Climate – grazing interactions in Mongolian rangelands: Effects of grazing change along a large-scale environmental gradient

Ahlborn, Julian; Wehrden, Henrik von; Lang, Birgit; Römermann, Christine; Munkhzul, Oyunbileg; Oyuntsetseg, Batlai; Wesche, Karsten

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2019.104043

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 50 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…5 million km 2 of steppe habitat (Wesche et al 2016), representing more than half of the entire Palaearctic steppe biome. Grasslands cover ~ 80% of Mongolia and have been subjected to a number of studies assessing the impact of its extreme continental climate (Fernández-Giménez and Allen-Diaz 1999;Shinoda et al 2010;Sternberg 2008), its > 4000 year old history of nomadic pastoralism (Herrero-Jáuregui and Oesterheld 2018;Hoshino et al 2009), and the interacting effects of climate and grazing on vegetation (Ahlborn et al 2020;Bat-Oyun et al 2016;Hoshino et al 2009;Khishigbayar et al 2015;von Wehrden et al 2012). However, only a few studies have investigated grazing effects on population genetics of Central Asian rangeland species, and they yielded contrasting results: Wang et al (2004) reported that for Inner Mongolia, intensive grazing led to declining genetic diversity in populations of Artemisia frigida Willd.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…71 million (NSO 2020), which has had tremendous effects on both vegetation and soil (Jamsranjav et al 2018). Besides grazing effects, climatic conditions such as annual precipitation, its variability and the occurrence of droughts have strongly influenced vegetation distribution and land degradation (Ahlborn et al 2020;Dai 2011;Fatichi and Ivanov 2014). Intensive grazing in mesic steppes can lead to invasions by more droughtadapted species (xerophytisation) (Zemmrich et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Contrasting effects of local environment and grazing pressure on the genetic diversity and structure of Artemisia frigida

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Drylands count among the most globally extensive biomes, and while many desert and dry rangeland ecosystems are under threat, genetic structures of dryland species are still rarely studied. Artemisia frigida is one of the most widely distributed plant species in the temperate rangelands of Eurasia and North America, and it also dominates in many habitats of Mongolia due to its tolerance to low temperatures, drought and disturbance. Local environmental conditions and grazing pressure can influence species performance and affect spatial patterns of genetic diversity in contrasting ways, and our study set out to evaluate such effects on the genetic diversity and structure of A. frigida. We first developed new species-specific Simple Sequence Repeats (SSRs) markers using whole genome sequencing. We then analysed 11 populations of A. frigida that had been sampled along a large climatic gradient in Mongolia, which were sub-structured according to three levels of grazing intensity. Estimates of genetic diversity at the population level were high (HO = 0.56, HE = 0.73) and tended to increase with higher precipitation and soil nutrient availability. Grazing had no effect on genetic diversity, however, a high number of grazing-specific indicator alleles was found at grazed sites. Genetic differentiation among populations was extremely low (global GST = 0.034). Analysis of Molecular Variance revealed 5% variance between populations along the climatic gradient, with 3% of the variance being partitioned among different grazing intensity levels. We found no relationship between geographic and genetic distances, and thus no isolation by distance in this widely distributed species. The relatively low genetic structuring suggests that considerable gene flow exists among A. frigida populations across the rangelands of Mongolia, in spite of the pervasive grazing in the region.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Contrasting effects of local environment and grazing pressure on the genetic diversity and structure of Artemisia frigida

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is a common problem in rangeland ecology whenever it comes to open range or even mobile grazing systems, such as in the steppes of Mongolia. Livestock grazing there concentrates around water wells and grazing intensity constantly decreases towards the outer perimeter 79 , 80 . This was not the case in Yakutia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of large herbivore grazing on relics of the presumed mammoth steppe in the extreme climate of NE-Siberia

