A resilient system: North American mixed-grass prairie responds rapidly to livestock exclusion

Fischer, Samantha; Henderson, Darcy C.; Koper, Nicola

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108453

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 63 publications

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“…Recently, livestock in protected areas worldwide has increased, especially in forest landscapes, possibly affecting the predator abundance, breeding success, and habitats of wild animals [ 8 , 10 , 11 ]. Therefore, livestock can have a knock-on effect on ground-nesting and insectivorous birds that depend on forest resources [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Behaviour of Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Hua

Song

et al. 2022

Animals

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Protected areas are seeing an increase in anthropogenic disturbances in the world. Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of livestock grazing and human presence on the habitat use of birds, whereas little is known about the effect of free-ranging livestock on bird behaviour. Reeves’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) is endemic to China and has been threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal logging, and human disturbance over the past 20 years. Based on camera trapping in the Liankangshan National Nature Reserve (LKS) and the Zhonghuashan Birds Provincial Nature Reserve (ZHS), we explore the effects of livestock grazing and human activities on the spatio-temporal distribution and behavioural patterns of Reeves’s Pheasant. Livestock does not appear to affect habitat use by the pheasant but changes its behavioural patterns. In addition, pheasants in areas with livestock foraged mostly during the early morning, while in areas without livestock, they foraged at dusk. Therefore, the study concludes that livestock intensity in nature reserves may have reduced pheasant suitability through altered patterns of vigilance and foraging behaviour.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Behaviour of Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Hua

Song

et al. 2022

Animals

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Cattle exclusion increases encounters of wild herbivores in Neotropical forests

Vélez,

McShea,

Pukazhenthi

et al. 2024

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Ongoing habitat loss and species extinctions require managers to implement and quantify the effectiveness of conservation actions for protecting biodiversity. Fencing, when done properly, is an important management tool for conservation in landscapes where wildlife and domestic animals co‐occur, potentially enhancing habitat use through selective exclusion of domestic species. For instance, the fencing of forest patches in the Neotropics is expected to reduce the degradation of understory vegetation by cattle, releasing these resources for the native community of browsers and fruit consumers. Here, we implemented an ecological experiment using a before‐after control‐impact design to quantify the effect of cattle exclusion on encounter probability of the native community of browsers and fruit consumers, and percent ground cover in multifunctional landscapes of the Colombian Orinoquía. We built 14 km of wildlife‐permeable fences along forest edges in four forest patches (i.e. blocks) containing control and fenced (treatment) sites. We installed 33 camera traps to obtain information about wildlife and cattle encounter probabilities, before and after the fences were constructed. We used Bayesian generalised linear mixed effects models to quantify the effect of fences via the interaction between the time period (before and after the fences were built) and treatment (control or fenced sites). Fencing was effective at reducing encounter probabilities of cattle in the treated sites, and it had a positive impact on relative encounter probabilities of four of seven studied wildlife species (herbivores including the black agouti [dry season only], lowland tapir [dry season only] and spotted paca [both seasons] and an omnivore, the South American coati [rainy season only]). The effect of fencing was negative for the collared peccary but only during the dry season. No statistically significant effect was detected for the white‐lipped peccary or white‐tailed deer. Synthesis and applications: We provide experimental evidence that fences are effective at selectively excluding cattle and increasing encounter rates of wild browsers and fruit consumers in forest patches where these species co‐occur with cattle. Our results highlight an important application of fencing ecology in Neotropical forests, where the implementation of wildlife‐permeable fences is feasible due to smaller body sizes of wildlife compared to domestic animals such as cattle.

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Innovative Organic Fertilizers and Cover Crops: Perspectives for Sustainable Agriculture in the Era of Climate Change and Organic Agriculture

Khan,

Aleinikovienė,

Butkevičienė

2024

Agronomy

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Anthropogenic activities have resulted in land desertification in various regions of the world, leading to the degradation of critical soil characteristics such as organic matter (OM) content, nutrient stock, and prevailing biodiversity. Restoring such degraded soils through organic matter amendments and diversified crop rotations is thus an intrinsic part of organic farming. This review discusses a wide range of organic farming impacts on soil health and crop productivity by focusing on organic fertilizers and crop diversification. Conventional fertilizers were considered vital for agricultural production to harvest high crop yields. Nevertheless, they are now deemed as environmentally hazardous and an obstacle to sustainable agroecosystems due to intensive chemical inputs that damage the soil over time and have long-lasting impacts. Conventional fertilization results in nutrient depletion, loss of microbial diversity, organic matter reduction, and deterioration of physical characteristics of the soil. Conversely, organic fertilization makes use of naturally existing resources to improve soil health. Organic amendments such as biochar, manure, and fermented grass improve soil’s physical, chemical, and biological properties and promote the growth and diversity of beneficial soil microorganisms—important in nutrient cycling and soil stability. They facilitate the uptake of nutrients, hinder crop pathogen growth, mitigate heavy metals, and decompose xenobiotic organic substances. Moreover, growing cover crops is also a major strategy to improve soil health. Diversified crop rotation with combinatorial use of organic fertilizers may improve soil health and agricultural yields without any detrimental impacts on the environment and soil, ensuring sustainable food production, safety, and security. This integrated approach contributes to minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers and their effects on environmental health. It also contributes to reducing agricultural inputs along with enhancing OM, soil microbial diversity and biomass, nitrogen fixation, and carbon sequestration. Therefore, cover crops and organic fertilization may offer sustainable agroecosystems and climate change mitigation.

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A resilient system: North American mixed-grass prairie responds rapidly to livestock exclusion

Cited by 3 publications

References 63 publications

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Behaviour of Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Behaviour of Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Cattle exclusion increases encounters of wild herbivores in Neotropical forests

Innovative Organic Fertilizers and Cover Crops: Perspectives for Sustainable Agriculture in the Era of Climate Change and Organic Agriculture

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