Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap

Exotic plants are becoming increasingly common worldwide, often driven by ecological factors such as domestic livestock grazing and soil fertilization. In temperate grasslands, native C4 and exotic C3 grasses are generally expected to coexist due to their distinct temporal niches, which should reduc...

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Autores principales: Silvoso, María Celeste, Tognetti, Pedro M., Armas, Cristina, Casanoves, Fernando, Graff, Pamela
Formato: Artículo
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Pedro Peres-Neto 2025
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/12918
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author Silvoso, María Celeste
Tognetti, Pedro M.
Armas, Cristina
Casanoves, Fernando
Graff, Pamela
author_browse Armas, Cristina
Casanoves, Fernando
Graff, Pamela
Silvoso, María Celeste
Tognetti, Pedro M.
author_facet Silvoso, María Celeste
Tognetti, Pedro M.
Armas, Cristina
Casanoves, Fernando
Graff, Pamela
author_sort Silvoso, María Celeste
collection Repositorio CATIE
description Exotic plants are becoming increasingly common worldwide, often driven by ecological factors such as domestic livestock grazing and soil fertilization. In temperate grasslands, native C4 and exotic C3 grasses are generally expected to coexist due to their distinct temporal niches, which should reduce direct competition. However, their differing abilities to exploit limited resources or tolerate vertebrate herbivory can create fitness imbalances, favoring exotic forage species over native species and potentially undermining their long-term coexistence. Few studies have explored how seasonally distinct groups of native and exotic plants interact, especially under the simultaneous manipulation of biotic factors – such as grazing and species interactions – and abiotic factors – such as soil nutrients. We conducted short- and long-term manipulative experiments in a temperate Pampa grassland in Argentina to investigate how herbivore exclusion, fertilization, and their combination influence plant invasion by altering interactions between native warm-season (C4) and exotic cool-season (C3) grasses. Despite their phenological differences, native C4 and exotic C3 grasses interact, and their interactions were weak under grazing. However, with herbivore exclusion and nutrient addition, interactions shifted towards strong competition, particularly in spring. This competition resulted in a slight increase in exotic grass cover over natives after two years. However, fourteen years after the onset of the long-term herbivore exclusion, exotic grasses, particularly Festuca arundinacea, had become dominant, suggesting potential risks to the coexistence of native and exotic species. Our study uniquely reveals that even when niche differentiation is expected to prevent direct competition, biotic and abiotic changes can trigger interactions that favour exotic species' dominance, challenging assumptions about the stability of coexistence between phenologically distinct grasses.
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spelling RepoCATIE129182025-06-20T19:59:30Z Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap Silvoso, María Celeste Tognetti, Pedro M. Armas, Cristina Casanoves, Fernando Graff, Pamela Mejoramiento nutricional||nutrient improvement||melhoramento do valor nutritivo||amélioration des qualités nutritives Especie introducida||introduced species||espécies introduzidas||espèce introduite Planta endémica||endemic plants||planta endémica||plante endémique Argentina||Argentina||Argentina||Argentine Herbívoro||herbivores||herbívoro||herbivore Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea Pastoreo||grazing||pastoreio||pâturage Invasión biológica||biological invasions||invasão biológica||invasion biologique Interacción biológica||biological interaction||undefined||interaction biologique Monitoreo de pastizales||rangelands monitoring||undefined||suivi des terres de parcours Ganado bovino||cattle||gado vacum||bovin Alimentación de ganado vacuno||cattle feeding||alimentação de bovinos||alimentation des bovins Adaptación||adaptation||adaptação||adaptation Pradera natural||natural grasslands||gramado natural||herbage naturel Manejo de praderas||grassland management||gestão de pastagens||conduite des herbages Sede Central ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres Exotic plants are becoming increasingly common worldwide, often driven by ecological factors such as domestic livestock grazing and soil fertilization. In temperate grasslands, native C4 and exotic C3 grasses are generally expected to coexist due to their distinct temporal niches, which should reduce direct competition. However, their differing