Loss of biodiversity and hydrologic function in seasonal wetlands persists over 10 years of livestock grazing removal

Marty, Jaymee

doi:10.1111/rec.12226

Cited by 34 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Our results support a long‐term vernal pool cattle grazing study that demonstrated how grazing can promote native species growth and decrease invasive species (Marty , ). Extending the advantages of grazing found in these studies (Marty , ) to our findings, it is possible that livestock grazing decreases aboveground plant biomass and subsequently reduces the litter layer, or thatch accumulation, that would inhibit native species success. Thatch reduction through grazing has also been shown to increase inundation duration (Marty ) and even mitigate the effects of decreased precipitation due to climate change (Pyke & Marty ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Extending the advantages of grazing found in these studies (Marty , ) to our findings, it is possible that livestock grazing decreases aboveground plant biomass and subsequently reduces the litter layer, or thatch accumulation, that would inhibit native species success. Thatch reduction through grazing has also been shown to increase inundation duration (Marty ) and even mitigate the effects of decreased precipitation due to climate change (Pyke & Marty ). These studies (Pyke & Mary ; Marty , ) support grazing as a successful management strategy for preventing the invasive species positive feedbacks this study has illustrated.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

“…Our study demonstrated that the invasive pools contained the shallowest inundation depths regardless of variations in year. It must be noted that the 2 years studied represented relatively dry years overall and the observed pattern could be swamped out in extreme rainfall years (Collinge et al ; Marty ). That said, because vernal pools are closely tied to precipitation patterns (Pyke ) and it is under these dry years that an increase in invasion can occur (Gerhardt & Collinge ; Collinge et al , ; Schlatter et al ) the positive feedbacks created by invasion in the dry years can proliferate and may have disproportional effects over time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Thatch reduction through grazing has also been shown to increase inundation duration (Marty ) and even mitigate the effects of decreased precipitation due to climate change (Pyke & Marty ). These studies (Pyke & Mary ; Marty , ) support grazing as a successful management strategy for preventing the invasive species positive feedbacks this study has illustrated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive plant feedbacks promote alternative states in California vernal pools

Faist

Beals

2017

Restoration Ecology

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Invasive species have the potential to create positive feedbacks and push an ecosystem into an alternative state through a variety of mechanisms. Unless the drivers behind these feedbacks are understood, restoring a system to a more desirable state may not be possible. We used a long-term vernal pool restoration project based out of Travis Airforce Base, Fairfield, CA, U.S.A. to examine natural pools dominated by either invasive or native plant communities, and restored pools predominately composed of invasive plants. We determined that plant community structure is drastically altered towards invasive grasses with the addition of a single centimeter of litter. In the absence of this litter layer, community structure was driven by a non-native forb rather than native species. We also found that native plant-dominated vernal pools have a longer inundation duration and are deeper compared to invasive-dominated pools, regardless of construction status. These results suggest that once invasive grasses establish through lower inundation depths, their litter deposition can initiate a positive feedback to maintain an invasive alternative state. However, even after litter removal, non-native forbs can replace the grasses causing a second alternative state still separate from the most desirable native dominated state. This study directly demonstrates that invasive species, and their positive feedbacks, may limit the success of ecological restoration. To effectively restore a system all constraints must be identified and removed before successful restoration can occur.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Invasive plant feedbacks promote alternative states in California vernal pools

Faist

Beals

2017

Restoration Ecology

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“…The relationship between animal grazing and freshwater ecosystems is complicated. Because grasslands can require natural disturbance or active management to prevent succession to forest, grazing at certain levels and times of the year may be an appropriate and necessary activity in some systems, and can contribute to maintaining native freshwater biodiversity (Bloom, Howerter, Emery, & Armstrong, 2013;Marty, 2015;Mester, Szalai, Mero, Puky, & Lengyel, 2015); however, overgrazing can have impacts on sediment and nutrient delivery, as well as on hydrology. Furthermore, livestock congregating in riparian zones and entering streams in order to cross or gain access to water can have direct impacts on stream banks and can introduce bacterial and nutrient contaminants into the water, as well as increase sediments (Fitch & Adams, 1998).…”

