Ecosystem structure, function, and composition in rangelands are negatively affected by livestock grazing

Eldridge, David J.; Poore, Alistair G. B.; Ruíz-Colmenero, Marta; Letnic, Mike; Soliveres, Santiago

doi:10.1890/15-1234

Cited by 307 publications

(252 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…A mixed effects model (lmer4 package) was used to calculate mean effects, including a random effect of study and the weighting factor of experimental replications. The random effect of study is similar to a "block" effect, accounting for similarities in environments when more than one response ratio was available for one study (St. Pierre, 2001;Eldridge et al, 2016). In addition to calculating overall mean effects of treatments for each soil water property, studies were analyzed in groups according to soil texture, annual precipitation, or the inclusion versus exclusion of livestock; for the statistical analysis, these groups were treated as fixed effects.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Continuous Living Cover on Soil Hydrologic Properties: A Meta‐Analysis

Basche

DeLonge

2017

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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Increased rainfall variability due to climate change threatens the efficacy of critical soil ecosystem services. One strategy to negate effects of too much or not enough rainfall is to improve soil water properties. Practices that offer "continuous living cover" can enhance soil water storage and other soil hydrologic properties relative to annual crop systems, but to what extent such benefits can accrue, under different conditions, remains under-quantified. To address these uncertainties, we conducted a meta-analysis that included 27 studies representing 93 paired observations measuring two soil hydrologic properties: porosity and the water retained at field capacity. All experiments compared the impact of continuous living cover practices (cover crops, perennial grasses, agroforestry and managed forestry) to annual crop controls. Continuous living cover significantly increased total porosity (8.0 ± 2.2%) and the water retained at field capacity (9.3 ± 2.7%). There was some evidence indicating improved effects in relatively drier environments (<900 mm annual rainfall) and in regions with sandier soils. There was no evidence of publication bias, and a sensitivity analysis indicated that overall effects were robust. The similar direction and magnitude of improvements in both properties could be evidence of similar physical and chemical processes impacted by the continuous presence of living roots. Overall, our findings suggest that continuous living cover practices may be a potential adaptation strategy to combat rainfall variability. Furthermore, properties such as porosity and field capacity may serve as proxies to determine how management influences soil water and heath more broadly. Improving soil health and resilience into the future is a critical priority for 21st century agriculture, given increased demands on agriculture, including climate change (Amundson et al., 2015). As a result of a warming atmosphere, increased rainfall variability is already measured in the recent record and is projected to intensify into the future (IPCC, 2013;Pryor et al., 2014). Increased rainfall variability threatens the efficacy of key soil ecosystem services that are necessary for both crop production and environmental protection, including erosion prevention, nutrient loss reduction and water storage. Agricultural practices that focus on enhancing soil water storage have multiple co-benefits that might also reduce environmental damages and crop losses through better maintenance of soil water (Sposito, 2013;Stewart and Peterson, 2015).One approach to regenerating soil health is the adoption of cropping practices that ensure "continuous living cover" of the soil, or the presence of live roots in the ground throughout the entire year ( Jordan and Warner, 2010). This approach is in contrast to annual cropping systems that typically have extended periods of bare soil, and it affords the direct benefits of preventing nutrient loss (through plant uptake) as well as erosion protection (through minimizing the impact of rainfall and ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Continuous Living Cover on Soil Hydrologic Properties: A Meta‐Analysis

Basche

DeLonge

2017

Soil Science Soc of Amer J

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“…Currently, global environmental change is broadly recognized as a key element in plant-herbivore interactions (Asner, Elmore, Olander, Martin, & Harris, 2004;Borer, Grace, Harpole, MacDougall, & Seabloom, 2017;Stein, Harpole, & Suding, 2016). In particular, drought in water-limited ecosystems appears to exacerbate the effects of grazing (Dangal et al, 2016;Eldridge, Poore, Ruiz-Colmenero, Letnic, & Soliveres, 2016). For example, increased grazing intensities can lead to a substantial decline in plant diversity, primary production (Biondini, Patton, & Nyren, 1998;Fetzel, Havlik, Herrero, & Erb, 2017), and resistance (Shao et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing effect on grasslands escalated by abnormal precipitations in Inner Mongolia

