantly increased soil compaction and bare ground. Native bees responded with changes in abundance, richness, diversity, and community composition. Responses varied with taxa and time of season. Bumble bees were sensitive to grazing intensity early in the season, showing reduced abundance, diversity, and/or richness with increased intensity, potentially because of altered foraging behavior. In contrast, sweat bees appeared unaffected by grazing. These results show that native bee taxa vary in their sensitivity to livestock grazing practices and suggest that grazing may potentially be a useful tool for managing pollination services in mosaic agroecosystems that include rangelands.

Understanding the importance of grassland management is crucial for predicting the effects on forage production, pasture and ecosystem stability. Studies about the impact of grassland management in temperate humid environments on soil, erosion and aboveground biomass properties are lacking. This study investigates the effect of different grassland managements—no grazing, moderate grazing and heavy grazing—on soil properties, hydrological responses and herbage quality in an organic farm located in Croatia. The results showed that heavy grazing significantly increased soil compaction, structural deterioration, erosion and nutrient transport compared with no grazing. Heavily grazed plots had significantly higher soil organic matter and nutrient concentrations compared with no-grazing plots. Moderately grazed plots had the highest biomass production and the herbage with higher quality compared with other treatments. Significantly higher ash contents on heavily and moderately grazed plot...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the benefits of reintroducing traditional grazing systems practices for improving arid rangelands. Grazing is the most extensive land use in southern Tunisia, but the rangelands have suffered many decades of severe degradation due to profound socioeconomic changes and the emergence of an agro-pastoral society in place of the former pastoral one. Traditional grazing systems (gdel and herd mobility), which had historically allowed for grazing deferment and control of grazing livestock were abandoned. Yet grazing management strategies are important tools to sustain integrated livestock rangeland production systems in dry areas in the face of ongoing climate change and human pressure. Design/methodology/approach This study assesses the revival of traditional best practices of rangeland resting in a representative community. Total plant cover, species composition, flora richness and range production were determined in six rangeland sites...

Despite the increasing extent of protected areas throughout the world, biodiversity decline continues. Grazing management that promotes both biodiversity and production outcomes has the potential to improve broad-scale conservation and complement the protected area network. In this study we explored the potential to integrate commercial livestock grazing and conservation in a semi-arid rangeland in south-eastern Australia. Understorey floristic composition and diversity were compared at different spatial scales across three grazing management treatments: (1) continuous commercial grazing management where paddocks were grazed for the majority of the year (≥8 months per annum); (2) rotational commercial grazing management where livestock are frequently rotated and paddocks rested for >4 months per annum; and (3) protected areas managed for conservation with domestic livestock excluded and grazed only by native and feral herbivores. The season of sampling, rainfall, soil characteris...

Grazing represents the most extensive use of land worldwide. Yet its impacts on ecosystem services remain uncertain because pervasive interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil properties, and biodiversity may occur but have never been addressed simultaneously. Using a standardized survey at 98 sites across six continents, we show that interactions between grazing pressure, climate, soil, and biodiversity are critical to explain the delivery of fundamental ecosystem services across drylands worldwide. Increasing grazing pressure reduced ecosystem service delivery in warmer and species-poor drylands, whereas positive effects of grazing were observed in colder and species-rich areas. Considering interactions between grazing and local abiotic and biotic factors is key for understanding the fate of dryland ecosystems under climate change and increasing human pressure.

