Grazing effects on patchy dryland vegetation in northern Patagonia

Seed removal by birds, rodents and ants in the Austral portion of the Monte Desert, Argentina

“…Sheep have grazed these grasslands extensively since the beginning of 20th Century. Grazing has reduced the cover of perennial grasses and of some shrubs, leading to changes in the floristic structure and spatial organization of vegetation, such as fragmentation of large patches, extinction of grass patches and formation of new incipient vegetation patches (Bisigato & Bertiller, 1997).…”

Patterns of flowering and fruiting in populations of Larrea divaricata in dry Chaco (Argentina)

“…However, Boo et al (1997) found relatively high mortality rates for L. divaricata plants after controlled fires in the Caldenal vegetation. The expansion of L. divaricata is correlated with a decrease in land quality as a result of grazing (Bisigato & Bertiller, 1997), as occured with L. tridentata in the southwestern United States after grazing and fire (Humphrey, 1958).…”

Alkaline Proteases from Patagonian Bacteria

“…The plant canopy cover is low (<60 % of the soil surface) and distributed in a patchy structure formed by clumps of shrubs and perennial grasses surrounded by intercanopy areas with sparse or no vegetation (Bisigato and Bertiller 1997 ;Mazzarino et al 1998 ). Soils are exposed to wind and water erosion, as well as salinization and alkalinization processes associated with nonirrigated lands (Olivera et al 2005 ).…”