abilities to exploit limited resources or tolerate vertebrate herbivory can create fitness imbalances, favoring exotic forage species over native species and potentially undermining their long-term coexistence. Few studies have explored how seasonally distinct groups of native and exotic plants interact, especially under the simultaneous manipulation of biotic factors – such as grazing and species interactions – and abiotic factors – such as soil nutrients. We conducted short- and long-term manipulative experiments in a temperate Pampa grassland in Argentina to investigate how herbivore exclusion, fertilization, and their combination influence plant invasion by altering interactions between native warm-season (C4) and exotic cool-season (C3) grasses. Despite their phenological differences, native C4 and exotic C3 grasses interact, and their interactions were weak under grazing. However, with herbivore exclusion and nutrient addition, interactions shifted towards strong competition, particularly in spring. This competition resulted in a slight increase in exotic grass cover over natives after two years. However, fourteen years after the onset of the long-term herbivore exclusion, exotic grasses, particularly Festuca arundinacea, had become dominant, suggesting potential risks to the coexistence of native and exotic species. Our study uniquely reveals that even when niche differentiation is expected to prevent direct competition, biotic and abiotic changes can trigger interactions that favour exotic species' dominance, challenging assumptions about the stability of coexistence between phenologically distinct grasses. 2025-06-10T17:18:23Z 2025-06-10T17:18:23Z 2025-06-08 Artículo https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/12918 restrictedAccess en Oikos https://doi.org/10.1002/oik.11211 13 páginas application/pdf Pedro Peres-Neto
spellingShingle Mejoramiento nutricional||nutrient improvement||melhoramento do valor nutritivo||amélioration des qualités nutritives
Especie introducida||introduced species||espécies introduzidas||espèce introduite
Planta endémica||endemic plants||planta endémica||plante endémique
Argentina||Argentina||Argentina||Argentine
Herbívoro||herbivores||herbívoro||herbivore
Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea
Pastoreo||grazing||pastoreio||pâturage
Invasión biológica||biological invasions||invasão biológica||invasion biologique
Interacción biológica||biological interaction||undefined||interaction biologique
Monitoreo de pastizales||rangelands monitoring||undefined||suivi des terres de parcours
Ganado bovino||cattle||gado vacum||bovin
Alimentación de ganado vacuno||cattle feeding||alimentação de bovinos||alimentation des bovins
Adaptación||adaptation||adaptação||adaptation
Pradera natural||natural grasslands||gramado natural||herbage naturel
Manejo de praderas||grassland management||gestão de pastagens||conduite des herbages
Sede Central
ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
Silvoso, María Celeste
Tognetti, Pedro M.
Armas, Cristina
Casanoves, Fernando
Graff, Pamela
Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title_full Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title_fullStr Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title_full_unstemmed Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title_short Shrunk coexistence: cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
title_sort shrunk coexistence cattle exclusion and nutrient addition intensify competition between native and exotic grasses with low phenological overlap
topic Mejoramiento nutricional||nutrient improvement||melhoramento do valor nutritivo||amélioration des qualités nutritives
Especie introducida||introduced species||espécies introduzidas||espèce introduite
Planta endémica||endemic plants||planta endémica||plante endémique
Argentina||Argentina||Argentina||Argentine
Herbívoro||herbivores||herbívoro||herbivore
Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea||Festuca arundinacea
Pastoreo||grazing||pastoreio||pâturage
Invasión biológica||biological invasions||invasão biológica||invasion biologique
Interacción biológica||biological interaction||undefined||interaction biologique
Monitoreo de pastizales||rangelands monitoring||undefined||suivi des terres de parcours
Ganado bovino||cattle||gado vacum||bovin
Alimentación de ganado vacuno||cattle feeding||alimentação de bovinos||alimentation des bovins
Adaptación||adaptation||adaptação||adaptation
Pradera natural||natural grasslands||gramado natural||herbage naturel
Manejo de praderas||grassland management||gestão de pastagens||conduite des herbages
Sede Central
ODS 15 - Vida de ecosistemas terrestres
url https://repositorio.catie.ac.cr/handle/11554/12918
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