The world's rangelands constitute an important global resource. Range has been defined by the society for range management as land which supports vegetation useful for grazing on which routine management of that vegetation is through manipulation of grazing rather than cultural practices. Grazing systems are biological systems controlled by: a-the biotic factors of climate and site, b-the management inputs and decisions of man, and 3-internal regulatory mechanisms involving feedback. General introduction for dry lands in which, most of rangelands are distributed, refer to areas with primary productivity limited by water. They cover about 40% of the land surface and contain about one fifth of the human population. This population is typically convergent on areas with relatively lower aridity, further intensifying the stresses on these marginal lands. The concept of marginality applies to these dry lands in a socio-economic sense, where the inhabitants commonly suffer poverty and lack of resources. Anthropogenic activities are almost entirely responsible for these factors. Included with, over-utilization of vegetative cover through improper rangeland management, poorly planned conversion of rangelands to croplands through irrigation schemes, and degradation of soil quality through salinization and input of chemical pollutants. The impacts of these factors on the human society are quite profound and often lead to trans-migration to other eco-regions as well as social and political strife. Thus approaches for management of dry lands resources must be viewed in the broader socio-economic context by providing the opportunities for local communities to explore viable, alternative livelihoods while maintaining their own cultural and societal fabric. Many approaches for managing the scarce water resources are available and form the underpinnings of overall resource management in drylands. These include water harvesting techniques, safe re-use of treated wastewater for irrigation, improving ground water recharge and deficit irrigation. Newer approaches of drylands aquaculture using brackish water and ecotourism also hold considerable promise for the future (UNU/MAP/UNESCO, ACRDA, 2003).

Since grasslands provide many ecosystem services, there are often different opinions on their management (e.g., agronomy, ecology, botany). Multidisciplinary research on this topic is therefore needed. This article focuses on the impact of ecological conditions, functional groups, ecological strategies, floristic composition (through habitat preference of species), major floristic gradients (presented as first two NMDS axes), and the management on forage quality. We estimated the forage quality using indicator values. All of the available vegetation plots in the region on wet and mesic meadows, managed pastures, and tall-herb meadow/pasture fringes on deeper or shallower soils (i.e., grasslands) were collected, organized in a database, and elaborated according to standard procedure. We used a widely accepted grassland classification system that uses floristic composition to define grassland types. Based on an NMDS ordination diagram and according to functional groups, ecological str...

Unsustainable grazing of animals exerts pressure on a range of environmental factors. This review assessed the impacts of grazing of small ruminants (SRs; sheep and goats) on hydrological processes (e.g., runoff occurrence and erosion) within European pasture lands. It also considered other effects of SRs grazing, such as water pollution. Our research highlights the lack of evidence‐based European literature on the implications of grazing by SRs on the hydrological processes. The available literature is limited to the Mediterranean belt (some areas of Spain and Greece), the British Isles, and the Austrian Alps. The reasons behind the lack of literature are discussed in detail, and the knowledge gaps dealing with SRs have been enumerated. However, there are several articles on the subject within Oceania‐Pacifica and United States settings. Some of the reasons contributing to the limited literature on Europe are the possible underestimation of the significance of the problem, it being...

The wildlife population is an important part of the forest ecosystem and plays a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem health and integrity. In many grassland ecosystems, wild herbivores face substantial competition for space and resource use from livestock over grazing resources. Livestock and ungulates have shared a large portion of the Terai forest resources for decades, but little information has been explored about the influence of livestock on the grassland ecosystems of the protected areas of the Terai region of Nepal. We assessed the impact of livestock grazing on wild ungulate habitat in the Khata Corridor, Bardiya, Nepal. We used direct field observation, key informant interview (n = 10), focus group discussion (n = 5), and a questionnaire survey with local households to study the seasonal occurrence of wild ungulates in multiple habitats, livestock rearing practices, stocking density, and resource use by domestic livestock in and around the forest land of villages located...

