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Manuel Delgadobaquerizo - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Grazing regulates the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial communities within ecological networks
Ecosystems, 2020Co-Authors: David J Eldridge, Manuel Delgadobaquerizo, Samantha K Travers, James Val, Juntao Wang, Hongwei Liu, Brajesh K SinghAbstract:Grazing is a major driver of the composition of microbial communities, which play important roles in soil functioning. Mechanisms whereby Grazing might regulate the spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities within ecological networks remain largely untested. We used network analysis to identify the impacts of increasing Grazing Intensity by livestock (cattle, sheep, goats), and native (kangaroos) and wild (rabbits) animals, on the spatial heterogeneity of the relative abundance of eight ecological clusters of co-occurring soil microbial taxa: four from Grasslands and four from Forests. Grazing effects on microbial spatial heterogeneity were strongly nuanced and depended on (1) plant community type, (2) herbivore type and (3) microbial identity. Microbial within-site spatial heterogeneity was greater in Grasslands than in Forests, and most effects of Grazing on microbial spatial heterogeneity were in Forests, effecting three of the four Forest clusters, but only one Grassland cluster. The associations between Grazing Intensity and microbial heterogeneity were driven indirectly by changes in the spatial heterogeneity of litter cover and soil pH. For Grasslands, we also detected a direct effect of Grazing Intensity on the heterogeneity of particular microbial groups. Our results indicate that increased Grazing Intensity will advantage some microbial clusters but disadvantage others. Together, our study provides evidence that Grazing Intensity regulates the abundance and spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities within ecological networks. Knowing the potential effects of herbivores on different microbial clusters can help us predict the likely effects of Grazing on soil function. This has important implications for future sustainable management and conservation policies.
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do Grazing Intensity and herbivore type affect soil health insights from a semi arid productivity gradient
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: David J Eldridge, Manuel Delgadobaquerizo, Samantha K Travers, James Val, Ian OliverAbstract:Summary Grazing is one of the most widespread forms of intensive management on Earth and is linked to reductions in soil health. However, little is known about the relative influence of herbivore type, herbivore Intensity and site productivity on soil health. This lack of knowledge reduces our capacity to manage landscapes where Grazing is a major land use. We used structural equation modelling to assess the effects of recent (cattle, sheep, goats, kangaroos and rabbit dung) and historic (cattle, sheep/goat livestock tracks) herbivore activity on soil health at 451 sites across 0·5 M km2 of eastern Australia. We assessed the direct and indirect effects of increasing herbivore Intensity, using dung and livestock tracks, on 15 morphological, physical and chemical attributes that are indicative of soil health, and we used these attributes to derive three indices representing the capacity of the soil to maintain its structural integrity (stability), cycle nutrients (nutrients) and maintain water flow (infiltration). Grazing had negative effects on the three soil health indices, but these effects varied with productivity. Grazing Intensity was associated with strong reductions in the stability and nutrient indices under low productivity, but these effects diminished with increasing productivity. Herbivore effects on individual attributes varied in relation to productivity level and were strongly herbivore specific, with most due to cattle Grazing, and to a lesser extent, sheep, goats and rabbits. Few effects due to kangaroos or historic Grazing by livestock were observed. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that livestock and rabbits degrade soil health through Grazing, and its effects are strongest under low or moderate productivity; however, kangaroo effects are benign. Our findings support calls for resource management agencies to consider site productivity, as well as herbivore type and Intensity, when developing strategies to manage Grazing by livestock, and feral and native herbivores.
