Influence of grazing on sand field vegetation in the Negev Desert

Olsvig‐Whittaker, Linda; Hosten, Paul E.; Marcus, Ian M.; Shochat, Eyal

doi:10.1006/jare.1993.1007

Cited by 21 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…This is in concordance with previous studies (Olsvig-Whittaker et al 1993;Shackleton 2000;Sawadogo et al 2005;Hahn-Hadjali et al 2006). The increase of therophytes in the CA might be explained by the opening of the vegetation through chopping of trees in croplands and extensive livestock grazing in fallows.…”

Section: Influence Of Land-use On Vegetation Structure and Life Formsupporting

confidence: 95%

Impacts of land-use on West African savanna vegetation: a comparison between protected and communal area in Burkina Faso

et al. 2011

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Biodiversity matters in many aspects for human well-being by providing timber and non-timber products. The most important ecosystems providing these products in West Africa are savannas. In the context of land-use changes, there is an urgent need to understand the impact of land-use on savanna vegetation and biodiversity. This study assesses the impact of land-use on savannas by comparing protected and communal areas. Vegetation relevés were performed in the W National Park and its surrounding communal area in Burkina Faso. Vegetation types were established using ordination and clustering methods. We analyzed to find which environmental factors determine the occurrence of the vegetation types and whether land-use has a specific effect on diversity of vegetation types occurring in both areas. Furthermore, we tested the effect of land-use on vegetation structure and the occurrence of life forms and highly valued tree species. Our results reveal five vegetation types occurring in both areas. Elevation and soil characteristics played the most important role for the occurrence of the vegetation types. Land-use had an effect on vegetation structure, diversity, and the occurrence of life form and highly valued species. Our findings suggest that traditional human land-use does not automatically lead to loss of species and degradation of savanna habitats and that combination of communal and protected areas may be of great importance for the conservation of broad spectrum of biodiversity. Our study demonstrates the complexity of land-use impact on biodiversity patterns and provides insights on what kind of management activities may be most appropriate in both areas.

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Section: Influence Of Land-use On Vegetation Structure and Life Formsupporting

confidence: 95%

Impacts of land-use on West African savanna vegetation: a comparison between protected and communal area in Burkina Faso

et al. 2011

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“…These findings support our hypothesis that plant communities at low and moderate stocking rates are more resilient and recover more quickly after grazing removal than those at high stocking rates. Previous work has shown that heavy grazing reduces species richness, evenness, and diversity, while light and moderate grazing may increase species diversity (Noy-Meir et al 1989;Olsvig-whittaker et al 1993;Li et al 2008). Our results showed that species richness, evenness, and diversity did not change markedly after 5 years of grazing though ANPP decreased significantly, especially at the high stocking rate.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 69%

Plant responses following grazing removal at different stocking rates in an Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem

et al. 2010

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Grazing removal is widely used in grassland management. Plant responses following grazing removal at different organizational levels, however, are not well understood. We examined plant responses at different stocking rates in an Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem dominated by Leymus chinensis and Stipa grandis. Our results indicated that plant response patterns differed significantly among stocking rates, at different levels of organization, and between wet and dry years. Community aboveground net primary production (ANPP) recovered more quickly at low and moderate stocking rates than those at high stocking rates. Response of aboveground net primary production (R ANPP ) was significantly positively correlated with both individual biomass and density responses of L. chinensis. Overcompensation of L. chinensis after grazing removal contributed greatly to positive R ANPP at the community level. Significant compensatory effects were found between the two dominant species and between dominant species and the remaining non-dominant species. Variation in precipitation significantly affected community ANPP, relationships between community and species responses, and compensatory effects between species. Our study suggests that periodic grazing removal is likely to be a useful method for grassland management and that a combination of species with compensatory effects can be advantageous for reseeding practices in grassland restoration.

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“…This would indicate a negative effect of moderate grazing but not of intensive grazing on species richness, which is contrary to most other studies (e.g. NAVEH & WHITTAKER 1979;AYYAD & ELKADI 1982;OLSVIG-WHITTAKER et al 1993;ECCARD et al 2000) and the intermediate disturbance hypothesis (GRIME 1973;CONNELL 1978). This, as well as the relatively highest β-diversity and evenness on moderately grazed plots, can be explained by the very low number of therophytes on moderately grazed plots in comparison to the other grazing intensities.…”

Section: Plant Diversitycontrasting

confidence: 96%

“…The compositional shift from plant communities dominated by perennial plant species on moderately grazed land to those dominated by annuals under high grazing intensities has been recorded as typical for many arid areas (AYYAD & ELKADI 1982;NOYMEIR et al 1989;OLSVIG-WHITTAKER et al 1993;ANDERSON & HOFFMAN 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…On the other hand, light and moderate grazing often affects the vegetation positively, particularly with regard to biodiversity (NAVEH & WHITTAKER 1979;AYYAD & ELKADI 1982;OLSVIG-WHITTAKER et al 1993;ECCARD et al 2000). This effect is predicted by the well-known intermediate disturbance hypothesis, which states that species richness and diversity are highest when disturbance is of intermediate intensity and frequency (GRIME 1973;CONNELL 1978).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of domestic livestock on the vegetation of the Knersvlakte, South Africa

Haarmeyer¹

2009

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Influence of grazing on sand field vegetation in the Negev Desert

Cited by 21 publications

References 0 publications

Impacts of land-use on West African savanna vegetation: a comparison between protected and communal area in Burkina Faso

Impacts of land-use on West African savanna vegetation: a comparison between protected and communal area in Burkina Faso

Plant responses following grazing removal at different stocking rates in an Inner Mongolia grassland ecosystem

Effects of domestic livestock on the vegetation of the Knersvlakte, South Africa

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