Grass strategies and grassland community responses to environmental drivers: a review

Abstract

Grassland covers about one quarter of the Earth's land area and is currently estimated to contribute to the livelihoods of over 800 million people. Grassland provides ecosystem goods and services, mainly through the provisioning of milk and meat. Therefore, the proper use of grasslands will be essential for feeding the nine billion people that will inhabit planet Earth by 2050. In the context of a changing climate, we should better understand the interactions of environment, management and grass crop at individual, community and ecosystem levels. Functional ecology focuses on the roles and functions that species play in the community or ecosystem in which they occur. Functional ecology thus aims to understand how plant species adapt to environmental conditions and how management can alter this adaptation. Here, we review the latest advances in plant functional traits research and on species strategies to the main environmental factors occurring in grassland ecosystems: nutrient availability, grazing, cutting and shading. Functional ecology also provides a framework to better understand how species strategies interact with the species composition at the community level. Therefore, the literature on community assembling theories in relation to ecosystem processes most relevant to grassland management and services is also reviewed. Finally, future research questions and some new orientations for grassland experts are offered in order to meet the challenge of maintaining productivity and preservation of these semi-natural environments in the face of global change.

Plant species composition and potential feed value of permanent grasslands in the Sýkořská hornatina Upland

“…In this direction, using a wide range of fodder crops will be critical in future /red clover, alfalfa/ (Hejduk 2012;Carter, Blair 2013;Walden, Lindborg 2016) that would be capable of reaching the required changes in quality over a short period (Gaujour et al 2012;da Silveira Pontes et al 2015).…”

“…Botanical composition is crucial for ensuring productive and non-productive functions of PG (Michaud et al 2012), including the quality parameters of produced fodder; fodder quality is based on high digestibility, nutrient concentration and nutrient ratio (Gaujour et al 2012;da Silveira Pontes et al 2015). In the long term, botanical composition/fodder quality can be influenced by fertilising and crop utilisation systems, i.e., the intensity and frequency of grazing, alternating mowing and grazing or numbers of cuts during the year (Hejcman et al 2007(Hejcman et al , 2010Nerušil et al 2012).…”

Plant species composition and potential feed value of permanent grasslands in the central part of Drahanská vrchovina Upland

“…Supplementary data); prospectively, the quality of stands will need to be enhanced by additional seeding (using clover-grass mixtures sown by a strip or harrow seeder) (Kohoutek et al 2007). In this direction, using a wide range of fodder crops will be critical in future (Carter, Blair 2013;Walden, Lindborg 2016) that would be capable of reaching the required changes in quality over a short period (Gaujour et al 2012;da Silveira Pontes et al 2015).…”

“…Compared with pure grass cover the proportion of clovers in green fodder increases feed intake (Steinwidder, Wurm 2003). In terms of protein, clovers greatly exceed grasses while featuring a favourable content of fibre, essential amino acids, minerals (Ca, Mg, K and P), and vitamins & pro-vitamins, high digestibility of organic matter (60 % to 80 %) and, finally, a high concentration of energy (Givens et al 2000) Botanical composition is crucial for ensuring productive and non-productive functions of PG (Michaud et al 2012), including the quality parameters of produced fodder; fodder quality is based on high digestibility, nutrient concentration and nutrient ratio (Gaujour et al 2012;da Silveira Pontes et al 2015). In the long term, botanical composition/fodder quality can be influenced by fertilising and crop utilisation systems, i.e., the intensity and frequency of grazing, alternating mowing and grazing or numbers of cuts during the year (Komárek et al 2005;Hejcman et al 2007Hejcman et al , 2010Nerušil et al 2012).…”

Short‐term responses of darkling beetles (Coleoptera:Tenebrionidae) to the effects of fire and grazing in savannah rangeland

“…This change in habitat and its local conditions can in turn result in a shift in community composition (Williams et al ., ). Likewise, studies showed that heavy grazing may result in niche simplification via less litter, standing crop, fewer flowers, more extreme microclimate, less food resource, as well as increased direct mortality from trampling (reviewed in da Silveira Pontes et al ., ; Swengel, and references therein). So far, in fire and grazing interaction experiments, grazing greatly affected post fire regeneration in natural plant communities, modifying vegetation structure and composition, or may retard the plant succession and growth (Raffaele & Veblen, ; de Paz & Raffaele, ).…”