Section: Ranching Best Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater biodiversity conservation through source water protection: Quantifying the potential and addressing the challenges

Abell

Vigerstøl

Higgins

et al. 2019

Aquatic Conservation

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Water insecurity is a defining feature of the Anthropocene, with degraded water quality and unreliable flows putting the well‐being of upstream and downstream communities, both human and aquatic, at risk. Within this context, the protection of drinking water at its source – ‘source water protection’ – is growing as a complementary water security solution to conventional built infrastructure, particularly but not only to address non‐point source pollution. An assessment of the likely source catchments of 4000 cities, supplying water to as many as 1.7 billion city dwellers, found that 85% of the total area of the catchments overlaps with freshwater ecoregions of high biodiversity value. Source water protection could contribute to conserving important freshwater biodiversity elements in these catchments, through activities such as land protection, restoration, and agricultural and ranching best‐management practices. Empirical evidence supporting the benefits of these types of activities to freshwater species and ecosystems is sparse, especially when considered at the scales required to achieve meaningful conservation objectives. This article explores the potential of source water protection to deliver freshwater conservation benefits, and solutions are proposed to address the challenges related to evidence gaps, trade‐offs, and financing. The broader opportunity for leveraging water security investments for biodiversity conservation, and the overall efficiencies that may accrue from optimizing for multiple benefits simultaneously, are discussed in the context of global frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals.

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The effects of herbivore aggregations at water sources on savanna plants differ across soil and climate gradients

Titcomb

Amooni

Mantas

et al. 2021

Ecological Applications

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Water sources in arid and semiarid ecosystems support humans, wildlife, and domestic animals, forming nodes of activity that sculpt surrounding plant communities and impact critical grazing and soil systems. However, global aridification and changing surface water supply threaten to disrupt these water resources, with strong implications for conservation and management of these ecosystems. To understand how effects of herbivore aggregation at water impact plant communities across contexts, we measured herbivore activity, plant height, cover (trees, grasses, forbs, and bare ground), diversity, and composition at 17 paired water sources and matrix sites across a range of abiotic factors in a semiarid savanna in Kenya. The effects of proximity to surface water and herbivore aggregation on plant communities varied substantially depending on soil and rainfall. In arid areas with nutrient‐poor sandy soils, forb and tree cover were 50% lower at water sources compared to neighboring matrix sites, bare ground was 20% higher, species richness was 15% lower, and a single globally important grazing grass (Cynodon dactylon) dominated 60% of transects. However, in mesic areas with nutrient‐rich finely textured soils, species richness was 25% higher, despite a 40% increase in bare ground, concurrent with the decline of a dominant tall grass (Themeda triandra) and increase in C. dactylon and other grass species near water sources. Recent rainfall was important for grasses; cover was higher relative to matrix sites only during wet periods, a potential indication of compensatory grazing. These findings suggest that effects of herbivore aggregation on vegetation diversity and composition will vary in magnitude, and in some cases direction, depending on other factors at the site. Where moisture and nutrient resources are high and promote the dominance of few plant species, herbivore aggregations may maintain diversity by promoting grazing lawns and increasing nondominant species cover. However, in arid conditions and sites with low nutrient availability, diversity can be substantially reduced by these aggregations. Our results highlight the importance of considering abiotic conditions when managing for effects of herbivore aggregations near water. This will be particularly important for future managers in light of growing global aridification and surface water changes.

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Loss of biodiversity and hydrologic function in seasonal wetlands persists over 10 years of livestock grazing removal

Cited by 34 publications

References 24 publications

Invasive plant feedbacks promote alternative states in California vernal pools

Invasive plant feedbacks promote alternative states in California vernal pools

Freshwater biodiversity conservation through source water protection: Quantifying the potential and addressing the challenges

The effects of herbivore aggregations at water sources on savanna plants differ across soil and climate gradients

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