Paulo Cesar De Faccio Carvalho - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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sheep dung composition and phosphorus and potassium release affected by Grazing Intensity and pasture development stage in an integrated crop livestock system
Agronomy, 2020Co-Authors: Fernando Arnuti, Ibanor Anghinoni, Luiz Gustavo De Oliveira Denardin, Pedro Arthur De Albuquerque Nunes, Lucas Aquino Alves, Diego Cecagno, Julia De Assis, Walker Da S Schaidhauer, Abad Chabbi, Paulo Cesar De Faccio CarvalhoAbstract:Animal Grazing in integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) results in continuous nutrient release to forage plants and crops in succession. This study aimed to assess sheep dung composition and decomposition rates under distinct Grazing intensities and at different development stages of Italian ryegrass pasture (Lolium multiflorum Lam.), and to evaluate dung phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) release dynamics during two annual ICLS cycles (2015 and 2016) in southern Brazil. Treatments consisted of two Grazing intensities (moderate and light) and two pasture development stages (vegetative and post-flowering), arranged in a randomized complete block design with split-split-plots and four replicates. Dry matter (DM) decomposition and P and K release rates were determined using litter bags with sheep dung. Grazing Intensity did not affect sheep dung composition. Forage consumed at different development stages altered sheep dung composition, decomposition, and P and K release rates. Dung sampled at pasture vegetative stage showed P and K contents 16% and 7% higher, respectively, than dung from the post-flowering stage. Dung collected at pasture post-flowering stage had 26% more cellulose and 34% more hemicellulose compared to dung from the vegetative stage in 2016. P and K release was greater for dung from pasture vegetative stage, reaching 3.7 and 12.9 kg ha−1 of P and K, respectively. Further evaluations are still needed considering the quantification and release of nutrients in each of the different compartments (pasture, urine, and dung residues) that compose the system.
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carbon and nitrogen cycling in an integrated soybean beef cattle production system under different Grazing intensities
Pesquisa Agropecuaria Brasileira, 2015Co-Authors: Joice Mari Assmann, Ibanor Anghinoni, Paulo Cesar De Faccio Carvalho, Amanda Posselt Martins, Sergio Costa, Taise Robinson Kunrath, Cimelio Bayer, Alan J FranzluebbersAbstract:The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of Grazing Intensity on the decomposition of cover crop pasture, dung, and soybean residues, as well as the C and N release rates from these residues in a long‑term integrated soybean‑beef cattle system under no‑tillage. The experiment was initiated in 2001, with soybean cultivated in summer and black oat + Italian ryegrass in winter. The treatments consisted of four sward heights (10, 20, 30, and 40 cm), plus an ungrazed area, as the control. In 2009–2011, residues from pasture, dung, and soybean stems and leaves were placed in nylon‑mesh litter bags and allowed to decompose for up to 258 days. With increasing Grazing Intensity, residual dry matter of the pasture decreased and that of dung increased. Pasture and dung lignin concentrations and C release rates were lower with moderate Grazing Intensity. C and N release rates from soybean residues are not affected by Grazing Intensity. The moderate Grazing Intensity produces higher quality residues, both for pasture and dung. Total C and N release is influenced by the greater residual dry matter produced when pastures were either lightly grazed or ungrazed.
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pasture Grazing Intensity and presence or absence of cattle dung input and its relationships to soybean nutrition and yield in integrated crop livestock systems under no till
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Francine Damian Da Silva, Carolina Bremm, Telmo Jorge Carneiro Amado, Christian Bredemeier, Ibanor Anghinoni, Paulo Cesar De Faccio CarvalhoAbstract:Abstract In integrated soybean–beef cattle systems, the pasture Grazing Intensity affects the grain crop performance in succession. In addition, the dung cattle input influences the soil nutrients distribution in the field affecting the grain crop yield. This experiment aims to evaluate the effects of winter pasture heights and cattle dung input in soybean crop performance in succession. Main soil macronutrient content, soybean plant population, dry shoot biomass, plant height, plant nutrient content, soybean yield and yield components were assessed in the 10th experimental year. The experiment was conducted in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, in a long-term integrated crop–livestock systems implemented in 2001. Treatments were arranged in a split plot design with four pasture heights (0.10, 0.20, 0.30, and 0.40 m) and two levels of dung input (with or without). For all the variables analyzed, there was no interaction between pasture heights and cattle dung input ( P > 0.05). The pasture height management had only effect in soil P content, soybean dry biomass production, plant height and number of grains per pod. The increase in Grazing Intensity was associated to the rise in soybean plant height and dry mass production but was without effect on grain yield. The presence of Grazing animals in the integrated soybean–beef cattle systems, and the resultant augmentation of dung input increased by 122% and 38% the availability of soil K and P, respectively in relation to the absence. Thus, the content of such nutrients in the plant were increased in 41% and 7%, respectively. The improvement in soybean nutrition increases the amount of pods per plant by 20%, and resulting in a 23% increase in soybean yield. These results indicate that cattle dung input resulting from Grazing animals in the pasture phase increased soybean grain yield due to better plant nutrition. Although, the occurrence of cattle dung was very concentrated in some spots of the field and thus future studies should address strategies to improve spatial distribution of cattle dung input.