Question: Can the biodiversity of fens in Europe and North America be maintained through the use of grazing (especially cattle grazing), fire, and/or cutting? Location: European and North American fens. Methods: This paper is a review of the literature on the effects of grazing, fire and cutting on fens, to explore the relationship between management and biodiversity in fens. Results: A reduction of cattle grazing, mowing and burning in fens has led to a reduction in biodiversity in fens. The vegetation of abandoned fens shifts to trees and shrubs after 10-15 years, which shade the smaller and rarer species of these wetlands. While careful use of fire is used to manage fens in North America, it is not widely used in European fens, perhaps because the peat of drained fens may catch fire. Cattle grazing cannot be considered a natural disturbance in North America, since cattle did not evolve on that continent. In Europe, cattle do not generally graze in unaltered fens, but they do use slightly drained fen meadows. Conclusions: Three approaches have been used to control the dominance of tall woody and herbaceous species in abandoned fens, including the re-introduction of cattle, mowing, and burning. Overgrazing results in a permanent reduction in biodiversity, therefore cattle re-introduction must be approached cautiously. In Europe, but not in North America, mowing has been an important management tool, and mowing has been successful in maintaining species richness, particularly in fens that have been mowed annually for centuries. Fire has been the most common and successful management tool in North America although it is not effective in removing shrubs that have become large. Because the problems and solutions are similar, the literature of both European and North American fen management can be analyzed to better assess the management of fens on both continents. Many management questions require further study and these are listed in the paper.

Large herbivores have a keystone role in many forest ecosystems. There is widespread recognition that undesirable changes may be caused by the complete removal of grazing-related disturbances, whereas there can be benefits from properly managed, targeted livestock grazing, both from a forest management and biodiversity perspectives. However, there are also many contradictory statements and results about forest grazing. We summarize the main scientific evidence and knowledge gaps on forest livestock grazing through a global review of the literature for the temperate region. We analysed 71 publications discussing the impact of livestock grazing on vegetation in forests. Grazing reduces vegetation biomass, but less obvious effects relevant to conservation include increased habitat diversity and increased regeneration of selected canopy tree species. Moreover, detailed guidance on how grazing should be carried out for conservation purposes is limited because the results are strongly context dependent. The direction and amplitude of effects can be influenced not only by forest type and stocking levels, but by foraging preferences of livestock, availability of alternative forage, grazing season and herder activity. We stress the need for well-planned real-world experiments and observations, and for more quantitative studies to foster evidence-based conservation management. Grazing differences between wild ungulates and livestock should be better studied, because the effects are often overlapping. We suggest widening the temporal and spatial scales of case studies and stress the need to create space and openness for interdisciplinary and participatory research and conservation approaches, initiating knowledge co-production on the benefits and dis-benefits of grazing in forests.

Grazing on natural rangelands, which are areas dominated by native vegetation that are used for livestock grazing, can achieve desired vegetation outcomes, preserve native habitat, and economically benefit multiple stakeholders. It is a powerful tool that can be manipulated to reduce wildlife declines and benefit ecosystems. However, the benefits of conservation grazing systems on many wildlife communities remain relatively unexplored. We compared songbird communities between two grazing systems in eastern Montana: rest-rotation, which is a conservation grazing system, and season-long. We measured differences in abundance of eight songbird species over a two year period using dependent double-observer transect surveys and a multispecies dependent double-observer abundance model. The species were chosen to be representative of the sagebrush grassland community: a sagebrush obligate, Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri); a faculatative grassland species, brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater); grassland obligate species, chestnut-collared longspur (Calcarius ornatus), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris), lark bunting (Calamospiza melanocorys), McCown's longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii), and western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta); and a generalist, vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus). Our results show that these species exhibit mixed responses to these two grazing systems. The sagebrush obligate (Brewer's sparrow), generalist (vesper sparrow), and two grassland associated species (horned lark and chestnut-collared longspur) were equally abundant on both grazing systems, suggesting grazing system had no effect on their abundance. However, the remainder of the grassland associated species showed a response to grazing: three (brown-headed cowbird, lark bunting, and western meadowlark) were more abundant in season-long than rest-rotation, whereas one (McCown's longspur) was more abundant in rest-rotation. These results suggest that differences in grazing management affect a subset of grassland obligate species and that only one species, McCown's longspur, preferred conservation grazing. Our findings provide useful information for assessing the suitability of grazing as a conservation tool for songbirds.

