Restoring biopedturbation in grasslands with anthropogenic focal disturbance

Limb, Ryan F.; Engle, David M.; Bidwell, Terrence G.; Althoff, Donald P.; Anderson, Alan B.; Gipson, Philip S.; Howard, Heidi R.

doi:10.1007/s11258-010-9760-7

Cited by 14 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…There are strong links between management practices and soil and vegetation parameters (Limb et al ., ). Management strategies addressing both soil properties and vegetation that can increase soil function, sustainability, native vegetation stands, and overall ecosystem health should be the main focus in post‐reclamation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Belowground Attributes on Reclaimed Surface Mine Lands over a 40‐year Chronosequence

et al. 2017

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Reclamation following mining activities often aims to restore stable soils that support productive and diverse native plant communities. The soil re‐spread process increases soil compaction, which may alter soil water, plant composition, rooting depths, and soil organic matter. This may have a direct impact on vegetation establishment and species recruitment. Seasonal wet/dry and freeze/thaw patterns are thought to alleviate soil compaction over time. However, this has not been formally evaluated on reclaimed landscapes at large scales. Our objectives were to (1) determine soil compaction alleviation, (2) rooting depth, and (3) spatial patterns of soil water content over a time‐since‐reclamation gradient. Soil resistance to penetration varied by depth, with shallow compaction remaining unchanged, but deeper compaction increased over time rather than being alleviated. Root biomass and depth did not increase with time and was consistently less than the values in the reference location. Plant communities initially had a strong native component, but quickly became dominated by invasive species following reclamation, and soil water content became increasingly homogeneous over the 40‐year chronosequence. Seasonal weather patterns and soil organic matter additions can reduce soil compaction if water infiltration is not limited. Shallow and strongly fibrous‐rooted grasses present in reclaimed sites added organic matter to shallow soil layers, but did not penetrate the compacted layers and allow water infiltration. Strong linkages between land management strategies, soil properties, and vegetation composition can advance reclamation efforts and promote heterogeneous landscapes. However, current post‐reclamation management strategies are incompletely utilizing natural seasonal weather patterns to reduce soil compaction. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Belowground Attributes on Reclaimed Surface Mine Lands over a 40‐year Chronosequence

et al. 2017

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“…Soil disturbance similar to crane ploughings have been an important component of many open landscapes. Indeed, creating such focal soil perturbations artificially was found to be effective for increasing environmental heterogeneity and provide establishment microsites for subordinate plant species (Limb et al 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eurasian crane (Grus grus) as ecosystem engineer in grasslands ‒ conservation values, ecosystem services and disservices related to a large iconic bird species

Valkó

Borza

Godó

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Large bird species, such as cranes are involved in human-wildlife conflicts as they often forage in croplands. The Eurasian crane (Grus grus) is a large iconic bird species, protected across Europe, which, thanks to conservation programs and its ability to utilize croplands for foraging, shows a strongly increasing population trend. This exaggerates the already existing conflicts between crop farmers and cranes spilling over to natural habitats, where foraging by large flocks can lead to land degradation. To date, no studies have evaluated the effects of biopedturbation by cranes in grasslands, despite these habitats provide important feeding grounds for this large bird across its whole range. Here we evaluated the effect of biopedturbation by foraging Eurasian cranes on the vegetation of dry grasslands in Hungary. We used indicators of vegetation naturalness, forage quality and floral resource provision to evaluate the ecosystem state from multiple aspects. We sampled 100 quadrats in disturbed patches and 100 in intact grasslands in two seasons and two years (800 observations). We found that cranes created distinct habitat patches with different species composition compared to undisturbed areas. These early-successional patches that increased the plant diversity and floral resources but decreased the area of intact grasslands. Although crane-disturbed patches could provide forage for livestock early in the season, the forage quality of the vegetation became poor later in the year. Given the strong increase of the global crane population, monitoring the landscape-level extent of the disturbed areas, and developing a complex prevention and mitigation strategy would be important.

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“…Natural and artificial pits and mounds, such as those dug by small mammals, facilitate seedling establishment (Dean & Milton ; Dhillion ). Pits and mounds in espinals can be increased by protecting small mammal populations (Eldridge & James ) or using farm equipment (Limb et al ). After seedling establishment, protection from herbivory is essential.…”

Section: Management For Espinal Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Chilean Espinal: Restoration for a Sustainable Silvopastoral System

Root‐Bernstein

Jaksic

2013

Restoration Ecology

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The mediterranean habitats of central Chile are rich in endemic species, but threatened by land-use changes. In this context, we suggest that restoration of the traditional espinal silvopastoral system could improve its sustainability and conservation value. Past research on the espinal embraced negative stereotypes of peasants, the tree Acacia caven, and the semiarid landscape to recommend abandoning the silvopastoral system. We think that recommendation is premature and ignores the value of the espinal as a classical Chilean cultural landscape. Drawing on lessons from silvopastoral systems in Latin America and the Mediterranean, here we suggest several management interventions and incentives that could be developed to restore the espinal. Particular challenges in espinal include low biomass production due to the semiarid climate and the lack of a traditional sustainable timber or non-timber product of A. caven. Our recommendations include sustainable production and use of biochar and bark extracts from A. caven to improve espinal soils, the promotion of shrubs and the use of small mammal disturbances, and their artificial analogs to improve A. caven reproduction, and rotational livestock herding to form mosaic landscapes. These techniques could lead to higher forage biomass and increased livestock weights. Incentive structures to implement these management activities could include tax benefits for private protected area (IUCN category VI) creation, REDD+ and PES programs, along with promotion of the cultural value of the espinal. Further research is urgently called for on ecosystem services, ecological baselines, biochar, and other management and incentive structures that could be applied in the espinal.

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Restoring biopedturbation in grasslands with anthropogenic focal disturbance

Cited by 14 publications

References 85 publications

Belowground Attributes on Reclaimed Surface Mine Lands over a 40‐year Chronosequence

Belowground Attributes on Reclaimed Surface Mine Lands over a 40‐year Chronosequence

Eurasian crane (Grus grus) as ecosystem engineer in grasslands ‒ conservation values, ecosystem services and disservices related to a large iconic bird species

The Chilean Espinal: Restoration for a Sustainable Silvopastoral System

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