Studies in the Grazing of Heather Moorland in Northeast Scotland. VI.20-Year Trends in Botanical Composition

Welch, D.; Scott, D. Andrew

doi:10.2307/2404656

Cited by 93 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This observation is supported by an investigation of the effects of nutrient inputs and grazing on competition between C. vulgaris and mat grass, which demonstrates that fertilization only benefits the grass when the heather canopy is reduced by grazing (Hartley, 1997). The present study, therefore, suggests that any future N enrichment of heathland vegetation might increase the potential severity of O. brumata outbreaks, and thus further degrade the already declining heather moorland resource in Britain (Thompson et al, 1995 ;Welch & Scott, 1995).…”

Section: Performance Of O Brumata On Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen-enrsupporting

confidence: 72%

Effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen enrichment on a plant–insect interaction: the quality of Calluna vulgaris as a host for Operophtera brumata

Kerslake

Woodin

Hartley³

1998

New Phytologist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Calluna vulgaris L. (Hull) is not one of the usual hosts of the winter moth, Operophtera brumata L., but outbreaks have caused extensive damage to heather moorland in Scotland in recent years. This study investigated the potential role of environmental change in such outbreaks by rearing O. brumata larvae on C. vulgaris plants grown in open‐top chambers for 20 months with enriched CO2 (600 ppm) and nitrogen supply (average 52·5 kg N ha−1 yr−1) in factorial combination. This prolonged exposure to elevated CO2 caused no change in shoot growth, photosynthesis or foliar C∶N ratio of C. vulgaris, even with increased N supply, indicating that the absence of response was not due to N limitation. Increased N supply itself resulted in increased shoot growth and a decrease in tissue C∶N ratio. Phenolic content did not change in response to either CO2 or N enrichment, contrary to the predictions of the carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis. In line with the absence of plant response, there was no effect of CO2 on the development of Operophtera brumata on C. vulgaris, and so continued increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration is unlikely to affect directly O. brumata outbreaks on heather moorland. Operophtera brumata showed increased larval development, growth rate and pupal weight on N‐treated plants, correlated both to the decrease in foliar C∶N ratio, and to the increase in shoot extension which was predictive of survivorship. Thus, increased atmospheric N deposition, or increased rates of mineralization in a warmer environment, might increase the severity of O. brumata outbreaks on C. vulgaris. Since the combination of high N availability and disturbance of heather canopy by herbivory is known to result in increased dominance of grasses, it is suggested that this could lead to further degradation of moorland in upland Britain.

show abstract

Section: Performance Of O Brumata On Carbon Dioxide and Nitrogen-enrsupporting

confidence: 72%

Effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen enrichment on a plant–insect interaction: the quality of Calluna vulgaris as a host for Operophtera brumata

Kerslake

Woodin

Hartley³

1998

New Phytologist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Erosion may also have been promoted by deforestation and trampling, causing a downward transport of topsoil. Grazing pressure in the upper parts probably declined markedly when the pasture was extended downwards and when management became less intense (as mentioned for the 19th century in the archives of the local community), promoting the expansion of Nardus stricta and dwarf shrubs (Welch and Scott 1995;Grant et al 1996).…”

Section: Vegetation Patterns In Relation To Grazingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation patterns maintained by cattle grazing on a degraded mountain pasture

et al. 2005

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Jewell P.L., Güsewell S., Berry N.R., Käuferle D., Kreuzer M. and Edwards P.J. 2005. Vegetation patterns maintained by cattle grazing on a degraded mountain pasture. Bot. In southern Switzerland the use of mountain pastures for cattle has been in decline since the 19th century, promoting the dominance of unpalatable grasses and shrubs. In an attempt to improve pasture quality, 80 Scottish Highland cattle were introduced to a 73-ha grazing area on acidic soils at 1400-1800 m a.s.l. To assess how this management might affect the vegetation, we surveyed the plant species composition, soil chemistry and spatial patterns of cattle grazing. Large parts of the pasture were low-productive Nardetum grassland or Callunetum heathland. Patches of more productive and nutrient-rich grassland occurred on less acidic soils with higher total P concentration and lower C:N, C:P and N:P ratios. Grazing by cattle focused on these patches, while N. stricta grasslands and heathlands were hardly used. Historical evidence suggests that these patterns of cattle use are similar to those in the past. We conclude that the current grazing regime is unlikely to produce a significant change in vegetation composition and pasture quality.

show abstract

“…groundwater level, van der Laan 1979van der Laan , 1985. Many permanent plot observations were started in order to study the effect of external causes, such as the application of fertilizers (Willems 1980;Silvertown et al 1994), the application of different grazing regimes in interaction with different habitat conditions (Welch & Scott 1995;O'Connor & Roux 1995), the exclusion of herbivores (Watt 1957;Rosén 1982;Andresen et al 1990), the start of restoration management (Oomes & Mooi 1981;Schmidt 1985;Willems 1983Willems , 1985Dierschke 1985;Schreiber & Schiefer 1985;Bakker 1989), the result of excluding marine influences due to building coastal protection works such as dikes (Westhoff & Søkora 1979;Beeftink 1987;Olff et al 1993), the commencement of groundwater extraction in wetlands (Grootjans et al 1996) or the simulation of air pollution (Tamm & Popovic 1995;Falkengren-Grerup 1995). These external causes often give rise to different internal causes of succession (mediated by the local community itself), such as organic matter accumulation in the soil, gradual soil impoverishment or soil acidification.…”

Section: External and Internal Causes Of Successionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do we need permanent plots in the study of long‐term vegetation dynamics?

Bakker

Olff²,

Willems

et al. 1996

J Vegetation Science

300

191

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

. This paper presents a survey of vegetation studies on permanent plots, with an emphasis on the long‐term character of these studies. It makes remarks on the external and internal causes of succession, pays attention to the pathways of succession, links up permanent plots studies and chronosequences, discusses internal causes and mechanisms of succession, and finally mentions the significance of long‐term vegetation dynamics for nature conservation.

show abstract

Studies in the Grazing of Heather Moorland in Northeast Scotland. VI.20-Year Trends in Botanical Composition

Cited by 93 publications

References 15 publications

Effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen enrichment on a plant–insect interaction: the quality of Calluna vulgaris as a host for Operophtera brumata

Effects of carbon dioxide and nitrogen enrichment on a plant–insect interaction: the quality of Calluna vulgaris as a host for Operophtera brumata

Vegetation patterns maintained by cattle grazing on a degraded mountain pasture

Why do we need permanent plots in the study of long‐term vegetation dynamics?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About