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Italian ryegrass establishment by self-seeding in integrated crop livestock systems: Effects of Grazing management and crop rotation strategies
European Journal of Agronomy, 2014Co-Authors: Armindo Barth Neto, Jean Victor Savian, Radael Marinho Tres Schons, Olivier Jean François Bonnet, Marcos Weber Do Canto, Anibal De Moraes, Gilles Lemaire, Paulo Cesar De Faccio CarvalhoAbstract:We evaluated the re-establishment of an Italian ryegrass pasture by self-seeding on a no-till integrated crop-livestock systems (ICLS) in the southern region of Brazil. This work is part of a long-term experimental protocol initiated in 2003. We tested the effects of various management practices, such as summer crop systems (soybean vs. maize-soybean rotation), stocking methods (continuous vs. rotational) and Grazing intensities (low vs. moderate), on Italian ryegrass pasture establishment. In addition, we tested resilience of the system by testing pasture's ability to re-establish following a year without seed head production. The experiment consisted in the rotation, on the same area, of Italian ryegrass pasture grazed by sheep during the winter and up to the end of the grass production cycle, and soybean or soybean-maize grain crops rotation cultivated during the summer. The pasture established itself by self-seeding since 2005. Data were collected in 2011 and 2012 stocking season. The soybean summer crop, continuous stocking and low Grazing Intensity, all positively affected the production of reproductive tillers in 2011. Grazing Intensity in 2011 strongly influenced early vegetative tiller densities (before crop harvest) in 2012. However, none of the Grazing Intensity or the stocking method treatments affected herbage mass at the end of pasture establishment in 2011 or 2012. On the other hand, the soybean summer crop positively affected pasture establishment, both in term of tiller densities and herbage mass at the end of pasture establishment. The removal of all seed heads in 2011 (preventing seed production) resulted in the total failure of pasture establishment in 2012. Overall, Italian ryegrass establishment by self-seeding relies on the annual replacement of the soil seed bank. This experiment demonstrated that under various stocking methods, moderate Grazing Intensity and maize or soybean summer crop, Italian ryegrass pasture establishment by self-seeding remains successful even when the stocking periods extended up to the end of the grass production cycle. Self-seeding with moderate Grazing Intensity ensures successful pasture establishment, reduces labour and costs and allows to increase the stocking period and so animal live weight gain over the Grazing season.
