Root proliferation in perennial grasses of low and high palatability

Root proliferation of desirable (Stipa clarazii andS. tenuis) and undesirable (S.ambigua)perennial grasses was studied in semiarid rangelands of Central Argentina(40°39S, 62°54W) in 1998. On 17 September, soil coreswereremoved from the edge of the plant, metal structures lined with screen mesh(hereafter called bags) were buried in the holes, and root-free soil was placedinto these structures. Numbers of green tillers and circumference per plant hadpreviously been determined. Since plants were of unequal size among species,root length and root dry weight data are reported on a per green tiller basis.Half of the plants was defoliated to 5 cm stubble height on 17September and/or 12 October, while the other half remained undefoliated(controls). Bags were destructively harvested either 20 days after the firstdefoliation (first sampling) or 56 days after the second defoliation (secondsampling) by digging out soil very carefully around each bag. Roots were washedfrom soil, root length estimated by the line intercept method, root dry weightdetermined after oven-drying, and root length per unit root dry weightcalculated from the two measured variables. Root length and dry weight weremorethan 96% greater on defoliated and undefoliated plants ofS. clarazii than on those of S.tenuisor S. ambigua for both sampling dates. Root length perunitroot dry weight, however, was more than 43% greater (p < 0.05) inS. tenuis than in S. clarazii andS. ambigua during the second sampling. Defoliated plantshada similar root length and root dry weight than undefoliated plants in all threespecies, although plants of S. tenuis defoliated twiceshowed a greater (p < 0.05) root length than undefoliated controls. Rootlength and root dry weight were similar between sampling periods, except onundefoliated plants of S. tenuis which had a greater (p<0.05) root length and root dry weight at the first than at the second sampling.Although root length per unit root dry weight may be greater inS. tenuis than in S. clarazii andS. ambigua, greater root length and dry weight increasesinS. clarazii after defoliation appear determinant incontributing to explain its greater competitive ability and defoliationtolerance when compared with the other two species.Nomenclature of taxa followed.     

Spatial distribution of soil seed banks of three African savanna woody species at two contrasting sites

In southern African savannas, bush encroachment is a major problem for range managers. However, little is understood of the actual regeneration processes leading to it, and in particular the role of soil seed banks. The horizontal (between microsites) and vertical (with depth in litter and soil) distribution of soil seed banks of the microphyllous woody species, Acacia tortilis, A. nilotica and Dichrostachys cinerea (all legumes of the Mimosoideae), were quantified in an area with low intensity grazing (reserve), and a bordering cattle farm with high intensity grazing (farm). Species differed in seed bank densities between microsites and sites. Seed densities for all species were highest below parent tree canopies and decreased with distance beyond the canopy, and with soil depth. D. cinerea had the smallest seed bank associated with parent trees, particularly on the farm (8 vs. 1643 seeds/tree on the reserve), A. tortilis had the largest (6357, 31910), with A. nilotica intermediate (1789, 1906). The proportion of current (recently fallen) versus old (1 year old) seeds differed between species and sites. These species form at least short-term persistent seed banks with the old seeds largely representing the persistent seed bank. Seed densities in the open (inter-canopy) and those dispersed under either of the other two (non-parental) study species were much lower than those associated with parent trees. The latter were mostly found under the acacias (single-stemmed) rather than D. cinerea (multistemmed). Total seed store per parent plant increased with plant size (best fits were mostly power curves of canopy area). A large proportion of intact seeds were viable, namely 81–84% for A. tortilis, 68–77% for A. nilotica and 63–78% for D. cinerea, with no differences between sites. Viability tended to increase with depth of burial, except for A. nilotica seeds at the 3–5 cm depths on the farm. At the landscape scale there were 1.5 million and 140000 A. tortilis seeds/ha on the reserve and farm respectively, with corresponding values of 2000 and 31000 for D. cinerea, and 23000 and 86000 for A. nilotica.     

Environmental relationships of floristic variation in the alpine vegetation of southeast Australia

Abstract. Australian alpine vegetation is confined to the southeast of the continent and the island of Tasmania. It exhibits strong geographic patterns of floristic variation. These patterns have been attributed to variation in edaphic conditions resulting from geographic variation in substrate, climate and glacial history. This edaphic hypothesis is tested using floristic and environmental data from 166 quadrats distributed throughout the floristic and geographic range of Australian alpine vegetation. Environmental vector fitting in three-dimensional ordination space, the number of significant environmental differences between all pairs of 17 floristic groups and overall statistical analyses of the environmental differences between communities suggest a primacy of climatic variables over edaphic variables in explaining the broad patterns of floristic variation. Continentality, summer warmth, summer rainfall and winter cold all provide a better statistical explanation of floristic variation than the most explanatory of the edaphic variables, extractable P. The environmental variables that best discriminate the groups at each dichotomy of the divisive classification of the floristic data are largely climatic at the upper two levels, with edaphic, topographic and biotic variables being generally more important than climatic variables at the lower levels. Many of the edaphic variables that were most important in discriminating dichotomous groups were relatively insignificant in the broader analyses, suggesting that it is important to partition large data sets for environment/floristic analyses. The results of such partitioning show that the environmental factors most important in influencing floristic variation in alpine vegetation in Australia vary by location and geographic scale.     

