Plant and soil surface responses to a combination of shrub removal and grazing in a shrub-encroached woodland

Daryanto, Stefani; Eldridge, David J.

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2010.07.038

Cited by 42 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…At the more disturbed ploughed-grazed site, however, the spatial dependence of infiltrability was weak, but it had a long autocorrelation range, suggesting that small cohort of shrubs, rather than single, mature shrubs, might be responsible for the variability in infiltrability. This is consistent with our data indicating a distribution of shrub sizes tending to younger smaller shrubs of higher density at the ploughed-grazed compared with the unploughed-grazed site (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010).…”

Section: Changes Of Hydrological Processes With Grazing and Ploughingsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…Finally, the presence of a well-developed matrix of cryptogamic crusts in the shrub interspaces at this undisturbed site (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010) and small patches of bare soil would have created microsites of enhanced water ponding and reduced the time to initiation of runoff , eventually leading to an increase in infiltration in the zone immediately surrounding the canopy. Although some types of cryptogamic crusts (e.g.…”

Section: Hydrological Processes In the Undisturbed Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differences in infiltrability could also be due to differences in the size or age of individual shrubs. Given that the ploughed-grazed site was dominated by young, shorter shrubs (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010), they are likely to have more lateral, surface-feeding roots than the larger, older shrubs, thus extending the area over which they are likely to scavenge for water to areas beyond their canopy. Since the development of plant roots would adjust to the availability of limiting resources such as water and nitrogen (February et al, 2011), we would expect that newlyregenerating plant roots in the ploughed-grazed area would be closer to the soil surface due to limited soil nutrients and most probably infiltration depth in the interspace (Daryanto et al, 2012).…”

Section: Changes Of Hydrological Processes With Grazing and Ploughingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, removal of woody plants by chaining or cutting can enhance soil moisture (Bates et al, 2000) and may even enhance soil water recharge (e.g., Weltz and Blackburn, 1995). Studies of the effects of woody plant removal in encroached Australian shrublands indicate that physical removal of woody plants and their hummocks by root ploughing leads to a reduction in the number of resourceaccumulating patches and an increase in inter-patch distance (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010). Grazing-induced disturbance is known to fragment soil biological cover that occurs in the interspaces and lead to destabilization of surface soil aggregates (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of the effects of woody plant removal in encroached Australian shrublands indicate that physical removal of woody plants and their hummocks by root ploughing leads to a reduction in the number of resourceaccumulating patches and an increase in inter-patch distance (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010). Grazing-induced disturbance is known to fragment soil biological cover that occurs in the interspaces and lead to destabilization of surface soil aggregates (Daryanto and Eldridge, 2010). Grazing-induced trampling has been shown to reduce infiltration rates through surface compaction (Castellano and Valone, 2007), but little is known of the joint effects of grazing and soil disturbance associated with the physical shrub removal, on soil surface condition and infiltration processes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Daryanto

Eldridge²,

Wang

2013

Geomorphology

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Woody plant encroachment is known to have substantial effects on a range of ecosystem processes. Research worldwide indicates that the area around shrubs and trees has higher levels of infiltration than the interspaces. Little is known, however, about the hydrological consequences of shrub removal on infiltration, and how this might be influenced by grazing. We examined the spatial patterns of infiltration across three treatments relating to shrub removal and grazing: (i) undisturbed (ungrazed, unploughed), (ii) grazed but unploughed, and (iii) grazed and ploughed. In general we found that disturbance was associated with a greater cover of bare soil but lower infiltrability, our laboratory-based measure of infiltration. At the undisturbed site, bare soil was patchy and localized, with an autocorrelation range or connectivity of 1.4 m. The autocorrelation range of infiltrability at this site (A0 = 3 m) was larger than would be predicted from the size of the shrub canopy, and this was attributed to the presence of a well-developed understorey layer and biological soil crust community. At both grazed sites, infiltration was confined to the immediate canopy area of the remaining shrubs (A0 = 1.2 m in the unploughed-grazed site). Additionally, there was increasing connectivity of bare soil with disturbance, up to 6.8 m at the ploughed-grazed site. With increasing disturbance, resource-rich shrub patches are likely to become more developed, further reinforcing their growth and persistence at the expense of the bare interspaces. Our results indicate the importance of shrubs for maintaining landscape connectivity, and the long-term unsustainable practice of removal by ploughing, which is likely to promote shrub dominance rather than suppression.