Reinecke

Ashastina

Kienast

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Siberian mammoth steppe ecosystem changed dramatically with the disappearance of large grazers in the Holocene. The concept of Pleistocene rewilding is based on the idea that large herbivore grazing significantly alters plant communities and can be employed to recreate lost ecosystems. On the other hand, modern rangeland ecology emphasizes the often overriding importance of harsh climates. We visited two rewilding projects and three rangeland regions, sampling a total of 210 vegetation relevés in steppe and surrounding vegetation (grasslands, shrublands and forests) along an extensive climatic gradient across Yakutia, Russia. We analyzed species composition, plant traits, diversity indices and vegetation productivity, using partial canonical correspondence and redundancy analysis. Macroclimate was most important for vegetation composition, and microclimate for the occurrence of extrazonal steppes. Macroclimate and soil conditions mainly determined productivity of vegetation. Bison grazing was responsible for small-scale changes in vegetation through trampling, wallowing and debarking, thus creating more open and disturbed plant communities, soil compaction and xerophytization. However, the magnitude of effects depended on density and type of grazers as well as on interactions with climate and site conditions. Effects of bison grazing were strongest in the continental climate of Central Yakutia, and steppes were generally less affected than meadows. We conclude that contemporary grazing overall has rather limited effects on vegetation in northeastern Siberia. Current rewilding practices are still far from recreating a mammoth steppe, although large herbivores like bison can create more open and drier vegetation and increase nutrient availability in particular in the more continental Central Yakutian Plain.

show abstract

“…Rainfall occurs mainly during the summer months. Grassland is the main vegetation type in the study region (Ahlborn et al, 2020). Nomadic livestock herding is the main type of land use, with goats and sheep being the most abundant livestock species (Fernández‐Giménez, 2006).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This resembles the approach above with two exceptions: NDVI was not included as a random intercept in the models, because NDVI cannot be used to correct for the occurrence of species. Precipitation was not included in the model because precipitation and richness are highly correlated in drylands (Ahlborn et al, 2020).…”

Section: Plant Species Richnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions between species richness, herbivory and precipitation affect standing biomass in Mongolian rangelands

Ahlborn

Wesche

Lang

et al. 2021

Applied Vegetation Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Questions Livestock management in rangelands depends on the production of plant biomass. Biomass production is driven by the temporal and spatial variability in precipitation, but our understanding of how precipitation variability mediates grazing effects on biomass production is still fragmented. Along a 600‐km precipitation gradient we extracted biomass data to ask the questions: (a) what are the effects of grazing intensity on biomass production; (b) does grazing intensity interact with plant species richness to affect biomass production; and (c) how do plant functional groups respond to grazing and precipitation? Location Mongolia. Methods Biomass was sampled along 15 grazing intensity transects within the precipitation gradient over two consecutive years. We modeled spatial variability in above‐ground plant biomass using mixed‐effects models. Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data were combined with field‐sampled biomass data to correct for inter‐annual precipitation variation. The effects of species richness were modeled with respect to possible interactions with grazing intensity, and the composition of plant functional groups was modeled with respect to possible interactions between grazing intensity and precipitation. Results Biomass was negatively correlated with grazing intensity and this effect increased as precipitation increased. Biomass was positively correlated with species richness in both years, but the strength of this effect and the interaction between species richness and grazing intensity differed between 2014 and 2015 in line with highly variable precipitation between both years. The plant functional groups grasses, sedges, legumes, wormwood and forbs had contrasting responses to grazing and precipitation. Conclusion Biomass production in drylands is more vulnerable to changes in precipitation variability and grazing intensities in relatively moist and productive rangelands than in dry and unproductive ones. Future rangeland management needs to address potentially increasing precipitation variability in order to promote desired forage plants, and to preserve the positive effects of biodiversity for biomass production.

show abstract

Climate – grazing interactions in Mongolian rangelands: Effects of grazing change along a large-scale environmental gradient

Cited by 28 publications

References 50 publications

Contrasting effects of local environment and grazing pressure on the genetic diversity and structure of Artemisia frigida

Contrasting effects of local environment and grazing pressure on the genetic diversity and structure of Artemisia frigida

Effects of large herbivore grazing on relics of the presumed mammoth steppe in the extreme climate of NE-Siberia

Interactions between species richness, herbivory and precipitation affect standing biomass in Mongolian rangelands

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About