Impacts of Grazing by Small Ruminants on Hillslope Hydrological Processes: A Review of European Current Understanding

Minea, Gabriel; Mititelu-Ionuș, Oana; Gyasi‐Agyei, Yeboah; Ciobotaru, Nicu; Comino, Jesús Rodrígo

doi:10.1029/2021wr030716

Cited by 20 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 198 publications

(348 reference statements)

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“…In upland England, OM soils underlie 29% of all rough grassland, 35% of all bracken and 33% of all acid grasslands, and are typically used for livestock grazing (Bol et al, 2011). Although further research is needed to fully assess the influence of grazing on hydrological processes in Europe, current evidence suggests that grazing, especially ‘overgrazing’, likely increases catchment runoff via influence on soils and vegetation (Minea et al, 2022). Field studies have shown that hydraulic conductivity and infiltration rates are lower in areas subject to grazing due to the influence of compaction (Holden, Shotbolt, et al, 2007; Zhao, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of land management and seasonal changes in surface vegetation on flood mitigation in twoUKupland catchments

Bond

Willis

Johnston

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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As the frequency and magnitude of storm events increase with climate change, understanding how season and management influence flood peaks is essential. The influence of season and management of grasslands on flood peak timing and magnitude was modelled for Swindale and Calderdale, two catchments in northern England. Spatially‐Distributed TOPMODEL was used to investigate two scenarios across four storm events using empirically‐based soil and vegetation data. The first scenario applied seasonal changes in vegetative roughness, quantifying the effect on flood peaks at catchment scale. The second scenario modelled the influence of grassland management from historical high‐intensity grazing to a series of natural succession stages between grassland and woodland, and a conservation‐based management. Model outputs were analysed by flow type, measuring total, overland and base flow peaks at the catchment outlet. Seasonal changes to vegetation were found to increase overland flow peaks by up to +2.2% in winter and reduce them by −5.5% in summer compared to the annual average. Percentage changes in flood peak due to hillslope grassland management scenarios were more substantial; overland flow peaks were reduced by up to 41% in Calderdale where extensive woodland development was the most effective mitigation strategy, and up to 35% in Swindale, where a rank grassland dominated catchment was the most effective. Conservation‐based farming practices were also useful, reducing overland flow peak by up to 42% compared to the high intensity grazing scenario. Neither management nor seasonality changed the timing of runoff peaks by >45 min. Where overland flow dominates, especially in catchments with shallow soils, surface roughness was found to be more influential than soil permeability for flood mitigation. We recommend that seasonal changes to roughness are considered alongside the spatial distribution of Natural Flood Management in mosaiced upland catchments.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of land management and seasonal changes in surface vegetation on flood mitigation in twoUKupland catchments

Bond

Willis

Johnston

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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“…The urban sewage of this population and residential areas located along the riverbanks is, together with agriculture, one of the main sources of pollution. Moreover, the food industry emissions (mainly from olive oil extraction), along with the diffuse pollution generated by agriculture and livestock, also contribute to river pollution [MINEA et al 2022].…”

Section: Study Area and Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journal of Water and Land Development

2022

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The Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) emphasises the need for simple tools and studies to characterise aquatic ecosystems. A wide range of methods has been developed, including different groups of biota and different taxonomic resolutions. Among these, the abundance biomass comparison (ABC) method is an important methodology widely used in marine benthic systems and well-founded from the ecological point of view. This method -with a slight modification using genera and families instead of species -was applied in a Mediterranean river (Eliche-Frío, northeast of Andalusia, Spain) using the macroinvertebrate community, together with the Margalef richness index and the Iberian BioMonitoring Working Party (IBMWP) to determine the quality of the water. The obtained results show the suitability of the ABC curves method to analyse the macroinvertebrate community and estimate the ecological status of river ecosystems. Although both, the genus and family aggregations, showed a similar trend, the values obtained with the family level indicate a worse state of contamination than those shown with the genus level. The comparison between genus and family levels with other biological indices shows that the evaluation obtained with family aggregation is more similar to those obtained with the Margalef and IBMWP indices than the evaluation based on genera; therefore, we could conclude that this level of taxonomic resolution is adequate for the use of the ABC method in assessing the ecological status of Mediterranean rivers.

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“…Other factors that may influence soil erosion include the removal of vegetation by fire, and animals (Butler, 2007, 2017; Viles, 1988). Animals such as earthworms (Goudie, 1988), gophers (Gabet, 2000; Gabet et al, 2003), monotremes and marsupials (Fleming et al, 2014), rabbits and termites (Humphreys, 1981; Mitchell, 1988), small ruminants (Minea, Ciobotaru, et al, 2022; Minea, Mititelu‐Ionuș, et al, 2022) and badgers (Coombes & Viles, 2015) are recognised biological agents which can turn over large amounts of soil (Wilkinson et al, 2009). These animals influence both soil structure and texture and can allow soil to more easily erode and move downslope in rainfall‐dominated environments.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do feral pigs increase soil erosion? A monsoonal northern Australia case study

Hancock

Lowry²

2023

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Animals are recognised biological agents that can turn over large amounts of soil, influence soil structure and composition and may allow soil to more easily erode. Feeding activities of feral pigs (Sus scrofa) are known to produce considerable soil disturbance. Here, pig disturbance, together with soil erosion and deposition patterns, are quantified along two hillslope transects in northern Australia over 10 years. Annual disturbance by pigs was ~1% of surface area. The erosion rate was low with a range of 0.008–0.13 mm year−1. Both transects had similar hillslope profiles, vegetation patterns and similar appearance. There was a greater number of pig disturbances, area and mass of material disturbed by pigs for one transect compared to the other moving downslope. However, for the second transect, the number of disturbances significantly decreased moving downslope while the mass of material exhumed remained relatively constant along the hillslope. For the first transect, this suggests that the greater number of pig digs moving downslope reduces hillslope connectivity and therefore reduces erosion. That is, the greater the amount of disturbance by pigs, the less erosion. The pig digs produce a pit and a mound with the material diffusing locally and the pit capturing material from upslope reducing hillslope connectivity. These pits have been observed to last many years. A control on pig disturbance was likely to be rock content. The average surface rock content of the two transects was significantly different (9% and 20%, respectively) and with the higher rock content reducing pig disturbance and erosion for the second transect. The bio geomorphic influence that pigs represent in the landscape for biogeochemical cycling requires ongoing investigation.

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Impacts of Grazing by Small Ruminants on Hillslope Hydrological Processes: A Review of European Current Understanding

Cited by 20 publications

References 198 publications

The influence of land management and seasonal changes in surface vegetation on flood mitigation in twoUKupland catchments

The influence of land management and seasonal changes in surface vegetation on flood mitigation in twoUKupland catchments

Journal of Water and Land Development

Do feral pigs increase soil erosion? A monsoonal northern Australia case study

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