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11 results for “arid rangeland”
Data from: Aridity exacerbates grazing-induced rangeland degradation: a population approach for dominant grasses
<p>1. The current human-induced intensification of grazing pressure and the increase of aridity as a result of climate alterations are unprecedented and have been identified as the main drivers that cause desertification in rangelands worldwide. In these ecosystems, human well-being mostly depends on plant species that provide forage for domestic herbivores. However, scarce evidence exists about the interaction between regional aridity level and human-induced disturbances as determinants of forage plant populations' structure and dynamics.</p> <p>2. We studied the effects of domestic grazing intensification on the population structure of dominant native grasses, in three rangeland sites located across a regional aridity gradient: a semi-desert (high-aridity site), a shrub-grass steppe (intermediate-aridity site) and a grass steppe (low-aridity site). We also studied the effect of two-year grazing exclusion on plant growth of a key native forage grass species common to the three sites.</p> <p>3. Grazing decreased total grass density and increased the frequency of small plants in all sites, particularly for forage species. However, the size of the grazing intensification effect was the greatest in the high-aridity site, where intensive grazing produced a ten-fold reduction of grass density. Moreover, plant recovery (growth) after grazing exclusion was lower as aridity increased.</p> <p>4. Synthesis and applications. Our study provides evidence of a negative synergistic effect of grazing pressure and aridity that may lead to the collapse of grass populations. Long-term grazing intensification degrades the population structure of grasses, particularly in high-aridity sites, where the forage provision is substantially reduced. These results refute the hypothesis that plant-traits of dominant species adapted to high-aridity allow them to resist herbivory. Besides, high-aridity delays plant recovery after defoliation (low resilience). The management of both the grazing pressure and the length of grazing-rest according to the ecological-site aridity are key aspects for maintaining the forage provision of rangelands. Monitoring plant populations' structure through time and space strengthens inferences about responses of forage species to ongoing changes in disturbance and stress regimes. This knowledge is complementary to regional and worldwide monitoring endeavors based on land cover, and it contributes to the robust design of sustainable management of global rangelands.</p>
Forage provision is more affected by droughts in arid and semi-arid than in mesic rangelands
<p>1. Droughts are projected to increase in magnitude, frequency and duration in the near future. In rangelands, the provision of valuable ecosystem services such as forage supply for livestock productivity is intimately linked to rainfall patterns, which makes it particularly vulnerable to droughts. Nonetheless, rangelands can differ in their sensitivity to droughts as shown by strong differences in the impacts of inter-annual precipitation changes on vegetation productivity in different sites. The aim of this study was to assess the sensitivity to droughts of nine rangelands located across a broad aridity gradient in Argentina, South America.</p> <p>2. We experimentally imposed comparable droughts under field conditions by reducing a fixed proportion of each incoming precipitation event within-year during three consecutive years and tracked changes in total aboveground and forage productivity.</p> <p>3. We found that arid and semi-arid rangelands were more severely impaired in their forage provision by drought than mesic rangelands, i. e. that sensitivity to drought declined as aridity decreased. Forage productivity decreased on average by ca. 50%, in arid and semi-arid rangelands, whereas mesic sites did not exhibit significant changes between drought and control treatments. The negative impact in forage productivity of arid and semi-arid rangelands was mainly driven by the productivity reduction of few key plant species at each site. In seven of the nine rangelands, we found detrimental effects of drought on forage productivity during the first experimental-drought year, and in five of them the impact was further accentuated until the end of the experiment, which indicates how serious can these events be.</p> <p>4. Synthesis and applications: Our main findings indicate that the drought-induced impacts on forage provision are higher as aridity increases. This pattern highlights the urgent need to implement strategies to mitigate the detrimental consequences of drought, particularly in arid and semiarid rangelands, where forage provision is strongly associated with human well-being. Management approaches focused on key forage species, such as reducing the grazing pressure during drought periods according to these species' productivity dynamics, can attenuate impacts on vulnerable ecosystems, preserving the rangelands' integrity while maintaining high long-term productivity levels.</p>
Data from: Aridity exacerbates grazing-induced rangeland degradation: a population approach for dominant grasses
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Forage provision is more affected by droughts in arid and semi-arid than in mesic rangelands
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Rainfall pulses mediate long-term plant community compositional dynamics in a semi-arid rangeland
