The impact of interventions in the global land and agri‐food sectors on Nature’s Contributions to People and the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Interlocked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation require transformative interventions in the land management and food production sectors to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen adaptive capacity, and increase food security. However, deciding which interventions to pursue and understanding their relative co‐benefits with and trade‐offs against different social and environmental goals have been difficult without comparisons across a range of possible actions. This study examined 40 different options, implemented through land management, value chains, or risk management, for their relative impacts across 18 Nature's Contributions to People (NCPs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We find that a relatively small number of interventions show positive synergies with both SDGs and NCPs with no significant adverse trade‐offs; these include improved cropland management, improved grazing land management, improved livestock management, agroforestry, integrated water management, increased soil organic carbon content, reduced soil erosion, salinization, and compaction, fire management, reduced landslides and hazards, reduced pollution, reduced post‐harvest losses, improved energy use in food systems, and disaster risk management. Several interventions show potentially significant negative impacts on both SDGs and NCPs; these include bioenergy and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, afforestation, and some risk sharing measures, like commercial crop insurance. Our results demonstrate that a better understanding of co‐benefits and trade‐offs of different policy approaches can help decision‐makers choose the more effective, or at the very minimum, more benign interventions for implementation.     

放牧对草地生态系统影响的研究进展

全球草地占据30%左右的陆地面积, 在全球气候变化、碳氮及养分循环、保持水土、调节畜牧业生产等方面具有重要的作用。目前草地的主要利用方式之一就是放牧, 不同的牲畜种类、放牧强度、年限、历史和制度等, 会影响草地植物群落、生物多样性及土壤微生物, 进而影响草地生态系统结构、功能和过程。该文围绕放牧对草地生态系统结构、功能和过程的影响, 1)回顾了20世纪50年代到现在各个历史阶段放牧对草地生态系统影响的研究; 2)利用文献计量分析的方法, 剖析了放牧对草地影响研究的热点内容、重要区域和关键词等; 3)阐明了放牧对草地植物生长、群落特征、碳氮及养分循环、生产力及土壤质量等的各方面影响的研究进展及国内相关研究的优势及存在的主要问题和不足; 4)基于上述分析, 从草地放牧精准管理、经典假说验证、放牧和全球变化研究相结合等方面, 提出未来研究的前沿方向和优先领域。该文在系统总结放牧对草地生态系统影响的研究进展、研究优势及存在问题的基础上, 提出未来的研究应与全球变化相结合, 为我国的草地放牧生态学研究、适应性管理和可持续利用等提供科学基础。     

农业活动对生物多样性的影响

农业生产活动如土地的农业利用、耕作、作物间套种植方式、放牧、农药化肥的使用以及农业动植物遗传改良（包括外来种引入）等是农业生产力提高的重要途径,同时也是影响生物多样性的重要因素之一。土地的不合理开发利用易导致生境破碎、生物多样性下降;大规模的机械耕作导致土壤动植物区系的变化,甚至某些物种的消失;农药（除草剂、杀虫剂等）的高度使用使非靶标动植物受到伤害;品种改良、外来种的引入以及远缘外源遗传物质的利用（如远缘杂交和ＤＮＡ导入分子育种）在丰富了遗传多样性的同时导致农作物类型和品种的简单化、一些古老的地方种和农家种等传统资源丢失等;而一些合理的农业措施（间套作、实行有机农场等）将有利于生物多样性的保持。农业活动注重的是农业生产力的提高而往往忽视其对农业系统中野生动植物（包括有害和无害）的影响以及野生动植物在维持系统稳定和平衡的作用。本文论述农业活动对生物多样性的影响以及生物多样性保护对提高农业生产力的作用,启示人们采取合理的农业活动方式,合理管理有害生物,减少农业活动对生物多样性的负面影响。     

Frontiers in alley cropping: Transformative solutions for temperate agriculture

Annual row crops dominate agriculture around the world and have considerable negative environmental impacts, including significant greenhouse gas emissions. Transformative land‐use solutions are necessary to mitigate climate change and restore critical ecosystem services. Alley cropping (AC)—the integration of trees with crops—is an agroforestry practice that has been studied as a transformative, multifunctional land‐use solution. In the temperate zone, AC has strong potential for climate change mitigation through direct emissions reductions and increases in land‐use efficiency via overyielding compared to trees and crops grown separately. In addition, AC provides climate change adaptation potential and ecological benefits by buffering alley crops to weather extremes, diversifying income to hedge financial risk, increasing biodiversity, reducing soil erosion, and improving nutrient‐ and water‐use efficiency. The scope of temperate AC research and application has been largely limited to simple systems that combine one timber tree species with an annual grain. We propose two frontiers in temperate AC that expand this scope and could transform its climate‐related benefits: (i) diversification via woody polyculture and (ii) expanded use of tree crops for food and fodder. While AC is ready now for implementation on marginal lands, we discuss key considerations that could enhance the scalability of the two proposed frontiers and catalyze widespread adoption.     