In spite of overwhelming experimental evidence to the contrary, rotational grazing continues to be promoted and implemented as the only viable grazing strategy. The goals of this synthesis are to 1) reevaluate the complexity, underlying assumptions, and ecological processes of grazed ecosystems, 2) summarize plant and animal production responses to rotational and continuous grazing, 3) characterize the prevailing perceptions influencing the assessment of rotational and continuous grazing, and 4) attempt to direct the profession toward a reconciliation of perceptions advocating support for rotational grazing systems with that of the experimental evidence. The ecological relationships of grazing systems have been reasonably well resolved, at the scales investigated, and a continuation of costly grazing experiments adhering to conventional research protocols will yield little additional information. Plant production was equal or greater in continuous compared to rotational grazing in 87% (20 of 23) of the experiments. Similarly, animal production per head and per area were equal or greater in continuous compared to rotational grazing in 92% (35 of 38) and 84% (27 of 32) of the experiments, respectively. These experimental data demonstrate that a set of potentially effective grazing strategies exist, none of which have unique properties that set one apart from the other in terms of ecological effectiveness. The performance of rangeland grazing strategies are similarly constrained by several ecological variables establishing that differences among them are dependent on the effectiveness of management models, rather than the occurrence of unique ecological phenomena. Continued advocacy for rotational grazing as a superior strategy of grazing on rangelands is founded on perception and anecdotal interpretations, rather than an objective assessment of the vast experimental evidence. We recommend that these evidence-based conclusions be explicitly incorporated into management and policy decisions addressing this predominant land use on rangelands. This manuscript emerged from a symposium organized by W. D. Willms entitled ''Effectiveness of Grazing Systems on Rangelands: A Critical Examination of the Evidence'' held at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Society for Range Management,

Most grazing lands in Mediterranean ecosystems that support extensive sheep farming systems are characterized by unfavorable edapho-climatic conditions, especially in semi-arid areas. Often, though, their use is far from sustainable, causing erosion and ecosystem degradation impacts. In this paper, we explore the use, productivity, and flora diversity of typical Mediterranean grazing lands in four farms at the Agra locality in the western part of Lesvos Island, Greece. For a period of two consecutive growing seasons (September to June), we recorded herbage biomass on 16 plots of grazing lands with three measurements per season of land cover and plant productivity (biomass) inside small exclosures (cages) protected from grazing. We recorded the species richness of herbaceous plant communities within and outside the cages at the end of every growing season, the period of maximum growth of herbaceous species. We also chemically analyzed the biomass for crude protein at the end of each ...

On Nantucket Island, MA, the present range of coastal sandplain grasslands is primarily attributed to intense and prolonged historic sheep grazing following European settlement. The maintenance of this early successional habitat (ranked S-1 or "critically imperiled" in Massachusetts) relies on disturbance-based land-management tools. Habitat management efforts have focused primarily on mechanical and prescribed fire treatments, with limited emphasis on re-introducing sheep. This study examined and compared the impacts of repeated growing-season grazing, repeated growing-season mowing, and no management on vegetation community composition in a previously managed grassland. Sheep grazing effectively controlled and reduced clonal and vining woody plant coverage while increasing available bare ground for grassland species seed recruitment. However, grazing and mowing treatments resulted in an increase in weedy agricultural plant species, which may be an inherent side effect of management that results in soil disturbance. Given the long-term, variable nature of the ecological disturbances that created Nantucket's sandplain grassland vegetation communities, one management technique alone will not likely result in successful habitat restoration over a short period of time. We recommend that sheep grazing be more widely considered as an addition to the existing sandplain grassland management "tool box".

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Summary 1. Vegetation fires can have major social, economic and ecological consequences. Research into fire behaviour has aimed to give managers greater ability to predict and control fires. Fire and grazing are important and interacting disturbances in grasslands. Fire is known to widely affect grazing patterns, but the effects of grazing on the incidence of fire are less well known. There have been few tests of the idea that ‘grazing reduces blazing’, which has popular and political currency in some countries. This study addresses the hypothesis that grazing affects fire potential in native grasslands. 2. Paired grazed and ungrazed quadrats were established at five lawn and five tussock grassland sites. Fuel load, percentage dead fuel and the number of days sustaining fires where possible were compared between treatments. 3. In lawn grasslands, grazing markedly reduced fire potential through the removal of plant biomass and by preventing the vegetation escaping into the unpalatabl...

