Ecological responses of semi-natural grasslands to abandonment: case studies in three mountain regions in the Eastern Alps

Bohner, Andreas; Karrer, Johannes; Walcher, Ronnie; Brandl, David G.; Michel, Kerstin; Arnberger, Arne; Frank, Thomas; Zaller, Johann G.

doi:10.1007/s12224-019-09355-2

Cited by 23 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…The nutcrackers hardly perform seed caching above the actual treeline due to deep snow (Mattes, 1982) or the lack of landmarks at high elevations (Neuschulz et al, 2017). Our results, showing missing shrub and tree invasions within exclosures are comparable to landuse changes in the Eastern Alps: formerly mown grasslands exhibited no invasion of shrubs and trees even after 60 years of abandonment (Bohner et al, 2020). Missing effects despite climate warming and grazing such as in our study area are known also from the LTER site Niwot Ridge (Scharnagl et al, 2019).…”

Section: Interaction Of Climate Warming and Grazing Effectsmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…The species is known as tall herb, selectively grazed by sheep (Evju et al, 2006). The developing dominance of tall-growing herbs following grazing exclusion parallels mowing cessation effects (Bohner et al, 2020), i.e., land-use abandonment in general provokes a remarkable decrease in species richness and Shannon index. This conclusion is not new: several authors highlighted the role of grazing (or mowing) in preserving grasslands and enhancing species diversity (Olff and Ritchie, 1998;Adler et al, 2001;Austrheim and Eriksson, 2001;Dupré and Diekmann, 2001;Pavlu et al, 2005;Sebastià et al, 2008;Mayer and Erschbamer, 2017 and citations therein;Wang et al, 2017;Perotti et al, 2018).…”

Section: Decreasing Diversity In Grazing Exclusionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of Climate Change vs. Grazing Exclusion on Species Diversity Over 18 Years Along an Elevation Gradient in the European Alps

Kaufmann

Mayer²,

Schallhart

et al. 2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Climate change was already shown to increase species numbers in high elevations. In contrast, grazing might interfere with climate change effects. To disentangle both the effects remains a major challenge of alpine ecology. The present study investigated both the effects on species diversity along an elevation gradient in the Austrian Central Alps. We aimed to answer the following questions: How do species diversity and frequency of subalpine–alpine–subnival plant communities change in grazed sites with time? Do competitive plant species increase in the communities? How does grazing exclusion affect species diversity, functional groups, and strategy types? Are environmental changes (temperature, sunshine duration, precipitation) responsible for diversity changes or does grazing override climate effects? The study was carried out for 18 years along an elevation gradient from 1,958 to 2,778 m a.s.l. at Obergurgl (Tyrol, Austria), including six different plant communities. A total of 11 grazing exclusions were established. At each community, the frequency of the species was counted in 1 m2 plots yearly or at least every 3–4 years. Environmental data were obtained from the weather station Obergurgl. Changes of the community parameters and the species composition were analyzed by partial redundancy analyses and mixed-effect models. Species diversity increased with time at all grazed sites, but this increase was suppressed under grazing exclusion. Grazing exclusion effects became pronounced after 5 years. The most consistent result was the increase of bryophytes throughout. At the subalpine grassland, tall-growing species expanded in the exclosures; at the upper alpine Carex curvula grassland, snow bed species decreased with grazing exclusion. Among the environmental factors, sunshine duration of the previous year’s autumn quartal was found to be the essential variable for the changes. We concluded that diversity increases in grazed communities of the Austrian Central Alps can be attributed to climate change. An indication of slightly reduced and altered weather effects under grazing exclusion was found.

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Section: Interaction Of Climate Warming and Grazing Effectsmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Decreasing Diversity In Grazing Exclusionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Climate Change vs. Grazing Exclusion on Species Diversity Over 18 Years Along an Elevation Gradient in the European Alps

Kaufmann

Mayer²,

Schallhart

et al. 2021

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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“…However, Ford et al (2012) noticed that grasslands grazed extensively by cattle, ponies and rabbits had significantly greater plant species (including forb) richness than those abandoned for 6 years, while the primary productivity did not differ. A recent study (Bohner et al, 2019) concluded that long-term abandonment changed floristic composition by replacing short or shade intolerant species with medium or tallsized grasses. Also, it increased above-ground phytomass but decreased species richness.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies conclude that it decreases species richness (Janišová et al, 2020), while others (Ford et al, 2012) noticed significantly greater plant richness in grazed vs not grazed grasslands while the primary productivity did not differ. Moreover, a recent study (Bohner et al, 2019) concluded that long-term grazing cessation increased above ground phytomass but decreased species richness. Since these influences are so intricate, more case studies are necessary to clarify the effects of grazing practices on grassland parameters.…”