放牧对短花针茅荒漠草原土壤团聚体组成及稳定性的影响

放牧作为草地的主要利用方式,对草地生态系统的结构和功能具有显著影响。目前长期放牧对草地土壤团聚体组成及其稳定性的影响还知之甚少。本研究依托2004年建立的内蒙古短花针茅荒漠草原长期放牧试验平台,设置围封禁牧(对照)、轻度、中度和重度放牧强度,研究不同放牧强度下土壤团聚体组成和稳定性的变化,并结合相关土壤理化指标探究影响土壤团聚体稳定性的主要因素。结果表明: 放牧显著改变了不同粒径土壤团聚体的组成。与对照相比,大团聚体(0.25～2 mm)含量在轻度放牧下保持不变,而在中度和重度放牧下显著下降;重度放牧显著降低了小团聚体(0.053～0.25 mm)含量,而中度和重度放牧显著增加了微团聚体(<0.053 mm)含量。土壤团聚体稳定性在轻度放牧下维持较高水平,但在中度和重度放牧下显著降低。土壤团聚体稳定性与大团聚体含量呈显著正相关,与微团聚体含量呈显著负相关。土壤pH值、容重、有机碳及其他理化性质共同作用于土壤团聚体组成进而对其稳定性产生影响。综上,对于荒漠草原而言,适度放牧可以维持较高的土壤团聚体稳定性。     

1995～2000年中国沙地空间格局变化的遥感研究

利用遥感方法 ,在覆盖全国的 Landsat-TM数据的基础上 ,对 1 995年和 2 0 0 0年中国沙地的空间分布格局与动态变化进行了调查。结果显示了 2 0 0 0年中国沙地总面积为 5 9× 1 0 4 km2 ,主要分布于各主要沙漠和我国的 7个主要省份。1 995～ 2 0 0 0年 ,有 470 9.7km2的土地转化为沙地 ,同时又有 2 1 5 6.4km2的沙地转化为其它土地利用类型 ,沙地总面积扩大了2 5 5 3 .3 km2 。对变化为沙地的土地进行分析 ,发现草地占主要部分 ,但耕地所占的比重也非常突出 ,同时也表明有部分沙地变化为草地和耕地。根据土地沙化的空间分布特征 ,将土地沙化过程分为 5种格局 :沙地 -绿洲型、沙漠型、沙地 -黄土过渡型、沙地 -草地型和高原风蚀型。通过对中国发生土地风蚀沙化的主要省份在 1 995～ 2 0 0 0年间的土地利用动态变化发现 ,土地利用变化是促使土地发生沙化的一个重要因素。在 5 a的时间里 ,7个省份耕地总面积扩大了 90 3 9.7km2 ,草地减少了 1 1 5 97.9km2。耕地的增加部分几乎均表现为对草地的侵占 ,土地变为沙地也主要发生在草地区。人为因素导致的耕地面积扩大是促使土地沙化的重要原因。对主要省份的土地利用方式进行分析 ,探讨不同地区减轻土地沙化趋势下的土地利用布局。     

Implementing large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research: The Biodiversity Exploratories