1. Natural area managers use fire and grazing to achieve nature conservation ⁄ production goals and to prevent the loss of life and property. Yet, little is known of the effects of post-fire grazing on fuel load and the proportion of days on which fire can be sustained (fire potential). This knowledge could help managers in planning interventions to achieve their goals. 2. At seven sites in Tasmania, Australia, including sedgeland, heathy forest and grassland, fire potential and fuel load were measured before, and for 2 years after fire. Measurements were made in burning, fencing and burning plus fencing treatments, and in control quadrats. 3. Burning followed by grazing, largely by native vertebrates, resulted in lower fuel loads than either grazing by itself or burning by itself. A new steady state was established in two grasslands. Fire potential at the oligotrophic sites was largely a function of time elapsed since the last fire, while at grassy sites was increased by grazing without fire, but depressed or slightly increased by grazing after burning. 4. Synthesis and applications. Effects of grazing after burning on flammability are not predictable from the single or additive effects of grazing and burning, varying between vegetation type and environment. In highland grassy ecosystems fire potential can be reduced by excluding grazing animals after fire, while in scleromorphic ecosystems grazing after fire does not affect fuel or fire potential. Intense grazing after fire can cause an, often desirable, shift from tussock to lawn grassland. Burning and subsequent grazing of tussock grassland vegetation in the lowlands may reduce the chance of wildfire damaging property and conservation ⁄ production values, while in highland tussock grassland burning followed by grazing will be largely ineffective in reducing the already low chance of such damaging fire.

Managing native pastures for sustainable and economic production requires a good understanding of grazing effects on pasture dynamics. The Aristida/Bothriochloa pastures of north-eastern Australia are important for cattle production but little data on grazing pressure impacts on pastures are available to guide management decisions of producers, for land management education programs, or for predictive modelling. To address this deficiency, four different continuous grazing intensities were imposed on woodland communities over 7 or 8 years at two sites: a Eucalyptus populnea (poplar box) and a E. melanophloia (silver-leaved ironbark) community. Both sites had replicated paddocks grazed at a low, medium or high grazing pressure by +/À tree killing using herbicide (12 paddocks), and 12 ungrazed (nil grazing pressure) 1-ha plots subjected to the same tree-killing contrasts. Grazed paddock areas were fixed and varied between 3.5 and 21.5 ha. Differential grazing pressures were reset each autumn, by adjusting cattle numbers to consume over the next year the equivalent of 0%, 25%, 50% or 75% of the standing pasture mass available. Pasture grasses suitable as indicators of grazing pressure were identified for both communities. Under low grazing pressure, Themeda triandra (kangaroo grass) was the only desirable grass to show a significant increase in total contribution over time at both sites, although Dichanthium sericeum (Queensland bluegrass) also increased its contribution at the poplar box site. Chloris species increased their contribution as grazing pressure increased. The proportion of less palatable Aristida spp. (wiregrasses) in the pasture was not affected by high grazing pressure, although they increased at low grazing pressure in the poplar box community. There were no consistent changes in native legumes or weedy forb species to any treatment. Increasing grazing pressure had a greater negative effect on pasture mass, ground cover and pasture crown cover area than on changing species composition. Most changes in composition due to grazing pressure were smaller than those associated with variable seasonal rainfall, and were greater in the poplar box community. In above-average rainfall years grazing up to 50% of autumn standing pasture mass had no detrimental effect on composition in treeless poplar box country in the short term. The pastures remained stable or improved in both communities when grazing pressure was set annually to utilise 25% of the standing autumn forage.

