Long-term grazing removal increased invasion and reduced native plant abundance and diversity in a sagebrush grassland

Porensky, Lauren M.; McGee, Rachel A.; Pellatz, David W.

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01267

Cited by 27 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Other studies have found that grazing can increase species richness (Manier & Hobbs, 2006), forb cover (Manier & Hobbs, 2006), and shrub cover (Veblen et al, 2015) or have little or no effects on big sagebrush plant community structure and composition (Courtois et al, 2004; Holechek & Stephenson, 1983; Stohlgren et al, 1999). Recent studies have shown that grazing exclusion over multiple decades produces only minor differences from moderate grazing (Copeland et al, 2021), or even decrease diversity and increase exotic species abundance (Porensky et al, 2020). Far fewer studies have examined plant community responses along grazing intensity gradients in these systems (but please refer to Adler et al, 2005; Tueller & Platou, 1991).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small effects of livestock grazing intensification on diversity, abundance, and composition in a dryland plant community

Jordan

Palmquist

Burke

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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Livestock grazing is a globally important land use and has the potential to significantly influence plant community structure and ecosystem function, yet several critical knowledge gaps remain on the direction and magnitude of grazing impacts. Furthermore, much of our understanding of the long‐term effects on plant community composition and structure are based on grazer exclusion experiments, which explicitly avoid characterizing effects along grazing intensity gradients. We sampled big sagebrush plant communities using 68 plots located along grazing intensity gradients to determine how grazing intensity influences multiple aspects of plant community structure over time. This was accomplished by sampling plant communities at different distances from 17 artificial watering sources, using distance from water and cow dung density as proxies for grazing intensity at individual plots. Total vegetation cover and total grass cover were negatively related to grazing intensity, and cover of annual forbs, exotic cover, and exotic richness were positively related to grazing intensity. In contrast, species richness and composition, bunchgrass biomass, shrub density and size, percentage cover of bare ground, litter, and biological soil crusts did not vary along our grazing intensity gradients, in spite of our expectations to the contrary. Our results suggest that the effects of livestock grazing over multiple decades (mean = 46 years) in our sites are relatively small, especially for native perennial species, and that the big sagebrush plant communities we sampled are somewhat resistant to livestock grazing. Collectively, our findings are consistent with existing evidence that indicates the stability of the big sagebrush plant functional type composition under current grazing management regimes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small effects of livestock grazing intensification on diversity, abundance, and composition in a dryland plant community

Jordan

Palmquist

Burke

et al. 2022

Ecological Applications

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“…Koerner et al, 2018;Roche et al, 2015;Van den Broeck, 2019). Likewise, the complete removal of grazing disturbance from ecosystems that were previously grazed can result in biodiversity losses in a variety of ecosystems, from sagebrush steppe to subtropical wetlands (Barry, 1995;Boughton et al, 2016;Groome & Shaw, 2015;Marty, 2015;Porensky et al, 2020). This has led to increased interest in using livestock for conservation purposes, including the reintroduction of livestock to areas that have been under prolonged grazing rest (Gornish et al, 2018;Groome & Shaw, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vernal pool wetlands respond to livestock grazing, exclusion and reintroduction

Michaels

Tate

Eviner

2021

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Also after 10 years of cattle grazing removal, Correa et al (2020) identified an increase in dung beetle abundance and species richness in natural grasslands when compared to areas with active cattle grazing. Porensky et al (2020) also found that long-term grazing removal (>49 years old) increased invasion and reduced native plant abundance and diversity in a sagebrush grassland. However, there are also studies reporting a negative effect of grazing rate reduction in other insects, such as butterflies (P€ oyry et al 2004) and Orthoptera (Marini et al 2009) in semi-natural grasslands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Porensky et al . (2020) also found that long‐term grazing removal (>49 years old) increased invasion and reduced native plant abundance and diversity in a sagebrush grassland. However, there are also studies reporting a negative effect of grazing rate reduction in other insects, such as butterflies (Pöyry et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

Correa

Silva

2022

Austral Ecology

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Livestock is a globally widespread farming practice, with benefits and harms for biodiversity. Biodiversity responses to vegetation and soil conditions associated with cattle grazing removal are poorly understood in tropical grassy ecosystems, especially in a long-term chronosequence. In this study, we aimed to identify the main drivers of local conditions on dung beetle taxonomic and functional diversity across a chronosequence of natural grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages. We expect that vegetation and soil variables associated with environmental changes caused by longer time after cattle grazing removal will drive the taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles. We sampled dung beetles and recorded local environmental filters (vegetation and soil variables) in 14 natural grasslands with distinct cattle grazing removal ages (from 3 months to 22 years) and also in 10 reference sites (with cattle grazing). We used structural equation models to evaluate the relationships between the most informative explanations (vegetation and soil variables) of dung beetle taxonomic and functional metrics. Our results provide evidences that local conditions related to vegetation and soil variables in natural grasslands affect the taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles differently. Soil conditions (compaction and silt content) had more influence, mostly negative, on taxonomic metrics, while vegetation complexity had more influence on functional metrics, with positive or negative effects depending on the functional metric evaluated. Understanding the temporal change in vegetation and soil conditions can shed light on the process of recovering biodiversity and ecosystem functions in areas with different times of abandonment of livestock farming. Finally, using taxonomic and functional approaches together can also help to better understand how organisms are responding to the process of abandoning livestock farming over time.

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Long-term grazing removal increased invasion and reduced native plant abundance and diversity in a sagebrush grassland

Cited by 27 publications

References 55 publications

Small effects of livestock grazing intensification on diversity, abundance, and composition in a dryland plant community

Small effects of livestock grazing intensification on diversity, abundance, and composition in a dryland plant community

Vernal pool wetlands respond to livestock grazing, exclusion and reintroduction

Environmental drivers of taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles across a chronosequence of tropical grasslands with different cattle grazing removal ages

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