Yongfei Bai - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Grazing regime alters plant community structure via patch‐scale diversity in semiarid grasslands
'Wiley', 2021Co-Authors: David U. Hooper, Jonathan D. Bakker, Andros T. Gianuca, Friedhelm Taube, Chaonan Wang, Yongfei BaiAbstract:Abstract Selective Grazing of livestock creates lightly and heavily grazed vegetation patches, which together contribute to the whole community in grazed grasslands. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts moderate Grazing Intensity can increase species diversity. However, Grazing patchiness complicates predicted responses to Grazing Intensity from ecological theory and may influence how various management regimes affect biodiversity at the whole community scale. We examined effects of management regime and Grazing Intensity on plant species diversity, community composition, aboveground net primary production (ANPP), and soil compaction. Two management regimes (season‐long continuous Grazing and Grazing and mowing alternated annually) and seven levels of Grazing Intensity were applied over the past 10 yr. We assessed how α diversity within patches and β diversity across patches contributed to the diversity of the whole plot and how these relationships responded to both Grazing Intensity and management regime. We further divided β diversity into nestedness and replacement components across lightly and heavily grazed patches within plots. The mixed Grazing–mowing regime differed from the continuous Grazing regime in that the former had a higher number of palatable species, higher species evenness, and higher Shannon‐Wiener diversity, in both lightly and heavily grazed patches and the whole plots, and especially at moderate and high Grazing intensities. The continuous Grazing regime and the mixed Grazing–mowing regime did not differ in total β diversity. However, the nestedness component of total β diversity was dominant in the continuous Grazing regime. In contrast, species richness and ANPP did not differ significantly between the two management regimes, though soil hardness in heavily grazed patches was significantly higher under the continuous Grazing regime than the mixed Grazing–mowing regime. Loss of rare species under both management regimes, even at low to moderate Grazing intensities, suggests that selective Grazing and patch formation may not conform with the IDH. Our study indicates that the mixed Grazing–mowing regime is more sustainable for long‐term grassland management than the continuous Grazing regime by controlling the creation of heavily grazed patches. These findings, integrating α‐β‐γ diversity and patch‐scale approaches, provide a more thorough evaluation than the intermediate disturbance hypothesis of Grazing management in terms of sustainability and biodiversity conservation in semiarid regions
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ecosystem structure functioning and stability under climate change and Grazing in grasslands current status and future prospects
Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 2018Co-Authors: Yujin Zhao, Shuxia Zheng, Yongfei BaiAbstract:Ongoing climate change, as well as long-term overGrazing, is threatening biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in grasslands worldwide. Climate change and Grazing could directly alter ecosystem functioning and stability, or indirectly by changing species diversity, composition and plant functional traits. By synthesizing results from publications of the most recent 30-years, we found that effects of climate change and Grazing on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning varied from positive to negative, depending on different scenarios. Generally, aboveground net primary production (ANPP), belowground net primary production (BNPP), and species richness showed strong negative responses to 4°C warming, 50% precipitation decrease, and high Grazing Intensity. Responses of ANPP, BNPP and species richness to precipitation increase were mostly positive, whereas their responses to 2°C warming and low-to-moderate Grazing Intensity varied from positive to negative. Negative effects of 2°C warming on ANPP were substantially greater in grasslands that had been grazed than those that had not been grazed, and larger in arid and semi-arid grasslands than those in sub-humid and humid grasslands. Under 50% precipitation increase, ANPP responses were larger in grazed than ungrazed grasslands, and bigger in arid and semi-arid than sub-humid and humid grasslands. High levels of Grazing Intensity had greater effects on productivity and species richness than did warming and precipitation decrease. Currently, although there are increasing number of experiments which have included both climate change and Grazing factors, more studies are needed to test the joint effects of climate change (e.g. warming, changes in precipitation patterns) and Grazing (Grazing Intensity and livestock type) on biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions. Multi-factor experiments would provide a more comprehensive understanding for sustainable grassland management in future.
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Grazing weakens temporal stabilizing effects of diversity in the eurasian steppe
Ecology and Evolution, 2018Co-Authors: F Taube, Haiyan Ren, Claudia Stein, Yingjun Zhang, Yongfei BaiAbstract:Many biodiversity experiments have demonstrated that plant diversity can stabilize productivity in experimental grasslands. However, less is known about how diversity-stability relationships are mediated by Grazing. Grazing is known for causing species losses, but its effects on plant functional groups (PFGs) composition and species asynchrony, which are closely correlated with ecosystem stability, remain unclear. We conducted a six-year Grazing experiment in a semi-arid steppe, using seven levels of Grazing Intensity (0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, 6.0, 7.5, and 9.0 sheep per hectare) and two Grazing systems (i.e., a traditional, continuous Grazing system during the growing period (TGS), and a mixed one rotating Grazing and mowing annually (MGS)), to examine the effects of Grazing system and Grazing Intensity on the abundance and composition of PFGs and diversity-stability relationships. Ecosystem stability was similar between mixed and continuous Grazing treatments. However, within the two Grazing systems, stability was maintained through different pathways, that is, along with Grazing Intensity, persistence biomass variations in MGS, and compensatory interactions of PFGs in their biomass variations in TGS. Ecosystem temporal stability was not decreased by species loss but rather remain unchanged by the strong compensatory effects between PFGs, or a higher Grazing-induced decrease in species asynchrony at higher diversity, and a higher Grazing-induced increase in the temporal variation of productivity in diverse communities. Ecosystem stability of aboveground net primary production was not related to species richness in both Grazing systems. High Grazing Intensity weakened the temporal stabilizing effects of diversity in this semi-arid grassland. Our results demonstrate that the productivity of dominant PFGs is more important than species richness for maximizing stability in this system. This study distinguishes Grazing Intensity and Grazing system from diversity effects on the temporal stability, highlighting the need to better understand how Grazing regulates ecosystem stability, plant diversity, and their synergic relationships.