Managing native pastures for sustainable and economic production requires a good understanding of grazing effects on pasture dynamics. The Aristida/Bothriochloa pastures of north-eastern Australia are important for cattle production but little data on grazing pressure impacts on pastures are available to guide management decisions of producers, for land management education programs, or for predictive modelling. To address this deficiency, four different continuous grazing intensities were imposed on woodland communities over 7 or 8 years at two sites: a Eucalyptus populnea (poplar box) and a E. melanophloia (silver-leaved ironbark) community. Both sites had replicated paddocks grazed at a low, medium or high grazing pressure by +/− tree killing using herbicide (12 paddocks), and 12 ungrazed (nil grazing pressure) 1-ha plots subjected to the same tree-killing contrasts. Grazed paddock areas were fixed and varied between 3.5 and 21.5 ha. Differential grazing pressures were reset each...

By grazing preferentially some spots, horses create patches of short grass and tall vegetation in which they concentrate their dungs. This leads to habitat heterogeneity that could increase grassland animal biodiversity. This pilot study aimed to test a method to compare, using non-lethal protocols, invertebrates' biodiversity on meadows undergoing or not horse grazing. This 2-years study was performed in our experimental farm facilities using one-hectare paddocks with meadows 5-years-old and similar bordering environment. Two paddocks were grazed from April to November by 6 pony mares each and 2 paddocks were not grazed. For bees monitoring, 2 trap nests of 32 tubes each were placed at paddocks' edge. Nest occupancy was monitored by counting sealed tubes from March to October. Butterflies were monitored once per month from May to September by recording all butterflies in a 5×5×5m cube around the observer during a 10-min long transect. To monitor soil invertebrates, 3 wooden boards of 30×50cm were laid on the ground, 2 at the edge and 1 at the center of the paddock. Once per month from March to November all invertebrates present under the board were identified and assigned to 3 categories: predators (carabid beetle and spiders), herbivores (mollusks), and detritivores (earthworms, millipedes, woodlouse, ants). The nests were occupied by solitary bees in the genus Osmia and Megachile, and the number of sealed tubes was different between grazed and non-grazed meadows. Butterflies from Hesperiidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae families were observed. Their abundance and diversity tend to be higher in grazed meadows. The abundance of predators was similar between grazed and non-grazed meadows, but the abundance of mollusks and detritivores tend to be different. These tendencies should be considered with caution because of the short period of observation and the limited number of meadows included in the study. Collection of additional data is in progress to consolidate the data and confirm the impact of horse grazing. In spite of this limitation, this pilot study shows that wild biodiversity can be studied using non-lethal protocols on horse-grazed meadows and that horse grazing may influence some invertebrates groups.

Our paper provides an ecological perspective on the interrelationship between livestock grazing and riparian areas through a review of topical literature. We also describe the Alberta Riparian Habitat Management Project (also known as &quot;Cows and Fish&quot;), and draw upon our experience to provide a perspective on future riparian management actions. Those actions should begin with an understanding that prairie landscapes evolved with herbivores, in a grazing regime timed and controlled by season and climatic fluctuations where grazing by native grazers was followed by variable rest periods. Prevailing range management principles represent an attempt to imitate the natural system and describe ecologically based grazing systems. Traditionally, range management guidelines have focused on grazing practices and impacts in upland, terrestrial rangelands, with a lack of attention devoted to riparian areas.Three decades of riparian investigation have quantified the effect unmanaged live...

Grassland birds have experienced some of the steepest population declines of any guild of birds in North America. The shortgrass steppe contains some of North America’s most intact grasslands, which makes the region particularly important for these species. It is well known that grassland birds differentially respond to variation in vegetation structure generated by spatiotemporally varying disturbance like grazing management. However, understanding how species respond to characteristics beyond vegetation structure or grazing could better inform management for these species in the shortgrass steppe. We analyzed point count data for 5 grassland bird species breeding on the Central Plains Experimental Range in northeastern Colorado from 2013 to 2017 to examine the predictive capacity of models representing fine-scale (~5 ha) vegetation attributes (vegetation structure and cover type) and topography, combined with interannual precipitation variability (i.e. vegetation-abiotic models). ...