Functional biodiversity research explores drivers and functional consequences of biodiversity changes. Land use change is a major driver of changes of biodiversity and of biogeochemical and biological ecosystem processes and services. However, land use effects on genetic and species diversity are well documented only for a few taxa and trophic networks. We hardly know how different components of biodiversity and their responses to land use change are interrelated and very little about the simultaneous, and interacting, effects of land use on multiple ecosystem processes and services. Moreover, we do not know to what extent land use effects on ecosystem processes and services are mediated by biodiversity change. Thus, overall goals are on the one hand to understand the effects of land use on biodiversity, and on the other to understand the modifying role of biodiversity change for land-use effects on ecosystem processes, including biogeochemical cycles. To comprehensively address these important questions, we recently established a new large-scale and long-term project for functional biodiversity, the Biodiversity Exploratories (www.biodiversity-exploratories.de). They comprise a hierarchical set of standardized field plots in three different regions of Germany covering manifold management types and intensities in grasslands and forests. They serve as a joint research platform for currently 40 projects involving over 300 people studying various aspects of the relationships between land use, biodiversity and ecosystem processes through monitoring, comparative observation and experiments. We introduce guiding questions, concept and design of the Biodiversity Exploratories – including main aspects of selection and implementation of field plots and project structure – and we discuss the significance of this approach for further functional biodiversity research. This includes the crucial relevance of a common study design encompassing variation in both drivers and outcomes of biodiversity change and ecosystem processes, the interdisciplinary integration of biodiversity and ecosystem researchers, the training of a new generation of integrative biodiversity researchers, and the stimulation of functional biodiversity research in real landscape contexts, in Germany and elsewhere.     

Impact of land use on vegetation composition, diversity, and selected soil properties of wetlands in the southern Drakensberg mountains, South Africa

Wetlands provide the ecosystem services of enhancing water quality, attenuating floods, sequestrating carbon and supporting biodiversity. In southern Africa, the pattern and intensity of land use is influenced by whether land tenure is public (state), private (individual ownership), or communal (shared agricultural and grazing resources). The influence of land tenure and its associated use on service provision was compared for communal tenure (grazing, maize production), wildlife conservation, and commercial agriculture (grazing, planted pastures) in the southern Drakensberg. Ordination analyses revealed that oxbow marshes, hill slope seepages and hygrophilous grasslands, the main hydro-geomorphic units, supported distinct plant communities that differed in their response to land use because of wetness or slope. Oxbows, uncultivated because of wetness, were inherently species poor with few exotics. Composition of hill slope seepages, uncultivated because of saturated slopes, varied among tenure types most likely in relation to grazing pressure. Seepages were threatened by the exotic invasive Rubus cuneifolius. Eighty-five percent of hygrophilous grassland had been cultivated by 1953, most of which was subsequently abandoned to secondary grassland. Primary hygrophilous grassland and hill slope seepages were the main repository for indigenous plant diversity, while communal maize fields supported a diverse mixture of mainly exotic species. Soil carbon concentrations decreased from oxbows to pastures, seepages, primary hygrophilous grassland, secondary grassland, and maize on former grassland (7.0, 4.1, 4.0, 3.5, 2.4, and 1.7%, respectively). The pattern for total soil nitrogen and sulphur were the same. Cultivation of hygrophilous grassland was estimated to have reduced soil carbon stocks to 69% of pre-settlement levels by 1953 (∼150 years BP). Stocks then increased by 8% to 2001 following crop abandonment. Cultivation has impaired water quality enhancement and flood attenuation because of greater amounts of bare ground and shorter vegetation. Further improvement of ecosystem services will depend on the influence of socio-economic factors on communal cropping.     

Land management implications for ecosystem services in a South African rangeland

In South Africa, restoration and sustainable management of historically overgrazed and degraded rangelands are promoted to increase biodiversity and ecosystem service provision. This study evaluates different land management scenarios in terms of ecosystem services in a South African rangeland, the Baviaanskloof catchment. As measured data were limited, we used simple models to quantify and map the effect of the different combination of agricultural, nature conservation and restoration practices on multiple ecosystem services. The land management scenarios were evaluated against management targets set for individual ecosystem services. Results highlight how the provision of ecosystem services is related to land management as unmanaged, pristine ecosystems provide a different mix of ecosystem services than ecosystems recently restored or managed as grazing lands. Results also indicate that historically overgrazed lands provide no forage, may retain 40% less sediment and have 38% lower biodiversity, while providing 60% more fuel wood and supplying two and half times more water (i.e. retaining less water), than pristine or restored lands. We conclude that a combination of light grazing, low input agriculture, nature conservation and restoration is the best for the sufficient provision of multiple ecosystem services. Applying such mixed management would improve biodiversity, ecotourism and maintain forage production and regulating services on farmers’ land. This management option also fits into and further optimizes local decision-makers’ vision regarding the future management of the area.     