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response of spectral vegetation indices to a stocking rate experiment in inner mongolia china
Remote Sensing Letters, 2014Co-Authors: Z Sha, Daniel G Brown, Yichun Xie, William F Welsh, Yongfei BaiAbstract:Techniques for mapping and monitoring vegetation status under human disturbance (e.g., Grazing livestock) can contribute to sustainable development of grasslands. The main objective of this paper is to investigate whether the effects of differences in Grazing Intensity (measured by stocking rate (SR)) could be discriminated using in situ spectral data. The experiment was conducted with controlled SRs on the Sino-German experimental farm in the Xilingol grassland, Inner Mongolia, P.R. China. Canopy spectral measurements were made on experimental paddocks that varied by SRs, terrain and management type. Eight vegetation indices (VIs) were calculated from ASD field spectrometer data for each paddock. We modelled the variability within and between paddocks using a linear mixed model to isolate the effect of Grazing Intensity on VI response. All VIs showed significant negative relationships to Grazing Intensity that were ameliorated on paddocks with haying compared to traditional direct Grazing. The best VIs f...
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Grazing Intensity affected spatial patterns of vegetation and soil fertility in a desert steppe
Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 2010Co-Authors: Yang Lin, Yongfei Bai, Mei Hong, Guodong Han, Mengli Zhao, Scott X ChangAbstract:Abstract Spatial heterogeneities of vegetation and soil can strongly affect ecological functions of ecosystems, particularly for arid and semi-arid ecosystems where vegetation has a patchy distribution and livestock Grazing is one of the major land use types. However, little is known about the impact of Grazing on spatial patterns of vegetation and soil, even though Grazing has variously been shown to create, maintain or destroy those patterns. We studied how Grazing Intensity affected the spatial patterns of vegetation and soil fertility at scales ranging from 0.1 to 18.7 m in a desert steppe in Inner Mongolia, China. Increasing Grazing Intensity decreased the range of spatial autocorrelation of plant aboveground biomass at the fine scale ( 4 + availability and its overall variability. Soil NO 3 − only had significant cross-correlation with aboveground biomass in un-grazed plots at the fine scale, suggesting that the spatial correlation between plant and soil fertility was affected by Grazing. Spatial patterns of studied variables did not respond to Grazing intensities at a coarse scale (1–18 m). Our results demonstrated that the Grazing Intensity altered fine scale processes in this desert steppe and caused divergent responses of spatial distribution of vegetation and soil fertility.
