Effects of initial disturbances and grazing regime on native grassland invasion by Eragrostis plana in southern Brazil

Baggio, Rodrigo; Medeiros, Renato Borges de; Focht, Telmo; Boavista, Lidiane da Rosa; Pillar, Valério D.; Müller, Sandra Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.pecon.2018.06.004

Cited by 12 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…There is a claim in the literature, mostly based on plant community studies, to avoid this forest expansion and thus protecting the grassland vegetation in the biome (e.g. : Rodriguez et al ., 2003; Behling & Pillar, 2007; Pillar & Vélez, 2010; Baggio et al ., 2018). However, more recently some authors started to advocate for an integrated view for the conservation of forest‐grassland mosaics in the south of Brazil, where grassy, shrubby and forest physiognomies would be equally valued for conservation (Luza et al ., 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic effects on the occurrence of medium‐sized mammals on the Brazilian Pampa biome

Lima

Banks-Leite

Lorini

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

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The Pampa biome within Brazil is one of South America’s most endangered biomes, due to conversion to croplands and use for cattle farming, with very limited coverage by protected areas. We investigated the impacts of (i) human population density, (ii) grassland and (iii) forest cover, (iv) protected areas and (v) mean size of farms on the occurrence patterns of 18 medium‐sized mammal species. We gathered information on the occurrence of these species between 2001 and 2010 from the literature and using unpublished field data from local experts. We obtained 1066 records, varying between 13 and 101 per species. Grassland cover had consistently positive effects on species richness (considering the 18 analyzed species), endangered species (considering 10 species that are endangered or data deficient) and occurrence of five individual species (considering each species separately). Human population density, forest cover and mean size of farms had diverse effects on individual species; however, both forest cover and human population density had positive effects on species richness and endangered species occurrence. For human population density this may result from areas suitable for people being similar to those suitable for many native species. The protected area network of the Pampa biome appeared ineffective at protecting the focal species, with predominantly negative effects on mammal occurrence. This inefficiency is probably related to its minor coverage; only 2.9% of the biome area is under any level of protection and only 0.4% under strict protection. To guarantee the conservation of mammal species in this threatened biome, it is important to protect the last remnants of native vegetation, mainly grasslands, avoiding their conversion into croplands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic effects on the occurrence of medium‐sized mammals on the Brazilian Pampa biome

Lima

Banks-Leite

Lorini

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

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“…Rainfall controls species emergence (Pugnaire and Lázaro 2000). Grazing and rainfall can influence the species evenness of seedlings from the soil seed bank by affecting grassland vegetation (Sudebilige et al 2000;Baggio et al 2018). In addition, dominance of a single species, for example, A. capillaries in our study, can reduce the coverage of other aboveground species (Flombaum and Sala 2008), which may negatively influence the species evenness of seedlings (Pugnaire and Lázaro 2000).…”

Section: Species Evennessmentioning

confidence: 69%

The composition, richness, and evenness of seedlings from the soil seed bank of a semi-arid steppe in northern China are affected by long-term stocking rates of sheep and rainfall variation

Zhang

Chen

et al. 2019

Rangel. J.

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The soil seed bank has a large influence on the potential for grassland restoration. This study aimed to characterise the composition, density, richness, and evenness of seedlings emerging from the soil seed bank under different sheep stocking rates, in a summer grazing system, in semi-arid China. Soil was sampled in 2015, a year with extreme drought conditions and in 2016, a normal rainfall year. The soil seed bank was assessed by measuring seedling emergence under laboratory conditions. Comprising 16 species, 85.4% of the seedlings were concentrated within a depth of 0–5cm. Drought significantly reduced the density and richness of the seedlings. Grazing increased the richness of seedlings by increasing the richness of aboveground species, and grazing significantly reduced the evenness of the seedlings by reducing the evenness of aboveground species. Drought significantly reduced the similarities between the seedlings and the aboveground species, whereas grazing increased similarities in both years. This study revealed that the density and richness of seedlings were higher in higher stocking rate in drought year. We conclude that negative effects on density, richness and evenness of the seedlings caused by drought can be overcome by rotational grazing especially at higher stocking rate.

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“…Continuous and excessive grazing might be unfavorable and lead to the local exclusion of species (Landsberg, Lavorel, & Stol, ; Milchunas et al., ; Olff & Ritchie, ), as habitat conditions are changed and open soil patches often increase (Nabinger, Dall'Agnol, & Carvalho, ). This can favor the establishment of opportunistic and/or invasive species (Baggio et al., ; Guido, Hoss, & Pillar, ) that then can further reduce local species richness (Dresseno, Guido, Balogianni, & Overbeck, ). Here, we demonstrated that the total amount of plant biomass significantly increased in areas under rotational grazing (Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of grazing regimes on the temporal dynamics of grassland communities

Boavista

Trindade

Overbeck

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions Grazing management influences grassland community dynamics, but few studies exist on the effects of specific management regimes in subtropical grasslands. Here, we ask how rotational and continuous grazing influences the composition, diversity, and biomass production of natural grasslands in southern Brazil. Location The study was conducted at four cattle farms within the south Brazilian grassland region (Campos Sulinos), in the upper area of the Camaquã river basin of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Methods On each farm, grassland that had previously been subjected to continuous grazing (freely grazed by cattle) was divided into two experimental units; one managed by rotational grazing and the other maintained under continuous grazing. In each experimental unit, 14 permanent plots were monitored over six years for species composition and species biomass. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models to evaluate the effects of grazing management strategies on composition dissimilarity, diversity indices, and plant biomass. Results Grasslands under a rotational grazing regime changed steadily over the period of evaluation. Total biomass and species distribution patterns greatly differed from those in plots subjected to continuous grazing, leading to changes in species richness, dominance, and composition, as well as to an increase in overall plant biomass. Conclusions Community changes during the six‐year study period as a consequence of the distinct grazing treatments were evident. Grasslands under rotational grazing management benefitted from less selective grazing, enabling a more uniform growth of species within the communities, which in turn were richer at the end of the six‐year experiment. In contrast, the proportion of grazing‐resistant species or less‐consumed species was higher under continuous grazing, where foraging by cattle appears to be more selective. Rotational grazing thus not only leads to higher species richness and diversity, but also to higher primary and, in consequence, secondary productivity.

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Effects of initial disturbances and grazing regime on native grassland invasion by Eragrostis plana in southern Brazil

Cited by 12 publications

References 40 publications

Anthropogenic effects on the occurrence of medium‐sized mammals on the Brazilian Pampa biome

Anthropogenic effects on the occurrence of medium‐sized mammals on the Brazilian Pampa biome

The composition, richness, and evenness of seedlings from the soil seed bank of a semi-arid steppe in northern China are affected by long-term stocking rates of sheep and rainfall variation

Effects of grazing regimes on the temporal dynamics of grassland communities

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