Contrasting global effects of woody plant removal on ecosystem structure, function and composition

Ding, Jingyi; Eldridge, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.ppees.2019.125460

Cited by 25 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 68 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Concerns over negative effects of woody encroachment on forage production, stream flow, and ground water recharge have led to the widespread application of chemical and mechanical “brush management” techniques aimed at reducing woody cover (e.g., Bovey 2001, Noble and Walker 2006, Ndhlovu et al 2011, Kunst et al 2012). However, the impacts of brush management on ecosystem services and ecological processes are equivocal (Daryanto et al 2019, Ding and Eldridge 2019). Explicit accountings of interactions between grazing, shrub encroachment and brush management are needed to improve our ability to assess land cover/land use effects on drylands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, many drylands are a complex mosaic of different stages of shrub invasion and recovery from brush management (Asner et al 2003, Heaton et al 2003). There has been considerable research on brush management efficacy with respect to livestock forage production, but its impacts on ecosystem aboveground C or SOC and N pools are poorly studied and equivocal (Daryanto et al 2019, Ding and Eldridge 2019). Given the potential importance of woody encroachment as a terrestrial C sink (King et al 2007) and the widespread application of brush management in livestock‐grazed systems (Archer et al 2011), it is critical to project the net outcome of these interacting forces on SOC and N. Limited available evidence suggests SOC and N accumulations induced by shrub establishment are likely to decline following brush management (Tiedemann and Klemmedson 1986), but few studies have assessed brush management impacts over long time periods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the potential importance of woody encroachment as a terrestrial C sink (King et al 2007) and the widespread application of brush management in livestock‐grazed systems (Archer et al 2011), it is critical to project the net outcome of these interacting forces on SOC and N. Limited available evidence suggests SOC and N accumulations induced by shrub establishment are likely to decline following brush management (Tiedemann and Klemmedson 1986), but few studies have assessed brush management impacts over long time periods. For example, two recent syntheses found few studies conducted >10 yr after brush removal treatments (Daryanto et al 2019, Ding and Eldridge 2019), although shrub impacts on SOC may persist for decades following their removal (McClaran et al 2008). Furthermore, the plant‐ and stand‐scale spatial pattern, rate, and magnitude of such losses and how they might be affected by livestock grazing are unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Soil organic carbon in drylands: shrub encroachment and vegetation management effects dwarf those of livestock grazing

Throop

Archer

McClaran

2020

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dryland ecosystems occur worldwide and play a prominent, but potentially shifting, role in global biogeochemical cycling. Widespread woody plant proliferation, often associated with declines in palatable grasses, has jeopardized livestock production in drylands and prompted attempts to reduce woody cover by chemical or mechanical means. Woody encroachment also has the potential to significantly alter terrestrial carbon storage. However, little is known of the long-term biogeochemical consequences of woody encroachment in the broader context of its interaction with common dryland land uses, including "brush management" (woody plant clearing) and livestock grazing. Present assessments exhibit considerable variation in the consequences of these land use/land cover changes, with evidence that brush management may counteract sizeable impacts of shrub encroachment on soil biogeochemical pools. A challenge to assessing the net effects of brush management in shrub-encroached grasslands on soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (N) pools is that land management practices are typically considered in isolation, when they are co-occurring phenomena. Furthermore, few studies have assessed spatial patterns in brush management and how these are affected in decades following treatment on sites with contrasting grazing histories. To address these uncertainties and interactions, we quantified the impacts of shrub encroachment and their subsequent mortality resulting from brush management (herbicide application) on SOC and N pools in a Sonoran Desert grassland where long-term grazing manipulations (>100 yr) co-occur with shrub encroachment and brush management. Pools of SOC and N associated with herbicided shrubs declined markedly over~40 yr, offsetting 66% of the increases from shrub encroachment. However, spatial patterns in SOC induced by shrubs persisted over the decades following brush management. Century-long protection from grazing did little to change SOC and N pools. Accordingly, shrub encroachment and shrub mortality from brush management each far outweighed livestock grazing impacts. Consideration of the patterns of SOC and N through space (e.g., bole-to-dripline gradients), time (e.g., shrub age/size), land use (e.g., livestock grazing and brush management), and their interactions will position us to improve predictions of SOC and N responses to land use/land cover change, inform C-based management decisions, and objectively evaluate trade-offs with other ecosystem services.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Soil organic carbon in drylands: shrub encroachment and vegetation management effects dwarf those of livestock grazing