The research gap between rangeland/livestock science and conservation biology/vegetation ecology has led to a lack of evidence needed for grazing‐related conservation management. Connecting scientific understanding with traditional ecological knowledge of local livestock keepers could help bridge this research and knowledge gap. We studied the grazing behaviour (plant selection and avoidance) of beef cattle (c. 33,000 bites) on species‐rich lowland pastures in Central Europe and traditional herding practices. We also did &gt;450 outdoor interviews with traditional herders about livestock behaviour, herders&#39; decisions to modify grazing behaviour and effects of modified grazing on pasture vegetation. We found that cattle grazing on species‐rich pastures displayed at least 10 different behavioural elements as they encountered 117 forage species from highly desired to rejected. The small discrimination error suggests that cattle recognize all listed plants ‘by species’. We also foun...

Anthropogenic environmental change exposes biological communities to concurrent stressors (e.g., changes in climate and land-use, overexploitation, biotic invasions) that frequently persist over prolonged periods. Predicting and mitigating the consequences of human action on nature therefore requires understanding how exposure to multiple interacting stressors alters biological communities over relevant (e.g., multi-decadal) time periods. Here, we explore the effects of overgrazing and plant species invasion on plant community diversity and ecosystem functioning (productivity), as well as the patterns of recovery of plant communities following cessation of grazing pressure. In a Mediterranean pasture system, we utilized a “natural” experiment involving long-term exclusion of grazers (for 15-25 years in parks) and also conducted short-term grazing-exclusion and invasive species removal experiments. Our results reveal that invasion by a grazing-resistant plant (prickly burnet) has net...

Background and aims Livestock grazing and climate change are two of the most important global change drivers affecting ecosystem functioning in drylands. Grazing and climate are known to influence the cover and composition of biocrusts, which are substantial components of dryland soils globally. Much less is known, however, about how these global change drivers affect the functional diversity of biocrust communities in these ecosystems. Methods Here, we evaluate the role of increasing aridity and grazing intensity in driving the functional diversity of biocrusts. We collected data on multiple biocrust functional traits and community composition, recent and historic grazing intensity, and vascular plants at 151 sites from drylands in eastern Australia. We then used structural equation modelling and a fourth corner analysis to examine the combined effects of aridity and grazing on biocrust functional diversity and individual functional traits. Results Aridity had a significant direct suppressive effect on biocrust functional diversity. Effects of grazing by livestock, kangaroos and rabbits on functional diversity were predominantly indirect and suppressive, mediated by a reduction in biocrust cover. Grazing did, however, promote functional diversity via an increase in vascular plant richness, with a concomitant increase in biocrust richness. The overall effect of grazing on biocrust functional diversity however was negative. Fourth corner analyses revealed that livestock grazing had a significant negative effect on the ability of biocrusts to stabilise the soil. Aridity had strong negative effects on biocrust height and their ability to absorb water and capture sediment. Few significant relationships were detected between enzyme-related traits and environmental variables. Conclusions Our findings provide novel evidence that the combination of increasing aridity and intensified livestock grazing will reduce the functional diversity and capabilities of biocrust communities, with resultant declines in ecosystem functioning.

Long term studies in the Mediterranean region have shown no clear distinction between the benefits of conservation and the negative effects of heavy grazing as concerns ecosystem stability, expressed through the species diversity. Grazing animals represent a key factor to avoid the activation of successional processes, which causes the replacement of herbaceous communities with shrub communities. Thus, it is of interest to investigate the effects of protection from grazing on biodiversity at different successional stages. The study was conducted in two grasslands located near Thessaloniki, in a semiarid area of northern Greece. The first grassland was at an early stage of succession (ESS) while the second one was at a late stage of succession (LSS). Changes in ground cover, species composition, species richness and relative abundance were studied in each of two grasslands that were protected from grazing for 7 years (measurements were taken at years 5, 6 and 7). The results showed a...