Vegetation restoration by seasonal exclosure in the Kerqin Sandy Land,Inner Mongolia

Grazing control has been reported to be effective for the control of desertification in semi-arid regions. However, economic reasons often make complete inhibition of grazing (complete exclosure) difficult to carry out. Grazing control has been applied to the Kerqin Sandy Lands, Inner Mongolia, China, by means of seasonal exclosure, whereby grazing is allowed from November to April. The harvesting of hay is also allowed once during September - October. The aim of the reported study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this seasonal exclosure on vegetation restoration. Species compositional data were obtained from 356 quadrats and ordinated by Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). Ordination indicated that landform was the most important factor influencing the species composition of the vegetation. Regardless of landform and type of grazing control, however, vegetation coverage, vegetation height and species richness were higher at sites where grazing had been controlled, than at sites lacking any control. Perennial species were dominant at the former while annual species were dominant at the latter. Both shrub and tree species were quite rare at the sites where seasonal exclosure had been carried out. It is concluded that seasonal exclosure is sufficient to restore and maintain grassland vegetation in and around the study area. When shrubby or tree vegetation is needed for reasons such as fixing sands or preventing sand dune remobilization, complete exclosure is recommended.     

Above ground perennial plant biomass across an altitudinal and land-use gradient in Namaqualand,South Africa

This study set out to generate estimates of the standing perennial biomass for six different vegetation types, and associated upland and lowland habitats, across the altitudinal gradient presented by the Kamiesberg mountain range in the Namaqualand region of the Northern Cape Province of South Africa. Volume-biomass regressions, established for 94 perennial species accounting for 70–80% of the plant cover, were used to generate these estimations. Comparisons to other studies give similar findings, corroborating the method adopted. Biomass was found to vary significantly in relation to the altitudinal, and associated rainfall, gradient, as well as by habitat type where the rocky uplands have considerably more biomass that the sandy lowland habitats. An examination of the impact of sustained heavy grazing associated with a communal rangeland on this standing perennial biomass, showed a significant decrease in on the lowland habitats. This loss in biomass is principally of palatable species, with no evidence of a response in terms of perennial biomass. These findings point to degradation on the lowland habitats of the communal rangeland, with negative consequences for livestock farmers in the region.     

Grazing with Galloway cattle for floodplain restoration in the Syr Valley, Luxembourg

Three years after a river restoration scheme in the Syr Valley (Luxembourg) we investigated habitat development and habitat use of Galloway cattle deployed in a low-intensity grazing system on a permanent floodplain pasture. Habitats were delimited with a mobile GPS/GIS mapping system and their spatial development was assessed over three consecutive years. During these three years, the patches of the six habitats decreased to 40% of mean initial size, and a rapid net area expansion of wetland habitats (large sedge swamps: +100%, marsh and tall forb grasslands: +43%) was observed. The behavioural patterns and grazing preferences of the cattle were observed directly during the vegetation period in June, August and November. These observations were complemented by a transect analysis of cattle impact indicators in June and November. The cattle grazed the different habitats very selectively, as they preferred the mesophilic, and ruderal grasslands 1.6, and 5.6 times more than expected respectively. During the growing season, the grazing niche breadth declined (3.92 in June to 2.68 in November), and less preferred forage habitats like large sedge swamps were grazed primarily in the autumn. We used bite and step rates to investigate grazing intensity by habitat type. During summer, grazing intensity correlated with forage quality in the different habitat patches, whereas in autumn it was obviously influenced by the effort required to access the desired forage plants in a given habitat. The impact indicators revealed a matter transfer from riparian areas to the valley edge. Here, we give a first insight into habitat development and habitat use of Galloway cattle in a recently restored floodplain area and derive recommendations for the adaptive management of future projects.     

Contrasting effects of rabbit exclusion on nutrient availability and primary production in grasslands at different time scales

Herbivores influence nutrient cycling and primary production in terrestrial plant communities. However, both empirical and theoretical studies have indicated that the mechanisms by which herbivores influence nutrient availability, and thus their net effects on primary production, might differ between time scales. For a grassland in southeast England, we show that the effects of rabbits on primary production change over time in a set of grazed plots paired with exclosures ranging from 0 to 14 years in age. Herbivore exclusion decreased net aboveground primary production (APP) in the short term, but increased APP in the long term. APP was closely correlated with N mineralization rates in both grazed and ungrazed treatments, and accumulation of litter within the grazing exclosures led to higher N mineralization rates in exclosures in the long run. Rabbit grazing did not influence litter quality. The low contrast in palatability between species and the presence of grazing-tolerant plants might prevent rabbits from favoring unpalatable plant species that decompose slowly, in contrast to results from other ecosystems. Our results indicate that it is essential to understand the effects on N cycling in order to predict the effect of rabbit grazing on APP. Rabbits might decrease N mineralization and APP in the long term by increasing losses of N from grasslands.     

