Populations of soil organisms under continuous set stocked and high intensity‐short duration rotational grazing practices in the central tablelands of New South Wales (Australia)

Tom, Nisha; Raman, Anantanarayanan; Hodgkins, Dennis; Nicol, H. I.

doi:10.1080/00288233.2006.9513717

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Contrary to H1, excluding the largest herbivores, the ungulates, did not alter abundance, richness or community structure of any of the microarthropod groups in our study. This contrasts several studies conducted in meadow systems where effects of domestic ungulates on soil microarthropods were evident and mostly caused by disturbance [ 14 , 17 , 39 ]. Lessard et al [ 40 ] demonstrated a negative effect of white-tailed deer on soil microarthropod richness in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee (USA), and attributed this to a decrease in litter quantity.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Indirect Short- and Long-Term Effects of Aboveground Invertebrate and Vertebrate Herbivores on Soil Microarthropod Communities

et al. 2015

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Recognition is growing that besides ungulates, small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores are important drivers of grassland functioning. Even though soil microarthropods play key roles in several soil processes, effects of herbivores—especially those of smaller body size—on their communities are not well understood. Therefore, we progressively excluded large, medium and small vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores for three growing seasons using size-selective fences in two vegetation types in subalpine grasslands; short-grass and tall-grass vegetation generated by high and low historical levels of ungulate grazing. Herbivore exclusions generally had few effects on microarthropod communities, but exclusion of all herbivore groups resulted in decreased total springtail and Poduromorpha richness compared with exclusion of only ungulates and medium-sized mammals, regardless of vegetation type. The tall-grass vegetation had a higher total springtail richness and mesostigmatid mite abundance than the short-grass vegetation and a different oribatid mite community composition. Although several biotic and abiotic variables differed between the exclusion treatments and vegetation types, effects on soil microarthropods were best explained by differences in nutrient and fibre content of the previous year’s vegetation, a proxy for litter quality, and to a lesser extent soil temperature. After three growing seasons, smaller herbivores had a stronger impact on these functionally important soil microarthropod communities than large herbivores. Over longer time-scales, however, large grazers created two different vegetation types and thereby influenced microarthropod communities bottom-up, e.g. by altering resource quality. Hence, both short- and long-term consequences of herbivory affected the structure of the soil microarthropod community.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 75%

Indirect Short- and Long-Term Effects of Aboveground Invertebrate and Vertebrate Herbivores on Soil Microarthropod Communities

et al. 2015

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“…It typically increases ground cover, litter cover, and the cover of economically desirable pasture species (40,41), and it facilitates improved water infiltration (42). It also can have benefits for microarthropods (43) and for soil chemistry, leading to reduced nitrate and phosphorus levels (41). Despite these benefits, fast-rotational grazing has limitations (44), and like all grazing systems, it depends on appropriate management decisions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reversing a tree regeneration crisis in an endangered ecoregion

Fischer¹,

Stott²,

Zerger

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

156

154

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Global food demand is growing rapidly. Livestock grazing can provide a valuable source of protein, but conventional grazing is often unsustainable. We studied an 800,000-ha section of a threatened ecoregion in southeastern Australia. Conventional management in the region involves continuous livestock grazing with few rest periods and regular fertilizer application. By using remotely sensed data on tree cover and extensive field data on livestock grazing regimes, soil chemistry, tree diameters, and tree regeneration, we show that the region is facing a tree regeneration crisis. Under conventional management, across the region, millions of hectares of land currently supporting tens of millions of trees will be treeless within decades from now. This would have severe negative ramifications for biodiversity and key ecosystem services, including water infiltration and shade provision for livestock. However, we identified an unexpected win-win solution for tree regeneration and commercial grazing. A relatively new practice in the region is fast-rotational grazing, characterized by prolonged rest periods in between short, intensive grazing events. The probability of regeneration under fast-rotational grazing was up to 4-fold higher than under conventional grazing, and it did not differ significantly from the probability of regeneration in ungrazed areas. In addition, trees were more likely to regenerate where soil nutrient levels were low. These findings suggest that the tree regeneration crisis can be reversed by applying low-input, fastrotational grazing. New policy settings supporting these practices could signal a turning point for the region, from ecological decline to ecological recovery.countryside biogeography ͉ grassy box woodlands ͉ holistic management ͉ rotational grazing ͉ scattered trees

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“…Bulk density is also inversely related to the SOM (da Silva et al 1997;Gifford and Roderick 2003) and their interaction can become an important factor in the effectiveness of grazing systems. Time-controlled grazing has been shown to improve soil physical condition through converting the above-ground organic matter to litter without causing soil compaction (Goodloe 1969) and to increase the abundance of micro-arthropods in the -10 cm soil depth (Tom et al 2006). However, Dormaar et al (1989) reported that TC grazing had a negative effect on bulk density, due to compaction by grazing animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the effects of continuous and time-controlled grazing systems on soil characteristics in Southeast Queensland

Sanjari

Ghadiri

Ciesiolka³

et al. 2008

Soil Res.

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Grazing by livestock has a great influence on soil characteristics with major effects on soil carbon and nitrogen cycling in grazing lands. Grazing practices affect soil properties in different ways depending on the prescribed stocking rate and grazing periods. The new grazing system of short, intensive grazing followed by a long period of rest, referred to as time-controlled grazing (TC grazing), has become popular among many graziers in Australia and elsewhere. However, little research has been carried out on the impacts of this grazing system on the physical and chemical health of the soil. To address this issue, a comprehensive field study was carried out on a sheep-grazing property in the south-eastern region of Queensland, Australia, where the 2 grazing systems of continuous and TC grazing were compared. Results over the period 2001–2006 showed an increase in soil organic carbon and nitrogen in the areas with favourable soil condition compared with continuous grazing. There was also an increase in ground-litter accumulation over time and no compaction in TC grazing. Nitrate and extractable P concentrations were reduced by increased grass growth under TC grazing, which in turn decreased the contamination potential for downstream water bodies. This reduction was much more pronounced on a historical sheep aggregation camp, where a large amount of faecal material had been deposited prior to conversion to TC grazing. The smaller size of the paddocks, along with the long rest period provided by TC grazing in this area, are recognised to be the major contributors to both physical and chemical recovery of the soil after each grazing operation.

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Populations of soil organisms under continuous set stocked and high intensity‐short duration rotational grazing practices in the central tablelands of New South Wales (Australia)

Cited by 8 publications

References 23 publications

Indirect Short- and Long-Term Effects of Aboveground Invertebrate and Vertebrate Herbivores on Soil Microarthropod Communities

Indirect Short- and Long-Term Effects of Aboveground Invertebrate and Vertebrate Herbivores on Soil Microarthropod Communities

Reversing a tree regeneration crisis in an endangered ecoregion

Comparing the effects of continuous and time-controlled grazing systems on soil characteristics in Southeast Queensland

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