Self-organization and complex dynamics of regenerating vegetation in an arid ecosystem: 82 years of recovery after grazing

Lawley, V.; Parrott, Lael; Lewis, Mervyn K.; Sinclair, R.; Ostendorf, Bertram

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2012.08.014

Cited by 42 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Our results are consistent with other studies showing a substantial effect of vertebrate herbivory on vegetation composition in arid and semi-arid areas (Wesuls et al, 2012;Lawley et al, 2013).…”

Section: Vegetation Responses: Grazingsupporting

confidence: 93%

Decade-long response of arid-land mallee vegetation to fire, flooding and grazing in south-eastern Australia

Florentine

Milberg

Stefano

et al. 2015

Journal of Arid Environments

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a b s t r a c tAustralian arid vegetation has evolved within highly variable environments characterised by low rainfall and sporadic fire events. Episodic high rainfall events are a significant factor in plant species recruitment, but their unpredictability makes them difficult to study. We report on the response of vascular plants to a major rainfall event and flood in an arid region of south-eastern Australia. Fire that occurred two months before the flood was incorporated into the study. Paired fenced and unfenced plots were established at control locations and also in areas that had been either flooded, burnt, or flooded and burnt. Objectives were to quantify the long-term effects of fire, flood and vertebrate herbivory, and their interactions, on vegetation composition, plant life forms and species diversity. We found that relative to controls (i) there was a significant effect of flooding on vegetation composition, (ii) changes in life form abundance were driven by flooding and grazing, (iii) there was a strong positive relationship between grazer exclusion and species diversity that was maintained over time and (iv) there was little effect of fire. Understanding the long-term effects of both natural disturbances and vertebrate herbivory will benefit plant conservation in the arid zone.

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Section: Vegetation Responses: Grazingsupporting

confidence: 93%

Decade-long response of arid-land mallee vegetation to fire, flooding and grazing in south-eastern Australia

Florentine

Milberg

Stefano

et al. 2015

Journal of Arid Environments

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“…Some grazing appears to have little effect on vegetation, especially in the driest rangelands far from continual heavy grazing, as was recently shown in arid Australia (94). By contrast, wetter, semiarid rangeland in Australia took a half century to recover from sheep grazing, but there were no predictable recovery trajectories, even for nearby plots (95). It is important to note that rangelands can change often and significantly in response to rainfall alone, emphasizing the critical role of well-designed studies of the causes of degradation (96).…”

Section: Degradation and Desertificationmentioning

confidence: 89%

Dynamics and Resilience of Rangelands and Pastoral Peoples Around the Globe

Reid

Fernández‐Giménez

Galvin

2014

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

240

208

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Rangelands cover more of Earth's land surface than any other type of land. They have variable and harsh climates, are sparsely populated and remote from markets, produce significant quantities of livestock, and are mostly used and managed in common. Under this already unpredictable and harsh climate, pastoral peoples and rangelands face new and accelerating political, economic, and climatic stresses that challenge their coupled resilience and ability to adapt. In response, pastoralists are creating new ways to manage rangelands through conservancies and community-based institutions on state, common, and private land. In this review, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of rangeland social-ecological systems, as well as on the causes and consequences of change in these systems. We then explore how pastoral peoples, governments, and businesses are responding to these changes to build resilience to sustain both pastoralism and rangelands. We close with a description of unresolved issues, challenges, and questions for the future. 217 Annu. Rev. Environ. Resourc. 2014.39:217-242. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by Monash University on 12/15/14. For personal use only.

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“…On the other hand, currently-grazed areas could be destocked and the responses of biota then compared in removal and control sites. A challenge with the latter approach, however, is to account for other factors that might also drive biotic change [7]. Three key factors that may act singly or in combination are likely to be particularly influential in altering the composition or functional aspects of arid grassland systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of Grazing History, Cattle Removal and Time since Rain Drive Divergent Short-Term Responses by Desert Biota

et al. 2013

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Arid grasslands are used worldwide for grazing by domestic livestock, generating debate about how this pastoral enterprise may influence native desert biota. One approach to resolving this question is to experimentally reduce livestock numbers and measure the effects. However, a key challenge in doing this is that historical grazing impacts are likely to be cumulative and may therefore confound comparisons of the short-term responses of desert biota to changes in stocking levels. Arid areas are also subject to infrequent flooding rainfalls that drive productivity and dramatically alter abundances of flora and fauna. We took advantage of an opportunity to study the recent effects of a property-scale cattle removal on two properties with similarly varied grazing histories in central Australia. Following the removal of cattle in 2006 and before and after a significant rainfall event at the beginning of 2007, we sampled vegetation and small vertebrates on eight occasions until October 2008. Our results revealed significant interactions of time of survey with both grazing history and grazing removal for vascular plants, small mammals and reptiles. The mammals exhibited a three-way interaction of time, grazing history and grazing removal, thus highlighting the importance of careful sampling designs and timing for future monitoring. The strongest response to the cessation of grazing after two years was depressed reproductive output of plants in areas where cattle continued to graze. Our results confirm that neither vegetation nor small vertebrates necessarily respond immediately to the removal of livestock, but that rainfall events and cumulative grazing history are key determinants of floral and faunal performance in grassland landscapes with low and variable rainfall. We suggest that improved assessments could be made of the health of arid grazing environments if long-term monitoring were implemented to track the complex interactions that influence how native biota respond to grazing.

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Self-organization and complex dynamics of regenerating vegetation in an arid ecosystem: 82 years of recovery after grazing

Cited by 42 publications

References 38 publications

Decade-long response of arid-land mallee vegetation to fire, flooding and grazing in south-eastern Australia

Decade-long response of arid-land mallee vegetation to fire, flooding and grazing in south-eastern Australia

Dynamics and Resilience of Rangelands and Pastoral Peoples Around the Globe

Interactions of Grazing History, Cattle Removal and Time since Rain Drive Divergent Short-Term Responses by Desert Biota

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