In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation
Increasing shrub density hinders cattle raising in central Argentina rangelands. While roller- chopping and hand-cutting are used to remove shrubs and make land accessible for cattle grazing, studies on the effects of these practices on ecosystem composition, structure and functioning are scarce. We...
| Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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| Formato: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
CSIRO
2023
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/14318 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ22040 |
| _version_ | 1855037096372207616 |
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| author | Guzman, Luis Miguel Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Quiroga, Raul Emiliano Pereyra, Diego Ivan Pelliza, Ernesto Martin Ricarte, Ramon Armando Blanco, Lisandro Javier |
| author_browse | Blanco, Lisandro Javier Guzman, Luis Miguel Pelliza, Ernesto Martin Pereyra, Diego Ivan Quiroga, Raul Emiliano Ricarte, Ramon Armando Villagra, Pablo Eugenio |
| author_facet | Guzman, Luis Miguel Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Quiroga, Raul Emiliano Pereyra, Diego Ivan Pelliza, Ernesto Martin Ricarte, Ramon Armando Blanco, Lisandro Javier |
| author_sort | Guzman, Luis Miguel |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Increasing shrub density hinders cattle raising in central Argentina rangelands. While roller- chopping and hand-cutting are used to remove shrubs and make land accessible for cattle grazing, studies on the effects of these practices on ecosystem composition, structure and functioning are scarce. We assessed the impact of shrub removal on (a) vegetation cover, composition, species richness and diversity and (b) green biomass and seasonal phenological dynamics. We used a randomised design with three treatments (degraded rangeland; roller-chopping and hand-cutting) with four replicates, and compared the treatments with the least disturbed woodland (conserved woodland). Cenchrus ciliaris L. was sown following removal treatments and grass cover increased significantly (45% roller-chopping and 84% hand-cutting vs 27% degraded rangeland, and 13% conserved woodland), and tree cover decreased (3% roller-chopping and 2% hand-cutting vs 16% degraded rangeland, and 23% conserved woodland). Shrub cover reached 45% under roller- chopping, similar to the degraded rangeland treatment (46% degraded rangeland, 60% conserved woodland), but in hand-cutting reached only 3% cover. Hand-cutting reduced species richness and vegetation diversity, whereas roller-chopping had no effect. Shrub-removal treatments decreased normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI; proxy of green biomass) and modified ecosystem phenology. Under both shrub treatments, the maximum, minimum and integral NDVI (area under the NDVI curve) were significantly lower than those of the degraded rangeland treatment. The results suggest that shrub-removal practices increase forage for livestock, but reduce functional diversity and compromise the return to less disturbed states (woodland), where tree populations are maintained. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA14318 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | CSIRO |
| publisherStr | CSIRO |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA143182023-04-21T13:43:28Z In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation Guzman, Luis Miguel Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Quiroga, Raul Emiliano Pereyra, Diego Ivan Pelliza, Ernesto Martin Ricarte, Ramon Armando Blanco, Lisandro Javier Grassland Management Biomass Production Grazing Scrublands Woodlands Grazing Systems Arid Zones Manejo de Praderas Producción de Biomasa Pastoreo Tierras de Matorral Formación Boscosa Zona Arida Argentina Woody-plant Encroachment Increasing shrub density hinders cattle raising in central Argentina rangelands. While roller- chopping and hand-cutting are used to remove shrubs and make land accessible for cattle grazing, studies on the effects of these practices on ecosystem composition, structure and functioning are scarce. We assessed the impact of shrub removal on (a) vegetation cover, composition, species richness and diversity and (b) green biomass and seasonal phenological dynamics. We used a randomised design with three treatments (degraded rangeland; roller-chopping and hand-cutting) with four replicates, and compared the treatments with the least disturbed woodland (conserved woodland). Cenchrus ciliaris L. was sown following removal treatments and grass cover increased significantly (45% roller-chopping and 84% hand-cutting vs 27% degraded rangeland, and 13% conserved woodland), and tree cover decreased (3% roller-chopping and 2% hand-cutting vs 16% degraded rangeland, and 23% conserved woodland). Shrub cover reached 45% under roller- chopping, similar to the degraded rangeland treatment (46% degraded rangeland, 60% conserved woodland), but in hand-cutting reached only 3% cover. Hand-cutting reduced species richness and vegetation diversity, whereas roller-chopping had no effect. Shrub-removal treatments decreased normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI; proxy of green biomass) and modified ecosystem phenology. Under both shrub treatments, the maximum, minimum and integral NDVI (area under the NDVI curve) were significantly lower than those of the degraded rangeland treatment. The results suggest that shrub-removal practices increase forage for livestock, but reduce functional diversity and compromise the return to less disturbed states (woodland), where tree populations are maintained. EEA La Rioja Fil: Guzman, Luis Miguel. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; Argentina Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET). Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina Fil: Villagra, Pablo Eugenio. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA); Argentina Fil: Quiroga, Raul Emiliano. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Catamarca; Argentina Fil: Pereyra, Diego Ivan. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; Argentina Fil: Pelliza, Ernesto Martin. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; Argentina Fil: Ricarte, Ramon Armando. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; Argentina Fil: Blanco, Lisandro Javier. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria La Rioja; Argentina 2023-03-23T14:03:36Z 2023-03-23T14:03:36Z 2023 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/14318 1036-9872 1834-7541 (Online) https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ22040 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) application/pdf Chaco Central .......... (general region) (World, South America, Argentina) 1111937 CSIRO The Rangeland Journal 44 (4) : 193-202. (23 February 2023) |
| spellingShingle | Grassland Management Biomass Production Grazing Scrublands Woodlands Grazing Systems Arid Zones Manejo de Praderas Producción de Biomasa Pastoreo Tierras de Matorral Formación Boscosa Zona Arida Argentina Woody-plant Encroachment Guzman, Luis Miguel Villagra, Pablo Eugenio Quiroga, Raul Emiliano Pereyra, Diego Ivan Pelliza, Ernesto Martin Ricarte, Ramon Armando Blanco, Lisandro Javier In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title | In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title_full | In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title_fullStr | In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title_full_unstemmed | In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title_short | In search of sustainable livestock management in the Dry Chaco: effect of different shrub-removal practices on vegetation |
| title_sort | in search of sustainable livestock management in the dry chaco effect of different shrub removal practices on vegetation |
| topic | Grassland Management Biomass Production Grazing Scrublands Woodlands Grazing Systems Arid Zones Manejo de Praderas Producción de Biomasa Pastoreo Tierras de Matorral Formación Boscosa Zona Arida Argentina Woody-plant Encroachment |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/14318 https://doi.org/10.1071/RJ22040 |
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