Liang

Chen

Gornish

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Grazing effects on arid and semi‐arid grasslands can be constrained by aridity. Plant functional groups (PFGs) are the most basic component of community structure (CS) and biodiversity & ecosystem function (BEF). They have been suggested as identity‐dependent in quantifying the response to grazing intensity and drought severity. Here, we examine how the relationships among PFGs, CS, BEF, and grazing intensity are driven by climatic drought. We conducted a manipulative experiment with three grazing intensities in 2012 (nondrought year) and 2013 (drought year). We classified 62 herbaceous plants into four functional groups based on their life forms. We used the relative species abundance of PFGs to quantify the effects of grazing and drought, and to explore the mechanisms for the pathway correlations using structural equation models (SEM) among PFGs, CS, and BEF directly or indirectly. Grazers consistently favored the perennial forbs (e.g., palatable or nutritious plants), decreasing the plants’ relative abundance by 23%–38%. Drought decreased the relative abundance of ephemeral plants by 42 ± 13%; and increased perennial forbs by 20 ± 7% and graminoids by 80 ± 31%. SEM confirmed that annuals and biennials had negative correlations with the other three PFGs, with perennial bunchgrasses facilitated by perennial rhizome grass. Moreover, the contributions of grazing to community structure (i.e., canopy height) were 1.6–6.1 times those from drought, whereas drought effect on community species richness was 3.6 times of the grazing treatment. Lastly, the interactive effects of grazing and drought on BEF were greater than either alone; particularly, drought escalated grazing damage on primary production. Synthesis. The responses of PFGs, CS, and BEF to grazing and drought were identity‐dependent, suggesting that grazing and drought regulation of plant functional groups might be a way to shape ecosystem structure and function in grasslands.

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“…Besides the morphological and behavioural aspects highlighted behind, this shift potentially encompasses changes in grazing management, notably through the introduction of new grazing cycles more adapted to the needs of cattle or to account for complementary grassland practices more associated to fields under cattle management (e.g., haymaking). Although the effect of livestock species on vegetation is relatively well documented for temperate or semiarid environments (Eldridge, Poore, Ruiz-Colmenero, Letnic, & Soliveres, 2016;Liu et al, 2015;Socher et al, 2012;Zhu et al, 2012), there is less evidence for its effects in Mediterranean context (but see Ribeiro, Fernandes, & Espírito-Santo, 2014). Furthermore, information on the interaction of livestock species with the type of grassland or annual weather regime is still missing.…”

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confidence: 99%

Predicting agronomical and ecological effects of shifting from sheep to cattle grazing in highly dynamic Mediterranean dry grasslands

Faria

2018

Land Degrad Dev

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In the recent decades, cattle numbers strongly increased whereas sheep numbers decreased in south Portugal. This paper aims to predict the potential agronomical and ecological effects of these trends and clarify about the versatility of cattle and sheep systems in adapting to climate changes in the Mediterranean basin. We monitored livestock management in the dry grasslands of Évora (2012 to 2016) and investigated for the effect of livestock type (TLivest) on (a) sward's characteristics, (b) vegetation taxonomic diversity, and (c) in conforming vegetation communities and promoting species of agronomical interests (SAIs). Generalized linear mixed models were used to link management descriptors and vegetation parameters with TLivest. Redundancy analysis was used to analyse the changes due to TLivest on floristic composition and SAIs. Sheep fields presented (a) higher number of days under grazing and lower instantaneous stocking rates than cattle or mixed fields and (b) lower vegetation height in April in wet years and higher green vegetation cover in May; α‐ and γ‐diversity were poorly related with TLivest, but β‐diversity was lower under mixed grazing than under sheep or cattle grazing. The highest richness of legume species was found in permanent grasslands grazed by sheep. Redundancy analysis provided a good discrimination of TLivest but a poor segregation of vegetation communities. As a conclusion, sheep grazing can be seen as a more powerful tool to increase sward heterogeneity, and thus, a loss of grassland heterogeneity can be expected under cattle grazing. The lower versatility of cattle systems suggests narrower opportunities in adapting to climate change.

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Ecosystem structure, function, and composition in rangelands are negatively affected by livestock grazing

Cited by 307 publications

References 47 publications

The Impact of Continuous Living Cover on Soil Hydrologic Properties: A Meta‐Analysis

The Impact of Continuous Living Cover on Soil Hydrologic Properties: A Meta‐Analysis

Grazing effect on grasslands escalated by abnormal precipitations in Inner Mongolia

Predicting agronomical and ecological effects of shifting from sheep to cattle grazing in highly dynamic Mediterranean dry grasslands

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