<p>1. Semi-arid rangelands, comprising more than 40% of the Earth's land surface, provide critical ecosystem services. Worldwide, these ecosystems are experiencing rapid degradation due to overgrazing and precipitation changes. However, how plants respond to these interacting factors remains relatively unexplored, and precisely which and how rainfall factors determine plant community dynamics in rangelands has not been well developed.</p> <p>2. We used a long-term (1953‒2018) dataset from semi-arid rangeland to investigate coupled effects of grazing intensity and rainfall intensity (the total amount of precipitation) on different groups of plant cover (herbaceous, woody, and cacti plants) using linear mixed-effects models, redundancy analysis and structural equation models. We examined how rainfall intensity influenced plant cover dynamics according to pulse size (intensity over time) categories, which we analyzed at three scales: yearly, within the wet season only (June to September), and within the dry season only (October to May). </p> <p>3. Plant community cover showed a humpbacked trend in the last six decades, mostly through changes in woody plants. Although both grazing intensity and rainfall presented similar humpbacked trends with plant community cover, our models demonstrated that the reduction of plant cover from the 1990s has been mainly caused by a decrease of rainfall rather than grazing intensity, particularly due to profound reductions of the intensity of relatively small rainfall pulses (e.g., 5.1 ~ 15 mm·day<sup>-1</sup>) during the dry season. Specifically, these small rainfall pulses can increase plant cover of all subgroups of woody and herbaceous species, thereby increasing plant community cover. Moreover, rainfall pulses during the wet season had negative effects on herbaceous species and positive effects on woody plants. These results suggest a phenological niche partitioning between woody plants and herbaceous in subtropical rangelands.</p> <p>4. <i>Synthesis and applications.</i><b> </b>Our results show how critical seasonal rainfall pulses are for regulating plant community compositional dynamics, which has significant implications for rangeland management and our ability to adapt and mitigate amplified climate influences in semi-arid ecosystems.</p>
Morphoecological characteristics of grasses used to restore degraded semi-arid African rangelands
<p class="CxSpFirst">Progressive loss of productivity and plant diversity has been a major concern for land managers of global arid and semi-arid rangelands. This is often attributed to heavy grazing by large livestock herds and wildlife leading to land degradation threatening millions of livelihoods that rely on rangeland resources. Consequently, combating land degradation has increasingly become important global agenda. Active restoration technologies such as indigenous grass reseeding has been identified as a viable ecological solution for restoring degraded rangeland landscapes and providing forage for sustainable livestock production. Grass species indigenous to African rangelands <i>Cenchrus ciliaris</i> L. (African foxtail grass), <i>Eragrostis superba</i> Peyr. (Maasai love grass), <i>Enteropogon macrostachyus</i> (Hochst. Ex A. Rich.) Monro ex Benth. (Bush rye grass), <i>Chloris roxburghiana </i>Schult. (Horsetail grass) and <i>Chloris gayana </i>Kunth. cv Boma (Rhodes grass) were established in an African semi-arid rangeland landscape under natural conditions to compare their morphoecological characteristics and suitability for ecological restoration. Seed viability, seedling emergence, biomass dry matter yields, plant densities, basal cover, seed production, tiller densities and plant height were determined. <i>Chloris gayana </i>cv Boma and <i>E. superba </i>produced significantly higher<i> </i>dry matter biomass yields and seed production. High biomass and seed production demonstrate their suitability to support livestock production and replenish depleted soil seed banks, respectively.<i> Enteropogon macrostachyus </i>and <i>C. ciliaris </i>displayed significantly higher values for plant densities, tiller densities and basal cover, also used to measure establishment and ecological restoration success. <i>Chloris roxburghiana </i>ranked lowest in all the measured morphoecological characteristics. This could be a strong indicator of ecological site-specific characteristic of <i>C. roxburghiana</i>. Active restoration of degraded African semi-arid rangelands and forage provision for herbivores using indigenous grass reseeding can best be achieved through careful selection of grass species to take advantage on their specific multiple morphoecological characteristics. Furthermore, selection of the grass species to use should primarily be informed by the intended use of the rangeland.</p>
Data for: Variation in the role of the flag leaf in the reproductive effort of semi-arid rangeland bunchgrasses
<p>This is the complete data set used in the manuscript titled "Variation in the role of the flag leaf in the reproductive effort of semi-arid rangeland bunchgrasses". It includes the responses of total propagule production, percentage of filled and unfilled seeds, and filled seed-specific mass in response to seed head shading and flag leaf removal in two semi-arid perennial bunchgrasses, crested wheatgrass (<em>Agropyron cristatum</em>) and squirreltail wild rye (<em>Elymus elemoides</em>). Seasonal volumetric soil moisture data is also provided.</p>
Data for: Variation in the role of the flag leaf in the reproductive effort of semi-arid rangeland bunchgrasses
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Data from: Combined effects of grazing management and climate on semi-arid steppes: hysteresis dynamics prevent recovery of degraded rangelands
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Rainfall pulses mediate long-term plant community compositional dynamics in a semi-arid rangeland
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Morphoecological characteristics of grasses used to restore degraded semi-arid African rangelands
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