Biomass production of upland vegetation types in England and Wales

Milne, J. A.; Pakeman, R.J.; Kirkham, F. W.; Jones, I. P.; Hossell, J. E.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2494.2002.00339.x

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The lower number of moths overwintering in the egg stage in treatment IV (ungrazed) was the greatest proportional deviation from the expected figure. This may be because these are species for which the primary larval growth phase generally occurs in early to mid‐spring whereas the graminoids that dominate under this treatment show a growth peak later in summer (Milne et al. , 2002).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing impacts on moth diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

Littlewood¹

2008

Insect Conserv Diversity

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Abstract. Livestock grazing is the most important direct management impact on grasslands in upland areas of the UK. For phytophagous species, such as Lepidoptera, the impact is primarily through grazing altering the species composition and structure of the vegetation. However, specific impacts related to different grazing regimes are not well understood for this group of insects. Within a replicated controlled grazing experiment, nocturnal adult moths were sampled by light trapping in the fifth year after establishment. Sampling effort was standardised between the four grazing treatments by simultaneously using identical traps in each treatment. The highest‐intensity grazing treatment produced the lowest moth abundance and species richness. Ungrazed and low‐intensity sheep grazing treatments produced the highest moth abundance and species richness. Moths that feed exclusively on graminoids and moths that overwinter as larvae were disproportionately well represented in the ungrazed treatment. A sub‐set of species for which large declines have recently been documented in the UK were most abundant in the ungrazed treatment. However, they made up the largest proportion of the overall assemblage in the high‐intensity grazing treatment. Increased grazing inversely affects moth abundance and species richness. However, effects are not even across all moth species. An absence of grazing is likely to negatively affect the abundance of some moths, especially those that overwinter in the egg stage.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grazing impacts on moth diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

Littlewood¹

2008

Insect Conserv Diversity

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“…However, this is likely to have a marginal effect on our estimates, given that the productivity has been calculated as differences between successive clippings. Furthermore, our findings are in accordance with other authors, who found similar results, using peak biomass estimates in different upland regions of England and Wales (Milne et al ., ). Considering the similar soil properties in the upper horizons of mesic and wet grasslands (Table ) and their contrasting soil moisture records (Figure ), and also the importance of this variable in the regression models of grassland growth, we can conclude that this increased productivity is mainly attributable to water availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The method of successive clippings is among the most precise for estimating grassland productivity (Singh et al ., ). Most studies of productivity of Nardus grasslands estimate ANPP by simpler methods, most frequently by just clipping the sward at peak biomass (Milne et al ., ; Hejcman et al ., ). It is not advisable to compare directly ANPP values measured by different methods, although values obtained from successive clippings and from peak biomass are usually highly correlated, the latter being positively biased with respect to the successive clippings approach (García‐González et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Productivity, grazing utilization, forage quality and primary production controls of species‐rich alpine grasslands with Nardus stricta in northern Spain

Bedia

Busqué

2012

Grass and Forage Science

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Species‐rich alpine grasslands with Nardus stricta are important communities for both animal production and environmental conservation in Europe. We selected two contrasting types of Nardus grasslands (mesic and wet) within a rangeland of northern Spain and measured annual above‐ground net primary productivity (ANPP), botanical components, forage utilization and their respective seasonal patterns, during a 5‐year period. We analysed their chemical properties and recorded soil moisture and temperature in order to construct models able to explain grassland productivity. Mean annual ANPP of mesic Nardus grassland was about half (216 g DM m−2 year−1; ±29·8 s.e.) that of the wet grassland (406 g DM m−2 year−1; ±54·3 s.e.), with significant intra‐ and interannual variability. Mesic grassland, with a more important contribution of forbs and legumes over graminoids in its botanical composition, was the preferred forage source of grazing livestock and showed better chemical properties in spring and early summer. In summer and autumn, wet grassland had a higher utilization owing to its ability to maintain high biomass production. This was partially explained by soil moisture, a limiting factor of mesic grassland productivity. Our results provide new and relevant information on key aspects of species‐rich alpine Nardus grasslands, potentially useful for the definition of management options for these habitats of priority conservation.

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“…In addition, Howden is by far the one that more exceeds the annual critical load (CL) of nitrogen deposition; Howden and Moor House are considered blanket bog systems with CL of 5–10 kg N ha -1 yr -1 , while Kerloch and Dorset were considered heaths with CL of 10–20 kg N ha -1 yr -1 . In any case, previous research has suggested a climate-induced biomass gradient in British Calluna -dominated ecosystems [18, 49], where annual production is enhanced by high levels of summer sunshine and temperature, and reduced by the number of frost days in the previous winter [17–18]. Our results indicate that though climate is important in determining Calluna biomass accumulation, it is not necessarily an over-riding, universal explanatory factor at all sites, and other site-specific factors such as soil fertility, pollutant load, management and altitude (e.g., Moor House) [7] can significantly alter above-ground biomass accumulation patterns.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such gradients of biomass production are clearly defined worldwide, and embrace scales ranging from local ecosystems to biomes [14, 16]. Indeed, ecosystem properties that control biomass accumulation, such as net primary productivity and decomposition rates, are linked closely to climate conditions that vary along both temperature and moisture gradients [14, 17–18]. It is, therefore, important to determine the relationship between biomass-production gradients and C emission patterns.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Carbon Emissions in Calluna vulgaris–Dominated Ecosystems when Prescribed Burning and Wildfires Interact

et al. 2016

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A present challenge in fire ecology is to optimize management techniques so that ecological services are maximized and C emissions minimized. Here, we modeled the effects of different prescribed-burning rotation intervals and wildfires on carbon emissions (present and future) in British moorlands. Biomass-accumulation curves from four Calluna-dominated ecosystems along a north-south gradient in Great Britain were calculated and used within a matrix-model based on Markov Chains to calculate above-ground biomass-loads and annual C emissions under different prescribed-burning rotation intervals. Additionally, we assessed the interaction of these parameters with a decreasing wildfire return intervals. We observed that litter accumulation patterns varied between sites. Northern sites (colder and wetter) accumulated lower amounts of litter with time than southern sites (hotter and drier). The accumulation patterns of the living vegetation dominated by Calluna were determined by site-specific conditions. The optimal prescribed-burning rotation interval for minimizing annual carbon emissions also differed between sites: the optimal rotation interval for northern sites was between 30 and 50 years, whereas for southern sites a hump-backed relationship was found with the optimal interval either between 8 to 10 years or between 30 to 50 years. Increasing wildfire frequency interacted with prescribed-burning rotation intervals by both increasing C emissions and modifying the optimum prescribed-burning interval for minimum C emission. This highlights the importance of studying site-specific biomass accumulation patterns with respect to environmental conditions for identifying suitable fire-rotation intervals to minimize C emissions.

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Biomass production of upland vegetation types in England and Wales

Cited by 25 publications

References 29 publications

Grazing impacts on moth diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

Grazing impacts on moth diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

Productivity, grazing utilization, forage quality and primary production controls of species‐rich alpine grasslands with Nardus stricta in northern Spain

Modelling Carbon Emissions in Calluna vulgaris–Dominated Ecosystems when Prescribed Burning and Wildfires Interact

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