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Section: Changes Of Hydrological Processes With Grazing and Ploughingsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Hydrological Processes In the Undisturbed Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Changes Of Hydrological Processes With Grazing and Ploughingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Daryanto

Eldridge²,

Wang

2013

Geomorphology

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Management of Grazing Intensity in the Semi‐Arid Rangelands of Southern Australia: Effects on Soil and Biodiversity

et al. 2016

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Overgrazing contributes to rangeland degradation altering plant community composition, erosion and biodiversity. Little unanimity in the literature exists on the effects of livestock grazing on soil carbon and biodiversity, in part, due to uncontrolled grazing pressure from native and feral animals. Paired paddock contrasts at three, long‐term (>8 years) study locations in the southern Australian rangelands were used to examine the effects of managing grazing intensity through the use of exclusion fencing and rotational grazing on soil organic carbon (SOC), soil nitrogen (TN), ground cover and biodiversity (flora and invertebrates). Grazing management had no effect on SOC or TN on grey soils (Vertisols), but for red soils (Lixisols), significantly higher levels of SOC were found for both the 0 to 5 and 5 to 10‐cm soil depths (0·3% and 0·27% respectively) and associated with increased TN. We found strong and consistent relationships among SOC and higher perennial (p < 0·001), higher litter (p < 0·05) cover and close proximity to trees (p < 0·05). Managing grazing intensity resulted in significantly higher perennial ground cover (p < 0·001) on Vertisols (8·9 to 11%) and Lixisols (12·5 to 15%) and higher plant diversity (both native and exotic) but negatively impacted invertebrate diversity, indicating trade‐offs between production and resources. We provide evidence that the effects of grazing management on SOC are mediated by ground cover and increased organic matter supply and/or reduced soil carbon redistribution (erosion), which indicates that the management of grazing intensity may provide a tool to avoid soil carbon loss in rangelands. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Ants respond more strongly to grazing than changes in shrub cover

Radnan

Eldridge

2018

Land Degrad Dev

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Increases in the cover or density of woody plants (encroachment) and overgrazing by European livestock are 2 major drivers of ecosystem structure and function in drylands and are often associated with land degradation. Although the effects of encroachment and overgrazing on vascular plants are relatively well known, little is known about their effects on arthropods such as ants. We examined ant community composition at sites ranging in shrub cover in a wooded dryland in eastern Australia, testing the notion that increasing shrub cover and grazing intensity would alter ant assemblages and functional group composition. We used ants because they are abundant, diverse, and respond to small‐scale environmental changes. Increasing shrub cover had no effect on ant richness, diversity, or evenness but increased the abundance of Subordinate Camponotini. Larger shrubs tended to have greater ant richness, and abundance of Cold Climate Specialists, but fewer Generalized Myrmicinae and Hot Climate Specialists. More intense grazing was associated with greater ant richness, diversity, and evenness; a greater abundance of Hot Climate Specialists and Dominant Dolichoridae; and lower abundance of Subordinate Camponotini. Our study indicates that changes in grazing intensity had stronger effects on ant richness than any increase in shrub cover. The effects of grazing likely resulted from changes in soil surface complexity such as barer ground associated with grazing‐induced degradation.

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Plant and soil surface responses to a combination of shrub removal and grazing in a shrub-encroached woodland

Cited by 42 publications

References 58 publications

Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Spatial patterns of infiltration vary with disturbance in a shrub-encroached woodland

Management of Grazing Intensity in the Semi‐Arid Rangelands of Southern Australia: Effects on Soil and Biodiversity

Ants respond more strongly to grazing than changes in shrub cover

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