How do horses graze pastures and affect the diversity of grassland ecosystems?

Fleurance, Géraldine; Edouard, Nadège; Collas, Claire; Duncan, Patrick; Farruggia, Anne; Baumont, René; Lecomte, Thierry; Dumont, Bertrand

doi:10.3920/978-90-8686-755-4_16

Cited by 11 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Because of this and the initially biologically diverse floristic composition, the semi-natural pasture stands apart from the other cases: the average species number per 1 m 2 was almost double that in the other two study areas. The vegetation within each parcel was also the most heterogeneous, which confirms the results of Fleurance et al [26]. It also had most litter in the sward, which is characteristic for extensive grazing [45].…”

Section: Impacts On Vegetation Diversity and Composition And Pasturesupporting

confidence: 86%

“…However, the variation in vegetation heights and litter abundance was particularly high in the semi-natural pasture of Ypäjä. The selective pattern of grazing by horses is known to lead to a mosaic structure of pastures due to close grazing on most suitable sites and concomitant avoidance of some other areas by horses creates heterogeneous vegetation [26], which is likely to contribute to high diversity of other taxa, such as invertebrates and birds [78,81]. However, the patterns will only persist if no additional management to prevent structural and compositional diversification is carried out.…”

Section: Impacts On Vegetation Diversity and Composition And Pasturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, the results indicate a challenge of using horses for pasture management that is specific to boreal conditions. With the high intake capacity for roughages, horses effectively control competitive grasses [26], but may not be able to contain rapid forest regeneration (starting with Betula spp, Rubus idaeus, Salix spp, as detected on a high proportion of images for Ypäjä). Preferences of horses for already open pasture areas and low consumption of scrub leads to overgrowth of the boreal pastures managed exclusively by horses [21,87].…”

Section: Synergies and Trade-offs Between The Fodder And Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Secondly, horses have a highly selective grazing behavior [20,23,24]. They have a higher preference for grass and make less use of forbs and legumes compared to ruminants [25,26]. Finally, horses use pasture in a patchy manner: the foraging areas are grazed closely while latrine areas are rejected, which creates more heterogeneous swards than those managed through cattle grazing [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the effects of grazing by horses on the vegetation and on best management of horse pastures have received considerable research attention (e.g., [26,31]), the extent to which horses can be used in maintaining semi-natural pastures in the boreal zone is still unknown because the horse is not a native grazer in the boreal ecosystems. Despite regionally high numbers of horses in Finland, there are only a few pastures that have been continuously managed exclusively with horses for at least two decades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Horse Welfare and Natural Values on Semi-Natural and Extensive Pastures in Finland: Synergies and Trade-Offs

Saastamoinen

Herzon

Särkijärvi

et al. 2017

Land

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Abstract:In several regions in Europe, the horse is becoming a common grazer on semi-natural and cultivated grasslands, though the pasturing benefits for animals and biodiversity alike are not universally appreciated. The composition of ground vegetation on pastures determines the value of both the forage for grazing animals as well as the biodiversity values for species associated with the pastoral ecosystems. We studied three pastures, each representing one of the management types in southern Finland (latitudes 60-61): semi-natural, permanent and cultivated grassland. All have been grazed exclusively by horses for several decades. We aimed to evaluate feeding values and horses' welfare, on the one hand, and impacts of horses on biodiversity in boreal conditions, on the other. Though there were differences among the pastures, the nutritional value of the vegetation in all three pastures met the energy and protein needs of most horse categories through the whole grazing season. Some mineral concentrations were low compared to the requirements, and supplementation of Cu, Zn and Na is needed to balance the mineral intake. Only minor injuries or health problems were observed. All metrics of biological values, as well as number of species eaten by horses, were particularly high in a semi-natural pasture compared to other pasture types. The highest ratio of species cover preferred by horses to the total cover was found in the permanent pasture, while at the regularly re-seeded pasture, there was a particularly high cover of species, indicating low biodiversity values on grassland. There was, therefore, a trade-off between the quantity of forage and biological values in pastures, but not in quality. The results provide clear indication both for the suitability of the studied pasture types to horses and for grazing of horses for biodiversity management. In each pasture type, specific management is needed to simultaneously achieve objectives of adequate pasturing and biodiversity. The short duration (only one grazing season) must be considered when applying the results.

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Section: Impacts On Vegetation Diversity and Composition And Pasturesupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Impacts On Vegetation Diversity and Composition And Pasturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Synergies and Trade-offs Between The Fodder And Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Horse Welfare and Natural Values on Semi-Natural and Extensive Pastures in Finland: Synergies and Trade-Offs

Saastamoinen

Herzon

Särkijärvi

et al. 2017

Land

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Use of density‐impact functions to inform and improve the environmental outcomes of feral horse management

Berman

Pickering²,

Smith

et al. 2023

Wildlife Biology

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The available science often demonstrates the need for feral horse population control but not the degree of control required to achieve environmental conservation objectives. To better manage the influence of feral horses, we must first understand the relationship between feral horse density and environmental impact. We recorded vegetation and soil disturbance, and the sign of potential causes of this impact in two parts of the Australian Alps, the Bogong high plains (BHP) and the Eastern Victorian Alps (EVA). We calculated density‐impact functions to assist managers with determining feral horse density targets for control programmes. Minimal sign of feral horse impact was detected on the BHP, with no impact of feral horses observed along 99% of the length of transects. In contrast, impacts assigned to feral horses were significantly higher in the EVA, where a larger, higher‐density population of feral horses existed. However, greater than 83% of the walked transect length was still undisturbed by feral horses in the EVA. We detected a threshold of horse impact at ~ 250 horse faecal piles per ha. Above this threshold, a slight increase in horse density resulted in a disproportionately large increase in impact. In this context, a relatively small population control effort may substantially reduce direct horse impact. But where horse densities exist below this threshold, considerably more expense and control effort (resulting from the difficulties related to control at low density) is likely to make very little difference to an already low level of direct impact. The combined impacts associated with the sign of deer, feral pigs, fire and humans were large compared to that of feral horses. Management of feral horses to reduce their direct impact is unlikely to be beneficial without complementary management to reduce the effects of these other agents of impact.

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Grazing effects on plant diversity in the endemicErica mackayanaheathland community of north-west Spain

Fagúndez

2016

Plant Ecology & Diversity

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How do horses graze pastures and affect the diversity of grassland ecosystems?

Cited by 11 publications

References 47 publications

Horse Welfare and Natural Values on Semi-Natural and Extensive Pastures in Finland: Synergies and Trade-Offs

Horse Welfare and Natural Values on Semi-Natural and Extensive Pastures in Finland: Synergies and Trade-Offs

Use of density‐impact functions to inform and improve the environmental outcomes of feral horse management

Grazing effects on plant diversity in the endemicErica mackayanaheathland community of north-west Spain

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