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6 results for “steppe vegetation”
The Highs and Lows of Grazing: Effects of Ungulates and Elevation on Grassland and Sagebrush Steppe Vegetation Composition in Yellowstone National Park
<p>Yellowstone National Park’s Northern Range is emblematic for the wolves, bison and elk that inhabit its grassland and sagebrush-steppe habitats. Their interactions and populations have been the focus of considerable conservation debate. Recent changes in ungulate populations provide an opportunity to examine their influence on the vegetation communities. We conducted expansive vegetation surveys along an elevation gradient and at exclosure sites where ungulates were unable to graze. We collected a large database (n = 620 quadrats), which we analyzed using classic community ecology approaches. We found that non-native species have higher abundances at low elevations, and that grazing by ungulates reduces beta diversity and native cover, while promoting non-native cover. The magnitude of these changes are greater in bison-dominated than elk-dominated areas of Yellowstone, suggesting that bison may be overgrazing. These results provide valuable insights into major factors shaping vegetation communities, while also contextualizing management practices in a world-renowned ecosystem.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please respect licensing, and contact the corresponding author for permission to use this dataset in any research or publications. </p>
Data from: Herbivory and competition of Tibetan steppe vegetation in winter pasture: effects of livestock exclosure and plateau pika reduction
Rangeland degradation has been identified as a serious concern in alpine regions of western China on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau (QTP). Numerous government-sponsored programs have been initiated, including many that feature long-term grazing prohibitions and some that call for eliminating pastoralism altogether. As well, government programs have long favored eliminating plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae), assumed to contribute to degraded conditions. However, vegetation on the QTP evolved in the presence of herbivory, suggesting that deleterious effects from grazing are, to some extent, compensated for by reduced plant-plant competition. We examined the dynamics of common steppe ecosystem species as well as physical indicators of rangeland stress by excluding livestock and reducing pika abundance on experimental plots, and following responses for 4 years. We established 12 fenced livestock exclosures within pastures grazed during winter by local pastoralists, and removed pikas on half of these. We established paired, permanent vegetation plots within and outside exclosures and measured indices of erosion and biomass of common plant species. We observed modest restoration of physical site conditions (reduced bare soil, erosion, greater vegetation cover) with both livestock exclusion and pika reduction. As expected in areas protected from grazing, we observed a reduction in annual productivity of plant species avoided by livestock and assumed to compete poorly when protected from grazing. Contrary to expectation, we observed similar reductions in annual productivity among palatable, perennial graminoids under livestock exclusion. The dominant grass, Stipa purpurea, displayed evidence of density-dependent growth, suggesting that intra-specific competition exerted a regulatory effect on annual production in the absence of grazing. Complete grazing bans on winter pastures in steppe habitats on the QTP may assist in the recovery of highly eroded pastures, but may not increase annual vegetative production.
Data from: Fallow management increases habitat suitability for endangered steppe bird species through changes in vegetation structure
In the face of the dramatic worldwide decline of farmland bird populations, the preservation of fallow fields is a conservation measure encouraged through subsidies (e.g. agri‐environmental schemes, AES). Beyond the general benefits of increasing fallow availability for endangered steppe bird populations, there is a lack of knowledge on how fallow management can contribute to meeting species‐specific habitat requirements. We used occurrence data from three steppe bird species protected at the EU level (Stone Curlew Burhinus oedicnemus, Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax, and Calandra Lark Melanocorypha calandra), framed in a quasi‐experimental approach covering an unprecedented spatio‐temporal scale that included 612 fallow fields over a three‐year study period in an agricultural Mediterranean landscape (Spain). We used path analysis to explore the mechanisms by which common agricultural practices affected species‐specific occurrence. We examined partial effects of agricultural practices on vegetation structure and food availability, and the partial effect of these variables on bird occurrence compared to control fields (no agricultural practices applied). Agricultural practices had a significant effect on the presence of the three studied species. Through changes in the vegetation structure, Shredding + Herbicide and Tillage increased the occurrence of the Stone Curlew and Shredding increased the occurrence of the Little Bustard. The occurrence of Calandra Lark was mostly affected by landscape variables. Synthesis and applications. Our study highlights that, in addition to the acknowledged positive role of fallow availability, applying a limited number of specific agricultural practices before the breeding season can further increase bird occurrence by changing the vegetation structure. Using path analysis, we explored the mechanisms driving the occurrence of three steppe bird species under different agricultural practices. Such information is key to providing specific recommendations for future conservation management of endangered species within agri‐environmental schemes.
Data from: Fallow management increases habitat suitability for endangered steppe bird species through changes in vegetation structure
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Herbivory and competition of Tibetan steppe vegetation in winter pasture: effects of livestock exclosure and plateau pika reduction
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Microhabitat selection of meadow and steppe vipers enlightened by digital photography and image processing to describe grassland vegetation structure
<p>Dataset</p> <ol> <li> <p>Understanding animals’ selection of microhabitats is important in both ecology and biodiversity conservation. However, there is no generally accepted methodology for the characterisation of microhabitats, especially for vegetation structure.</p> </li> <li> <p>We studied microhabitat selection of <em>Vipera</em> snakes by comparing grassland vegetation structure between viper occurrence points and random points in three grassland ecosystems: <em>V. graeca</em> in mountain meadows of Albania, <em>V. renardi</em> in loess steppes of Ukraine, and <em>V. ursinii</em> in sand grasslands in Hungary. We quantified vegetation structure in an objective manner by automated processing of images taken of the vegetation against a vegetation profile board under standardised conditions. We developed an R script for automatic calculation of four vegetation structure variables derived from raster data obtained in the images: leaf area (LA), height of closed vegetation (HCV), maximum height of vegetation (MHC), and foliage height diversity (FHD).</p> </li> <li> <p>Generalized linear mixed models revealed that snake occurrence was positively related to HCV in <em>V. graeca</em>, to LA in <em>V. renardi</em> and to LA and MHC in <em>V. ursinii</em>, and negatively to to HCV in <em>V. ursinii</em>.</p> </li> <li> <p>Our results demonstrate that vegetation structure variables derived from automated image processing significantly influence viper microhabitat selection. Our method minimises the risk of subjectivity in measuring vegetation structure, allows upscaling if neighbouring pixels are combined, and is suitable for comparison of or extrapolation across different grasslands, vegetation types or ecosystems.</p> </li> </ol>
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
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DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.