J Isselstein - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Grazing induced patchiness not Grazing Intensity drives plant diversity in european low input pastures
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019Co-Authors: Bettina Tonn, Eva M Densing, Jessica Gabler, J IsselsteinAbstract:Livestock Grazing at low stocking rates is widely recommended to maintain grassland biodiversity. However, empirical evidence of Grazing‐Intensity effects on plant diversity is contradictory. Explicitly considering the small‐scale heterogeneity of short, frequently grazed and tall, rarely grazed patches typical of low‐input Grazing systems may be crucial to the understanding of paddock‐scale Grazing effects. We studied three patch types (short, intermediate, tall) within an unfertilised long‐term cattle Grazing experiment in Lower Saxony, Germany, comparing three paddock‐scale Grazing intensities. We analysed soil nutrient concentrations and recorded vegetation composition at a total of 135 plots. We determined species richness, Simpson diversity, Simpson evenness and beta diversity of individual plots (plot scale) and patch types within paddocks (patch scale). To quantify paddock‐scale diversity, we resampled plot‐scale species composition across a gradient of relative proportions of short and tall patches within a paddock. Patch type, not paddock‐scale Grazing Intensity, was the main driver of plant diversity at both plot and patch scale. Short patches were more diverse than tall patches, but the effect was not strongly mediated by the lower soil nutrient concentrations in the short patches. By contrast, both patch type and Grazing Intensity affected vegetation composition at plot and patch scale. Beta‐diversity within and between patch types was independent of Grazing Intensity; consequently, paddock‐scale diversity was determined by the relative proportion of short versus tall patches. Higher alpha diversity of short patches compared to tall patches was more important than beta diversity between the two patch types in shaping paddock‐scale diversity. Consequently, with increasing short‐patch proportion, paddock‐scale diversity increased. Synthesis and applications. Our study identifies the Grazing‐induced patch structure as the most important driver of plant diversity across different Grazing intensities in low‐input, that is, unfertilised and continuously stocked, pastures. To optimise Grazing management for biodiversity, understanding plant‐diversity responses to Grazing at the patch scale is indispensable. Our results suggest that, in unfertilised, continuously stocked European pastures, trade‐offs between biodiversity and agronomic production may be small, as short patches, whose proportion increases with stocking rate, also had the highest plant diversity.
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Grazing Intensity affects insect diversity via sward structure and heterogeneity in a long term experiment
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2014Co-Authors: Jana Sabrina Jerrentrup, Nicole Wragemonnig, Klausulrich Rover, J IsselsteinAbstract:Summary In the past, insect diversity in grasslands showed a severe decline due to management intensification or abandonment. In this study, we investigate the long-term influence of Grazing and the potential for spatial patterns created by different Grazing intensities to enhance insect diversity. In a long-term experiment (2002–2011), three Grazing intensities were applied to 1-ha paddocks in a triplicate block design: moderate Grazing (MC), lenient Grazing (LC) and very lenient Grazing (VLC, since 2005). The experiment was conducted in a moderately species-rich grassland at the edge of the Solling Uplands in Lower Saxony, Germany. Orthoptera (grasshoppers) and Lepidoptera (butterflies) on three 50-m transects per paddock were counted in 2002–2004 and again in 2010 and 2011. Statistics were performed using linear mixed modelling. Grasshopper diversity measures (species richness and abundance) were significantly affected by Grazing Intensity; abundance increased from 2002 to 2011 more strongly in the LC than in the MC treatment. Butterfly species richness response to Grazing Intensity varied among years. Data from 2010 and 2011 did not reveal any advantage of the lowest Grazing Intensity (VLC) compared to the intermediate Grazing Intensity treatment (LC) in either insect group. Multiple regressions were used to investigate diversity patterns. Along with compressed sward height, spatial patchiness was important for grasshopper species richness and abundance as well as for butterfly species numbers. Butterfly abundance was mainly influenced by vertical sward height heterogeneity in addition to the significant effects of thistle abundance and number of nectar plant species. Synthesis and applications. Cattle Grazing Intensity affects the proportions and spatial heterogeneity of short and tall sward patches on pastures. The less mobile grasshoppers particularly benefitted from the structural modifications created by cattle at lenient Grazing levels (stocking rate 1·14 SLU ha−1, standard livestock unit (SLU) = 500 kg). In the final study years, areas with intermediate Grazing Intensity revealed high diversity indices and the most distinct patchiness, therefore a further reduction in Grazing Intensity is not recommended. This indicates that commercial livestock production may be compatible with conservation targets.