放牧对草地生态系统服务和功能权衡关系的影响

内蒙古草原是我国北方的重要生态屏障和绿色畜牧业基地, 放牧是草原生态系统的主要利用和管理方式, 在放牧管理中充分发挥生态系统某一项或几项服务和功能最大利用价值时, 往往会与其他服务(功能)发生冲突, 需要权衡多项生态系统服务和功能, 制定合理的放牧管理制度。该研究以内蒙古锡林郭勒典型草原为例, 通过设置不放牧、轻度放牧、中度放牧以及重度放牧的放牧梯度, 从多项生态系统服务和功能权衡的角度比较了最适放牧管理强度。结果显示, 在放牧管理的草地生态系统服务和功能的权衡中, 权衡、协同、不相关关系同时存在, 如土壤呼吸速率与植物群落净生长量、生物多样性与植物群落净光合速率表现为权衡关系, 植物群落净生长量分别与土壤含水量、植物群落净光合速率及草地蒸散速率存在协同关系, 土壤有机碳含量与其他服务或功能间呈不相关关系; 放牧能不同程度地削弱多项生态系统服务及功能间的权衡关系(冲突对立关系); 中度放牧条件下的多项生态系统服务及功能的协同性最佳。     

Research progress on the effects of grazing on grassland ecosystem

全球草地占据30%左右的陆地面积, 在全球气候变化、碳氮及养分循环、保持水土、调节畜牧业生产等方面具有重要的作用。目前草地的主要利用方式之一就是放牧, 不同的牲畜种类、放牧强度、年限、历史和制度等, 会影响草地植物群落、生物多样性及土壤微生物, 进而影响草地生态系统结构、功能和过程。该文围绕放牧对草地生态系统结构、功能和过程的影响, 1)回顾了20世纪50年代到现在各个历史阶段放牧对草地生态系统影响的研究; 2)利用文献计量分析的方法, 剖析了放牧对草地影响研究的热点内容、重要区域和关键词等; 3)阐明了放牧对草地植物生长、群落特征、碳氮及养分循环、生产力及土壤质量等的各方面影响的研究进展及国内相关研究的优势及存在的主要问题和不足; 4)基于上述分析, 从草地放牧精准管理、经典假说验证、放牧和全球变化研究相结合等方面, 提出未来研究的前沿方向和优先领域。该文在系统总结放牧对草地生态系统影响的研究进展、研究优势及存在问题的基础上, 提出未来的研究应与全球变化相结合, 为我国的草地放牧生态学研究、适应性管理和可持续利用等提供科学基础。     

Spatial assessment of ecosystem goods and services in complex production landscapes: A case study from south-eastern Australia

Many production landscapes are complex human-environment systems operating at various spatio-temporal scales and provide a variety of ecosystem goods and services (EGS) vital to human well-being. EGS change over space and time as a result of changing patterns of land use or changes in the composition and structure of different vegetation types. Spatio-temporal assessment of EGS can provide valuable information on the consequences of changing land use and land cover for EGS and helps to deal with this complexity. We carried out a quantitative and qualitative appraisal of selected EGS (timber production, carbon stock, provision of water, water regulation, biodiversity, and forage production) to understand how these have altered in a complex mosaic of landscape that has undergone significant change over the past 200 years.Land use and land cover types and their associated EGS were assessed and mapped using a wide range of readily available data and tools. We also evaluated the trade-offs among services associated with observed land use change. In contrast to work elsewhere, we found the recent changes in land use and land cover have an overall positive impact on various EGS due mainly to the conversion of pasture to managed plantations which are connected to the larger areas of remnant vegetation. Results also indicate that there was a high level of variation in the distribution of the EGS across the landscape. Relatively intact native vegetation provides mainly regulating services whereas the modified landscapes provides provisioning services such as timber and forage production at the cost of regulating services. Rapidly changing demand and supply of certain goods and services (e.g., timber, pulp or carbon) may also have positive and negative impact on other services. For example, increasing plantation rotation has positive impacts for biodiversity and carbon stock but reduces stream flow and water yield.     

Fire behaviour and the invasion of Acacia sieberiana into savanna grassland openings

Following the recent decline in browsing and grazing pressures and changed fire regimes in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda, Acacia thickets have encroached on grassland habitats important for grazing mammals. The objective of this research was to test experimentally the effects of fire behaviour, using simulated and natural fuel loading conditions, on A. sieberiana seedling and sapling regeneration. A high fire intensity (3200 kW m^-1) in natural fuels stimulated high seedling emergence (172 seedlings m^-2) compared to 6 seedlings m^-2 without fire. Also a highly significant linear regression was established between percentage top-kill of seedlings and fire intensities. High fire intensities during late dry season fires were more effective in controlling sapling height growth than early dry season fires of low intensities. A conceptual diagram was developed to show the major factors and possible pathways leading to successful invasion by A. sieberiana into grassland openings of the savanna.     

