Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient
Questions: Does the magnitude of grazing‐induced changes in species composition vary with habitat productivity? How does the sign and magnitude of grazing effects on species richness and beta‐diversity change with increasing productivity? Do major life forms exhibit consistent responses to grazing a...
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| Format: | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| Language: | Inglés |
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Wiley
2019
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| Online Access: | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvs.12053 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/4641 https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12053 |
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| author | Lezama, Felipe Baeza, Santiago Altesor, Alice Cesa, Ariela Chaneton, Enrique José Paruelo, José María |
| author_browse | Altesor, Alice Baeza, Santiago Cesa, Ariela Chaneton, Enrique José Lezama, Felipe Paruelo, José María |
| author_facet | Lezama, Felipe Baeza, Santiago Altesor, Alice Cesa, Ariela Chaneton, Enrique José Paruelo, José María |
| author_sort | Lezama, Felipe |
| collection | INTA Digital |
| description | Questions: Does the magnitude of grazing‐induced changes in species composition vary with habitat productivity? How does the sign and magnitude of grazing effects on species richness and beta‐diversity change with increasing productivity? Do major life forms exhibit consistent responses to grazing along productivity gradients?
Location: Steppes and grasslands of southern South America in Argentina and Uruguay.
Methods: We evaluated grazing effects on plant composition, species richness, beta‐diversity and life‐form abundances along a ten‐fold, regional productivity gradient and within subregions of contrasting productivity, using a common sampling protocol for 23 paired grazed vs ungrazed plots. The annual integral of the normalized difference vegetation index was used as a surrogate for above‐ground net primary productivity.
Results: Compositional dissimilarity between grazed and ungrazed plots, as well as grazing‐induced differences in plant richness and beta‐diversity all increased with habitat productivity. Grazing decreased species richness in low‐productive steppes but enhanced the richness of high‐productive grasslands. On average, grazing reduced beta‐diversity in high‐productive sites but not in low‐productive sites. Dominant species were more strongly suppressed by grazing towards productive grasslands. Grazing generally decreased shrub species cover, whereas graminoid and forb cover did not consistently change with grazing through the productivity gradient.
Conclusions: Our results indicate that the overall grazing effects on vegetation structure increased along a regional productivity gradient. Yet the sign of grazing impacts on species richness and beta‐diversity shifted with habitat productivity, in agreement with models of herbivore‐mediated co‐existence and species colonization in productive systems. Further, we found that narrowing the spatial extent of analysis to the subregion generally obscured grazing–productivity relationships. Biodiversity conservation programmes should carefully weigh the varied impacts of livestock grazing across productivity gradients. |
| format | info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo |
| id | INTA4641 |
| institution | Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA -Argentina) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2019 |
| publishDateRange | 2019 |
| publishDateSort | 2019 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| publisherStr | Wiley |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | INTA46412019-06-06T18:06:45Z Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient Lezama, Felipe Baeza, Santiago Altesor, Alice Cesa, Ariela Chaneton, Enrique José Paruelo, José María Biodiversidad Praderas Pastoreo Productividad Vegetación Biodiversity Grasslands Grazing Productivity Vegetation Región Patagónica Uruguay Questions: Does the magnitude of grazing‐induced changes in species composition vary with habitat productivity? How does the sign and magnitude of grazing effects on species richness and beta‐diversity change with increasing productivity? Do major life forms exhibit consistent responses to grazing along productivity gradients? Location: Steppes and grasslands of southern South America in Argentina and Uruguay. Methods: We evaluated grazing effects on plant composition, species richness, beta‐diversity and life‐form abundances along a ten‐fold, regional productivity gradient and within subregions of contrasting productivity, using a common sampling protocol for 23 paired grazed vs ungrazed plots. The annual integral of the normalized difference vegetation index was used as a surrogate for above‐ground net primary productivity. Results: Compositional dissimilarity between grazed and ungrazed plots, as well as grazing‐induced differences in plant richness and beta‐diversity all increased with habitat productivity. Grazing decreased species richness in low‐productive steppes but enhanced the richness of high‐productive grasslands. On average, grazing reduced beta‐diversity in high‐productive sites but not in low‐productive sites. Dominant species were more strongly suppressed by grazing towards productive grasslands. Grazing generally decreased shrub species cover, whereas graminoid and forb cover did not consistently change with grazing through the productivity gradient. Conclusions: Our results indicate that the overall grazing effects on vegetation structure increased along a regional productivity gradient. Yet the sign of grazing impacts on species richness and beta‐diversity shifted with habitat productivity, in agreement with models of herbivore‐mediated co‐existence and species colonization in productive systems. Further, we found that narrowing the spatial extent of analysis to the subregion generally obscured grazing–productivity relationships. Biodiversity conservation programmes should carefully weigh the varied impacts of livestock grazing across productivity gradients. EEA Santa Cruz Fil: Lezama, Felipe. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Agronomía. Unidad de Sistemas Ambientales; Uruguay Fil: Baeza, Santiago. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Agronomía. Unidad de Sistemas Ambientales; Uruguay Fil: Altesor, Alice. Universidad de la República. Facultad de Ciencias. Instituto de Ecología y Ciencias Ambientales; Uruguay Fil: Cesa, Ariela. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Santa Cruz; Argentina Fil: Chaneton, Enrique Jose. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia; Argentina Fil: Paruelo, José María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Departamento de Métodos Cuantitativos y Sistemas de Información. Laboratorio de Análisis Regional y Teledetección; Argentina 2019-03-18T16:49:50Z 2019-03-18T16:49:50Z 2014-01 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvs.12053 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/4641 1100-9233 1654-1103 https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12053 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf Wiley Journal of Vegetation Science 25 (1) : 8-21 (January 2014) |
| spellingShingle | Biodiversidad Praderas Pastoreo Productividad Vegetación Biodiversity Grasslands Grazing Productivity Vegetation Región Patagónica Uruguay Lezama, Felipe Baeza, Santiago Altesor, Alice Cesa, Ariela Chaneton, Enrique José Paruelo, José María Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title | Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title_full | Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title_fullStr | Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title_short | Variation of grazing‐induced vegetation changes across a large‐scale productivity gradient |
| title_sort | variation of grazing induced vegetation changes across a large scale productivity gradient |
| topic | Biodiversidad Praderas Pastoreo Productividad Vegetación Biodiversity Grasslands Grazing Productivity Vegetation Región Patagónica Uruguay |
| url | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jvs.12053 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/4641 https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12053 |
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