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effect of livestock breed and Grazing Intensity on Grazing systems 5 management and policy implications
Grass and Forage Science, 2007Co-Authors: Jane Mills, J Isselstein, A.j. Rook, B Dumont, M Scimone, M Wallis F De VriesAbstract:Summary This paper explores the management and policy implications of research findings investigating the use of Grazing Intensity and traditional breeds to achieve biodiversity outcomes on grasslands in four countries of Europe. An economic analysis, based on these research findings, indicated that financial assistance and/or premium prices are required to achieve sustainable Grazing systems with a high biodiversity. The research findings suggested that existing agri-environment scheme prescriptions based only on blanket stocking rates are too crude to increase plant diversity, lacking consideration of initial site conditions. Conversely, some invertebrates seem to rapidly benefit from lenient stocking, highlighting the importance of clear goals for agri-environment schemes. Recommendations for an appropriate support package to deliver Grazing systems with high biodiversity are presented.
David J Eldridge - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Grazing regulates the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial communities within ecological networks
Ecosystems, 2020Co-Authors: David J Eldridge, Manuel Delgadobaquerizo, Samantha K Travers, James Val, Juntao Wang, Hongwei Liu, Brajesh K SinghAbstract:Grazing is a major driver of the composition of microbial communities, which play important roles in soil functioning. Mechanisms whereby Grazing might regulate the spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities within ecological networks remain largely untested. We used network analysis to identify the impacts of increasing Grazing Intensity by livestock (cattle, sheep, goats), and native (kangaroos) and wild (rabbits) animals, on the spatial heterogeneity of the relative abundance of eight ecological clusters of co-occurring soil microbial taxa: four from Grasslands and four from Forests. Grazing effects on microbial spatial heterogeneity were strongly nuanced and depended on (1) plant community type, (2) herbivore type and (3) microbial identity. Microbial within-site spatial heterogeneity was greater in Grasslands than in Forests, and most effects of Grazing on microbial spatial heterogeneity were in Forests, effecting three of the four Forest clusters, but only one Grassland cluster. The associations between Grazing Intensity and microbial heterogeneity were driven indirectly by changes in the spatial heterogeneity of litter cover and soil pH. For Grasslands, we also detected a direct effect of Grazing Intensity on the heterogeneity of particular microbial groups. Our results indicate that increased Grazing Intensity will advantage some microbial clusters but disadvantage others. Together, our study provides evidence that Grazing Intensity regulates the abundance and spatial heterogeneity of microbial communities within ecological networks. Knowing the potential effects of herbivores on different microbial clusters can help us predict the likely effects of Grazing on soil function. This has important implications for future sustainable management and conservation policies.
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do Grazing Intensity and herbivore type affect soil health insights from a semi arid productivity gradient
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: David J Eldridge, Manuel Delgadobaquerizo, Samantha K Travers, James Val, Ian OliverAbstract:Summary Grazing is one of the most widespread forms of intensive management on Earth and is linked to reductions in soil health. However, little is known about the relative influence of herbivore type, herbivore Intensity and site productivity on soil health. This lack of knowledge reduces our capacity to manage landscapes where Grazing is a major land use. We used structural equation modelling to assess the effects of recent (cattle, sheep, goats, kangaroos and rabbit dung) and historic (cattle, sheep/goat livestock tracks) herbivore activity on soil health at 451 sites across 0·5 M km2 of eastern Australia. We assessed the direct and indirect effects of increasing herbivore Intensity, using dung and livestock tracks, on 15 morphological, physical and chemical attributes that are indicative of soil health, and we used these attributes to derive three indices representing the capacity of the soil to maintain its structural integrity (stability), cycle nutrients (nutrients) and maintain water flow (infiltration). Grazing had negative effects on the three soil health indices, but these effects varied with productivity. Grazing Intensity was associated with strong reductions in the stability and nutrient indices under low productivity, but these effects diminished with increasing productivity. Herbivore effects on individual attributes varied in relation to productivity level and were strongly herbivore specific, with most due to cattle Grazing, and to a lesser extent, sheep, goats and rabbits. Few effects due to kangaroos or historic Grazing by livestock were observed. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that livestock and rabbits degrade soil health through Grazing, and its effects are strongest under low or moderate productivity; however, kangaroo effects are benign. Our findings support calls for resource management agencies to consider site productivity, as well as herbivore type and Intensity, when developing strategies to manage Grazing by livestock, and feral and native herbivores.