Effects of grazer identity on the probability of escapes by a canopy-forming macroalga

Through their grazing activities limpets have an important role in controlling macroalgal abundance and as a result the structure and dynamics of rocky shore assemblages. Using two congeneric limpet species, with different biogeographic distributions, and whose ranges are expected to alter with climatic warming, we separated the magnitude of their grazing activity over time and the subsequent consequence for macroalgal growth.The northern/boreal limpet, Patella vulgata (L.), consistently grazed more than the southern/lusitanian limpet, P. depressa (Pennant), particularly during spring and summer when P. depressa was reproductively active. Individuals of Fucus vesiculosus (L.) that settled during this time were able to grow to a size where they escaped the grazing activities of P. depressa, resulting in mature F. vesiculosus being present in all P. depressa treatments. In contrast, P. vulgata, which was not reproductively active during this period, exhibited no reduction in its grazing activity and prevented macroalgae from growing in experimental treatments. It therefore appears that P. vulgata has a stronger role, than P. depressa, in controlling macroalgal abundance on shores of southwest Britain.We present a conceptual model highlighting the direct and indirect interactions between these two limpet species and F. vesiculosis. If as predicted, under current warming scenarios, P. depressa becomes the dominant limpet on shores of southwest Britain there will be subsequent changes in rocky shore community structure and ecosystem functioning. Our research emphasises that even closely related species with similar ecological niches can exhibit different behaviours that fundamentally alter their biological interactions with other organisms leading to idiosyncratic responses to predicted changes in climate.     

A review of research on the interactions between dugongs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Dugong dugon</Emphasis> Müller 1776) and intertidal seagrass beds in Indonesia

Research on dugong–seagrass interactions in Indonesia was done during the period 1990 until 2005 in respectively East Aru, Maluku Province and East Kalimantan, Indonesia. This research investigated intensive rotational grazing by dugongs in intertidal inshore Halodule univervis seagrass meadows, dugong movements in relation to these grazing swards, and analyses of parameters explaining the temporal and spatial patterns of grazing in these meadows. In this paper, we report the findings of this long-term study. The patterns of movement and the results of snorkelling surveys confirmed a practice of regular recropping of restricted grazing swards by small feeding assemblages of dugongs. Dugong grazing showed a significant correlation with carbohydrate content of the below-ground biomass and no significant relation with total N. The timing of dugong grazing in these intertidal meadows coincides with high below-ground biomass and high carbohydrate content in the rhizomes of H. uninervis in the upper 0–4 cm sediment layer. Our findings support the hypothesis that temporal dugong grazing is ruled by carbohydrate content in below-ground biomass. The mechanisms of rotational grazing in restricted grazing swards are not yet well understood, and the maximisation of carbohydrates does not fully explain this phenomenon. Our research confirms that intertidal H. univervis seagrass meadows form a crucial resource for dugong survival. These relatively unknown biotopes need therefore more attention in research and conservation programmes.     

Interactive effects of grazing and shrubs on the annual plant community in semi‐arid Mediterranean shrublands

Question: We studied the interactive effects of grazing and dwarf shrub cover on the structure of a highly diverse annual plant community. Location: Mediterranean, semi‐arid shrubland in the Northern Negev desert, Israel. Methods: Variation in the biomass and plant density of annual species in the shrub and open patches was monitored during four years, inside and outside exclosures protected from sheep grazing, in two contrasting topographic sites: north and south‐facing slopes that differed in their dominant dwarf shrubs species: Sarcopoterium spinosus and Corydothymus capitatus, respectively. Results: Above‐ground biomass, density and richness of annual species were lower under the canopy of both shrub species compared to the adjacent open patches in the absence of grazing. Grazing reduced the biomass of annuals in open patches of both topographic sites, but not in the shrub patches. On the north‐facing slope, grazing also reduced plant density and richness in the open patches, but increased plant density in the shrub patches. At the species level, various response patterns to the combined effects of grazing and patch type were exhibited by different annuals. Protection against the direct impacts of grazing by shrub cover as well as species‐specific interactions between shrubs and annuals were observed. A conceptual mechanistic model explaining these interactions is proposed. Conclusion: In semi‐arid Mediterranean shrublands grazing and dwarf shrub cover interact in shaping the structure of the annual plant community through (1) direct impacts of grazing restricted to the open patches, (2) species‐specific facilitation/ interference occurring in the shrub patches and (3) subsequent further processes occurring among the interconnected shrub and open patches mediated through variation in seed flows between patches.