Habitat Fragmentation Intensifies Trade-Offs between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services in a Heathland Ecosystem in Southern England

While habitat fragmentation represents a major threat to global biodiversity, its impacts on provision of ecosystem services are largely unknown. We analysed biodiversity value and provision of multiple ecosystem services in 110 fragments of lowland heathland ecosystems in southern England, in which vegetation dynamics have been monitored for over 30 years. Decreasing fragment size was found to be associated with a decrease in biodiversity and recreational values, but an increase in relative carbon storage, aesthetic value and timber value. The trade-off between either biodiversity or recreational values with the other ecosystem services therefore became more pronounced as heathland size decreased. This was attributed to a higher rate of woody succession in smaller heathland fragments over the past three decades, and contrasting values of different successional vegetation types for biodiversity and provision of ecosystem services. These results suggest that habitat fragmentation can reduce the potential for developing “win win” solutions that contribute to biodiversity conservation while also supporting socio-economic development. Approaches to multi-purpose management of fragmented landscapes should therefore consider the potential trade-offs in ecosystem services and biodiversity associated with fragmentation, in order to make an effective contribution to sustainable development.     

Mapping Soil Erosion Prevention Using an Ecosystem Service Modeling Framework for Integrated Land Management and Policy

Current spatially explicit approaches to map and assess ecosystem services are often grounded on unreliable proxy data based on land use/cover to derive ecosystem service indicators. These approaches fail to make a distinction between the actual service provision and the underlying ecosystem capacity to provide the service. We present an integrative conceptual framework to estimate the provision of soil erosion prevention by combining the structural impact of soil erosion and the social–ecological processes that allow for its mitigation. The framework was tested and illustrated in the Portel municipality in Southern Portugal, a Mediterranean silvo-pastoral system that is prone to desertification and soil degradation. The results show a clear difference in the spatial and temporal distribution of the capacity for ecosystem service provision and the actual ecosystem service provision. It also shows that although the average actual ecosystem service provision in the region is sufficient to mitigate the existing structural impact, vulnerable areas can be identified where significant soil losses are not mitigated at present. This becomes more significant when comparing different land management intensities. Considering these results, we argue that the general assumption that there is an almost direct relation between the capacity for ecosystem service provision of a given area and the actual ecosystem service provision is wrong. We also discuss how the framework presented here could be used to support land management and policy, and how it can be adapted for other regulating services.     

Grazing buffers the effect of climate change on the species diversity of seedlings in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau

Climate change predominated by warming over the past decades has affected plant biodiversity, distribution, and ecosystem functioning in alpine grasslands. Yet, little is known about the interactive effect of climate change and grazing on biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Here, we conducted a vegetation translocation experiment (ten soil‐vegetation blocks were translocated from high‐altitudinal site 3,245 m to low‐altitudinal site 3,045 m) combined with grazing treatment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that (a) translocation induced effect of climate change from harsh, high‐altitudinal site to benign, low‐altitudinal site significantly promoted species richness, and density of asexual and sexual seedling, with an increase in the proportion of asexual recruitment to sexual recruitment; (b) grazing decreased the proportion of asexual seedling to sexual recruitment within community, led to a shift in the dominant plant functional groups from graminoids and legumes to forbs; and (c) grazing partly offset the increased species richness of seedling, but not seedling density, induced by climate change. These findings suggest that moderate grazing may buffer the effect of climate change on the plant community composition, and thus, functional role in alpine meadows. Further understanding the influence of climate change on grassland ecosystems needs to consider the non‐additive effect of grazing and climate change to sustainability of grassland services.     