Section: Introduction Introduction Introduction Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detecting trends in the quality and productivity of grasslands by analyzing the historical vegetation relevés: A case study from Southeastern Carpathians, Vlădeasa Mountains (Romania)

Maruşca

Roman

Taulescu

et al. 2021

Not Bot Horti Agrobo

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Grassland ecosystems are essential for biomass production but are prone to degradation if management practices are inappropriate. Thus, it is necessary to optimize grazing management since the grazing practices and grassland status are interconnected. Herbage mass production and forage quality of the plant species are among the most important factors for grazing livestock performance, grassland carrying capacity, and their sustainable management. We employed optimized methods for the analysis of two historical vegetation datasets (from 1970 and 2008), along with the statistical data on livestock numbers and types from three administrative units within the Vlădeasa Mountains area, in the Romanian Carpathians. We looked for trends in grassland quality and productivity and explored their connections to grazing management descriptors and practices. We identified a small but statistically significant decreasing trend between the two periods in both pastoral value (from 63.80 to 61.43) and productivity (from 10.80 t ha-1 to 9.18 t ha-1). The decline in grassland quality and productivity may be associated with the sharp decrease in livestock numbers (from 9,688 LU to 5,085 LU) and the replacement of cattle by sheep as the dominant livestock type. The abandonment of grasslands and traditional practices also increased the deviation from the optimum of the actual stocking rate. This approach can be used as a model for other areas where time-series vegetation data are available from phytosociological literature and/or databases. These insights can be used to design adaptive grazing management plans to optimize grazing management according to the carrying capacity of the grassland ecosystems.

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“…The negative effects of this agropastoral abandonment are widely recognized as crucial issues affecting the conservation of European semi-natural grasslands [3], and are two-fold. Firstly, the lack of biomass removal in semi-natural grasslands leads to litter accumulation and the modification of plant interspecific competition [4,5]. As a consequence, a few highly competitive grasses often increase and become dominant, while less competitive species are suppressed [6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sheep Grazing and Wildfire: Disturbance Effects on Dry Grassland Vegetation in the Western Italian Alps

et al. 2020

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Land abandonment represents a major threat to the conservation of European semi-natural dry grasslands. To ensure biodiversity and habitat conservation, in this study, sheep grazing was reintroduced in abandoned Festuco-Brometea dry grasslands of a western Italian alpine valley. The experimental design included three treatments, along a gradient of increasing disturbance: (i) not-grazed, (ii) grazed, and (iii) penning areas. Unexpectedly, two years after grazing reintroduction, a wildfire hit the study area. To investigate the short-term effects of grazing and wildfire disturbances on vegetation, 62 permanent transects were monitored from 2014 to 2018. Vegetation cover, plant diversity, and richness and abundance of three functional groups of species were analyzed through generalized linear mixed models. Grazing caused little changes in vegetation, with the greatest effects observed in penning areas: the pioneer xerothermic species group, including many rare plant species, benefited from the reduction in the litter layer and the opening of gaps in the sward induced by trampling. The wildfire led to an increase in plant diversity and to changes in plant composition: dry grassland species decreased, while pioneer xerothermic and ruderal species increased their abundance. Short-term results suggest that both disturbances may foster the conservation of alpine dry grasslands.

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Ecological responses of semi-natural grasslands to abandonment: case studies in three mountain regions in the Eastern Alps

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

Effects of Climate Change vs. Grazing Exclusion on Species Diversity Over 18 Years Along an Elevation Gradient in the European Alps

Effects of Climate Change vs. Grazing Exclusion on Species Diversity Over 18 Years Along an Elevation Gradient in the European Alps

Detecting trends in the quality and productivity of grasslands by analyzing the historical vegetation relevés: A case study from Southeastern Carpathians, Vlădeasa Mountains (Romania)

Sheep Grazing and Wildfire: Disturbance Effects on Dry Grassland Vegetation in the Western Italian Alps

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