The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden
Livestock animals affect their environment in a number of different ways, mostly through grazing and trampling. This study focused on the effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest structure and diversity, and the impact on ground cover. To compare the fenced and grazed area with a reference area out...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | M2 |
| Language: | Inglés Swedish |
| Published: |
SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies
2013
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| Subjects: |
| _version_ | 1855570887697235968 |
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| author | Andersson, Emma |
| author_browse | Andersson, Emma |
| author_facet | Andersson, Emma |
| author_sort | Andersson, Emma |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Livestock animals affect their environment in a number of different ways, mostly through grazing and trampling. This study focused on the effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest structure and diversity, and the impact on ground cover. To compare the fenced and grazed area with a reference area outside the enclosure a number of transects were used. The study showed that there was no significant difference in height structure and diversity between the compared sites; however, there were a significantly higher proportion of damaged trees inside the enclosure. The ground cover variables showed a higher amount of bare soil, plant litter and wood-rush (Luzula sp.) inside the enclosure whilst grass was more frequent in the reference area. This is probably promoting disturbance-tolerant species. However, the results do indicate that the higher amount of grazing might be homogenizing the forests undergrowth. The implications of this study suggest that the way the horses are kept need to be modified in order to continue to maintain the desired open forest structure. Due to the lack of knowledge on the horses’ effect on ecosystem functions further studies on other taxa is advisable as well. |
| format | M2 |
| id | RepoSLU5703 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2013 |
| publishDateSort | 2013 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU57032013-06-20T11:25:59Z The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden Effekten av hästbete på skogens struktur och sammansättning på Lojsta hed, sydöstra Sverige Andersson, Emma horse grazing ground cover height structure Gotland Lojsta hed Livestock animals affect their environment in a number of different ways, mostly through grazing and trampling. This study focused on the effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest structure and diversity, and the impact on ground cover. To compare the fenced and grazed area with a reference area outside the enclosure a number of transects were used. The study showed that there was no significant difference in height structure and diversity between the compared sites; however, there were a significantly higher proportion of damaged trees inside the enclosure. The ground cover variables showed a higher amount of bare soil, plant litter and wood-rush (Luzula sp.) inside the enclosure whilst grass was more frequent in the reference area. This is probably promoting disturbance-tolerant species. However, the results do indicate that the higher amount of grazing might be homogenizing the forests undergrowth. The implications of this study suggest that the way the horses are kept need to be modified in order to continue to maintain the desired open forest structure. Due to the lack of knowledge on the horses’ effect on ecosystem functions further studies on other taxa is advisable as well. Herbivorer påverkar sin omgivning på en mängd olika sätt, bland annat genom bete och tramp. Den här studien utfördes vid Lojsta hed på Gotland och behandlar effekten av betande hästar på trädsamhällets höjdstruktur och diversitet samt marktäckningsfaktorer. Studien är en jämförelse mellan ett hägnat område som årligen betas av russ mellan juli-november, och ett referensområde utanför hägnet. Genomgående återfanns ingen effekt på höjdstruktur eller diversitet, men andelen skadade träd var högre inom det hägnade området. Marktäckningen var påverkad på så vis att det var en högre andel bar mark, förna och fryle (Luzula sp.) inom det hägnade området medan andelen gräs var högre i referensområdet. Resultatet antyder också att hästarna har en homogeniserande effekt på de lägre trädskikten i skogen. Hästarnas närvaro gynnar förmodligen också arter som är störningstoleranta. Studien föreslår att sättet hästarna hålls på kan behöva modifieras för att fortsätta bidra till öppethållandet av skogen. På grund av den bristande mängden kunskap om hästarnas effekt på ekosystemet är fortsatta studier i ämnet av stort intresse. SLU/Dept. of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies 2013 M2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/5703/ |
| spellingShingle | horse grazing ground cover height structure Gotland Lojsta hed Andersson, Emma The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title | The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title_full | The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title_fullStr | The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title_short | The effects of Gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in Lojsta hed, south eastern Sweden |
| title_sort | effects of gotland pony grazing on forest composition and structure in lojsta hed, south eastern sweden |
| topic | horse grazing ground cover height structure Gotland Lojsta hed |