Global‐change drivers of ecosystem functioning modulated by natural variability and saturating responses

Humans are altering global environment at an unprecedented rate through changes in biodiversity, climate, nitrogen cycle, and land use. To address their effects on ecosystem functioning, experiments most frequently explore one driver at a time and control as many confounding factors as possible. Yet, which driver exerts the largest influence on ecosystem functioning and whether their relative importance changes among systems remain unclear. We analyzed experiments in the Patagonian steppe that evaluated the aboveground net primary production (ANPP) response to manipulated gradients of species richness, precipitation, temperature, nitrogen fertilization (N), and grazing intensity. We compared the effect on ANPP relative to ambient conditions considering intensity and direction of manipulations for each driver. The ranking of responses to drivers with comparable manipulation intensity was as follows: biodiversity>grazing>precipitation>N. For a similar intensity of manipulation, the effect of biodiversity loss was 4.0, 3.6, and 1.5, times larger than N deposition, decreased precipitation, and increased grazing intensity. We interpreted our results considering two hypotheses. First, the response of ANPP to changes in precipitation and biodiversity is saturating, so we expected larger effects when the driver was reduced, relative to ambient conditions, than when it was increased. Experimental manipulations that reduced ambient levels had larger effects than those that increased them. Second, the sensitivity of ANPP to each driver is inversely related to the natural variability of the driver. In Patagonia, the ranking of natural variability of drivers is as follows: precipitation>grazing>temperature>biodiversity>N. So, in general, the ecosystem was most sensitive to drivers that varied the least. Comparable results from Cedar Creek (MN) support both hypotheses and suggest that sensitivity to drivers varies among ecosystem types. Given the importance of understanding ecosystem sensitivity to predict global‐change impacts, it is necessary to design new experiments located in regions with contrasting natural variability and that include the full range of drivers.     

Lentic Meadows and Riparian Functions Impaired After Horse and Cattle Grazing

Perennially and intermittently available water in lentic, spring-fed herbaceous meadows supports wetland plants that build and maintain absorbent soil organic matter, capture sediment, prevent erosion, and thereby sustain riparian ecosystems. Enhanced forage and available water attract a diversity of wildlife and grazing animals that can degrade riparian vegetation through prolonged overuse. We tested novel monitoring methods and adapted existing methods to obtain quantified vegetation data that have been consistently linked to riparian functionality and compared these data to ungulate species use. We quantified ungulate use with time-lapse cameras at 10 Nevada spring-fed herbaceous meadows where core greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) habitat, public land grazing allotments, and free-roaming horse (Equus caballus) herd management areas (Bureau of Land Management) or territories (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service) overlapped. Free-roaming horses used most study sites over longer periods and grazed more intensely than cattle or domestic sheep. Native ungulate grazing intensity was comparatively negligible. Free-roaming horses selected spring-fed meadow sites on average 51 (±33 [SE]) times more than the surrounding rangelands, and cattle selected them 30 ± 23 times more. Within the wettest area of a site, study sites with longer duration of use and higher intensity of use had more soil alteration and bare ground. Riparian ecosystem degradation occurred where meadows had limited rest or recovery time from grazing during the growing season. At all sites we noted loss of riparian function, especially within the hydric areas with the highest potential to grow abundant cover of stabilizing wetland plant species. Transects for monitoring soil alteration and vegetation cover in this hydric location can provide a leading indicator of riparian recovery or degradation and help in adjusting free-roaming horse population levels or livestock management strategies. © 2021 The Wildlife Society.     

Long-term impacts of grazing on indigenous forest remnants on North Island hill country, New Zealand

Small isolated patches of native forest surrounded by extensive pastoral grasslands, characteristic of many New Zealand rural landscapes, represent an important reservoir of lowland biodiversity. Improved management of them is a major focus of biodiversity conservation initiatives in New Zealand. We quantified the long-term impacts of grazing on indigenous forest remnants in hill country at Whatawhata, western Waikato, North Island. Structure and composition were compared between forest fragments grazed for >50 years and nearby ungrazed continuous forest. Grazed fragments had shorter and less shady canopies, sparser understoreys, tree populations with larger mean diameters, and ground layers with lower cover of litter and higher cover of vegetation and bare soil than continuous forest. Fragments also had lower indigenous-plant species richness, especially in sapling and seedling populations, and almost no palatable indigenous shrubs, terrestrial orchids, and ferns that require high humidity (e.g. Hymenophyllum spp.), but contained many indigenous and adventive herbaceous species. A transition appears to be occurring in grazed fragments from tall, long-lived trees like Beilschmiedia tawa and Dysoxylum spectabile to short and shorter-lived trees like Kunzea ericoides, Melicytus ramiflorus, and Dicksonia squarrosa. Because grazing inhibits most regeneration processes, unfenced remnants of conifer–broadleaved forest are unlikely to be maintained in grazed pasture in the long term.