Potential greenhouse gas emissions mitigation through increased grazing pressure: a case study in North Portugal

Ameray, Abderrahmane; Castro, João Paulo; Castro, Marina

doi:10.1080/17583004.2022.2029575

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 65 publications

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“…The results also show that grazing alone, i.e., without any prior action such as mechanical clearing, does not limit phytovolume, which is in line with results found in other Mediterranean regions [40,62,[65][66][67]. In fact, there is research that contrasts with our results, showing that livestock themselves can control shrub regrowth.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Castro

2022

Sustainability

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Over recent years, rural abandonment and climate change have challenged grazed wooded landscapes in Mediterranean mountain regions. Fire hazard management procedures such as grazing, prescribed burning, or mechanical clearing must be adjusted to the new socioeconomic and environmental situation and according to the context and circumstances of each territory. This study contributes to adjusting vegetation management techniques in response to low grazing pressure by evaluating the combined effect of mechanical clearing and grazing on the structural and floristic dynamics of understory vegetation in the open-grazed Mediterranean oak forests of northern Portugal. To this end, three treatments were established: mechanical clearing with grazing, mechanical clearing without grazing, and grazing without clearing (the control). The floristic inventories were carried out using the point quadrat method, and the structure was evaluated using line transects. Herbaceous biomass was determined by destructive methods. This study shows that mechanical vegetation clearing effectively reduces phytovolume and, thus, fire hazards. However, for its effects to endure, it must be combined with subsequent grazing, which does not always occur. No consistent pattern was found in the floristic dynamics of the shrub-grassland mosaic (species richness and diversity) related to shrub-clearing or grazing over the short term (24 months).

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Castro

2022

Sustainability

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Assessing the Impact of Clearing and Grazing on Fuel Management in a Mediterranean Oak Forest through Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Multispectral Data

Pádua,

Castro,

Castro

et al. 2024

Drones

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Climate change has intensified the need for robust fire prevention strategies. Sustainable forest fuel management is crucial in mitigating the occurrence and rapid spread of forest fires. This study assessed the impact of vegetation clearing and/or grazing over a three-year period in the herbaceous and shrub parts of a Mediterranean oak forest. Using high-resolution multispectral data from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), four flight surveys were conducted from 2019 (pre- and post-clearing) to 2021. These data were used to evaluate different scenarios: combined vegetation clearing and grazing, the individual application of each method, and a control scenario that was neither cleared nor purposely grazed. The UAV data allowed for the detailed monitoring of vegetation dynamics, enabling the classification into arboreal, shrubs, herbaceous, and soil categories. Grazing pressure was estimated through GPS collars on the sheep flock. Additionally, a good correlation (r = 0.91) was observed between UAV-derived vegetation volume estimates and field measurements. These practices proved to be efficient in fuel management, with cleared and grazed areas showing a lower vegetation regrowth, followed by areas only subjected to vegetation clearing. On the other hand, areas not subjected to any of these treatments presented rapid vegetation growth.

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Potential greenhouse gas emissions mitigation through increased grazing pressure: a case study in North Portugal

Cited by 2 publications

References 65 publications

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Understory Clearing in Open Grazed Mediterranean Oak Forests: Assessing the Impact on Vegetation

Assessing the Impact of Clearing and Grazing on Fuel Management in a Mediterranean Oak Forest through Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Multispectral Data

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