The effect of sheep grazing on species richness, higher order diversity measures, inequality, species composition, functional diversity and allometric relationships at a coastal dune heathland site was investigated. After a prescribed fire in 2002, the site was divided into two parts, where one of the parts was unmanaged and the other part was fenced and grazed by sheep. Sheep grazing had a positive effect on species richness as well as a significant positive effect on the functional diversity at the coastal dune heathland site. Generally, the cover of dwarf shrubs was negatively affected by grazing, whereas the cover of sedges and grasses was positively affected by grazing. There is a need for comparative investigations of the effect of different management methods not only on floristic biodiversity, but on all relevant kinds of biodiversity as well as on soil structure, soil chemistry and habitat micro-and macrostructure. Consequently, we advocate the initiation of an international systematic investigation of the effect of different management methods.

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This paper describes the effects of re-establishing seasonal cattle grazing by 0.7 animal.ha-1 on vegetation in a long-term abandoned, and partly degraded, semi-natural mountain pasture in the Sumava National Park, Czech Republic. There was very uneven grazing intensity inside the locality, and grazing preference changed during the season: cattle grazed most of the time in productive but species-poor Deschampsia cespitosa swards, but changed to a species-rich Violion caninae stand in the middle of the summer. A speciesrich Carex rostrata community was only grazed at the end of the season. Species-poor swards dominated by Nardus stricta and Carex brizoides were mainly used as resting areas. Both grazing and excluding from grazing had a negative effect on species diversity of the Deschampsia cespitosa swards. The soil seed bank contained only few species that are characteristic of mountain grassland communities, and seed dispersal of the target species by cattle dung was also found to be very limited. Thus both grazing and exclusion from grazing are probably of limited value for the restoration of species-rich grasslands from species-poor Deschampsia cespitosa swards in this case.

Changes in plant community composition, diversity, aboveground biomass, and aboveground net primary production (ANPP) of different plant growth-forms were assessed in sites protected from livestock grazing for 2,4, and 15 years, and in a heavily-grazed site. Species richness was maximum at the grazed site and decreased significantly after 4 years of protection. Diversity decreased significantly only after 15 years of protection. No alien or weedy species were found at grazed or protected sites. Grazing exclusion produced a shift from grazingtolerant or grazing-avoiding species with a graminoid or prostrate growth-form to taller species with a tall tussock growth-form. Grazing produced a 33 % decrease in standing biomass but little change in ANPP when compared to the site protected from grazing for 2 years, but important changes in both biomass and ANPP respect to the sites protected for 4 and 15 years. Consumption was near 35 % of ANPP 0 Elsevier, Paris biomass, consumption, diversity, floristic composition, growth form, livestock grazing, moveable cages Nomenclature: Hunziker (1984) for generic level. Nomenclature of species may be requested from the authors.

Grazing management influences grassland community dynamics, but few studies exist on effects of specific management regimes in subtropical grasslands. Here, we ask how rotational and continuous grazing influence composition, diversity, and biomass production of natural grasslands in southern Brazil. The study was conducted at four cattle farms within the South Brazilian grassland region (Campos Sulinos), in the upper area of the Camaquã river basin of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. In each farm, grassland that had previously been subjected to continuous grazing (freely grazed by cattle) was divided into two experimental units; one managed by rotational grazing and the other maintained under continuous grazing. In each experimental unit, 14 permanent plots were monitored over six years for species composition and species biomass. Data was analyzed using linear mixed models to evaluate the effects of grazing management strategies on composition dissimilarity, diversity indices and plant biomass. Results: Grasslands under a rotational grazing regime changed steadily over the period of evaluation. Total biomass and species distribution patterns greatly differed from continuous grazing, leading to changes in species richness, dominance and composition, as well as to an increase of overall plant biomass. Community changes during the six-year study period in consequence of the distinct grazing treatments were evident. Grasslands under rotational grazing management benefited from less selective grazing, enabling a more uniform growth of species within the communities, which in turn This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. were richer at the end of the six-year experiment. In contrast, proportion of grazing-resistant species or less consumed species was higher under continuous grazing, where foraging by cattle appears to be more selective. Rotational grazing thus not only leads to higher species richness and diversity, but also to higher primary and, in consequence, secondary productivity.