Throop

Archer

McClaran

2020

Ecological Applications

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, despite the many putative ecosystem benefits of woody plants, even under encroached conditions (Eldridge & Soliveres 2015), woody encroachment is still regarded as a symptom of poor ecological health, particularly in systems that rely heavily on forage production to support livestock grazing (Eldridge & Soliveres 2015). Considerable capital has been invested worldwide in an effort to remove woody plants and reverse the loss of herbaceous plants on which pastoralism depends, generally with limited long‐term success (Ding & Eldridge 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, we tested three hypotheses about the long‐term control of woody plants using a roller‐chopper. Global syntheses of woody plant removal indicate that its effectiveness is generally short‐lived, with increases in herbaceous biomass and diversity lasting less than 5 years and generally diminishing over time due to subsequent recruitment (Archer et al 2011; Ding & Eldridge 2019). We expected therefore that any potential effects of roller‐chopping on either woody plants or groundstorey communities would dissipate within a decade (Hypothesis 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Limited long‐term effectiveness of roller‐chopping for managing woody encroachment

Eldridge

Ding

2020

Restoration Ecology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The encroachment of woody plants into grasslands, woodland, and savanna has increased markedly over the past century, prompting the use of different physical methods to remove woody plants and restore grasses. Roller‐chopping is used extensively in the Americas, but little is known about its long‐term effectiveness for restoration, and whether its effectiveness varies with the intensity of encroachment. We compared the effects of roller‐chopping, under three treatment intensities (control, single treatment, double treatment), on woody plant density, ground cover, and groundstorey plants at sites of low, moderate, and high woody plant density in a semi‐arid eastern Australian woodland over 10 years. Both single and double treatment significantly altered the size distribution of Dodonaea viscosa, which comprised more than 85% of woody plants at all sites. Thus, roller‐chopping changed the size distribution of the community from an even‐size distribution to one dominated by shorter plants, irrespective of initial encroachment level. The effectiveness of roller‐chopping was strongly site‐specific, with significant reductions in density at low‐ and high‐density sites, but no clear trend in relation to the intensity of treatment (i.e. single cf. double treatment). The effectiveness of roller‐chopping was unsustained over the long term, with the suppressive effect on woody density diminishing over time. Grass cover increased with increasing intensity of woody removal, but only at the low‐density site and with some ill‐defined, variable, and short‐term effects on plant composition. Managers should consider that the short‐term effects may not adequately reflect the long‐term results of woody plant removal using the roller‐chopper.

show abstract

Assessing impacts of climate change on selected foundation species and ecosystem services in the South‐Central USA

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change, interacting with and exacerbating anthropogenic modifications to the landscape, is altering ecosystem structure and function, biodiversity, and species distributions. Among the most visible short-term impacts are the altered ecological roles of foundation species-those species, native or non-native-that create locally stable environmental conditions and strongly influence ecosystem services. Understanding the future of these species is crucial for projecting impacts on ecosystem services at both local and regional scales. Here we present foundation species by ecoregion study cases across the US South-Central Region (Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas), including C 4 grasses, mesquite, and northern bobwhite in the Southern Great Plains, mangroves and nutria in coastal Louisiana wetlands, tiger salamanders and sandhill cranes in wetlands of the Southern Great Plains, and post and blackjack oaks and eastern redcedar in the Cross Timbers ecoregion. These case studies explore the impacts of climate change on foundation species and the consequences for ecosystem services, the outlook for climate adaptation efforts, and the sustainability of restoration in these systems. We underscore risks and vulnerabilities that stakeholders should consider when managing or restoring natural resources and conserving ecosystem services in an increasingly extreme and variable climate. We show that past management, through a lack of understanding or implementation of actions, has exacerbated shifts in invasive species, resulting in significant changes in ecosystem structure and function. These changes, interacting with landscape fragmentation and shifting land use and exacerbated by climate change, can result in critical losses of biodiversity. Unfortunately, lack of public understanding may hinder political support for restoration efforts and climate adaptation strategies crucial for the continued supply of traditional ecosystem services. Furthermore, the resulting invaded systems may provide opportunities for income via new ecosystem services valued by society that may reduce support for restoration to historical baselines, thus further shifting management priorities. These priorities

show abstract

Contrasting global effects of woody plant removal on ecosystem structure, function and composition

Cited by 25 publications

References 68 publications

Soil organic carbon in drylands: shrub encroachment and vegetation management effects dwarf those of livestock grazing

Soil organic carbon in drylands: shrub encroachment and vegetation management effects dwarf those of livestock grazing

Limited long‐term effectiveness of roller‐chopping for managing woody encroachment

Assessing impacts of climate change on selected foundation species and ecosystem services in the South‐Central USA

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About