Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe

Grazing modifies ecosystem function through direct effects on plants, but also through indirect effects mediated by floristic changes induced by grazing. Although both types of effects occur in the long term, only the direct effects are evident in the short term. We evaluated the short-term direct effects of sheep (Ovis aries) grazing on a Patagonian steppe during one growing season.Wemeasured plant aerial cover in permanent transects located at increasing distances from a watering point in three paddocks with different stocking rates through the growing season. We also measured frequency of defoliation for vegetative and reproductive phases of different plant species located along these transects. Sheep grazing directly (a) reduced aerial cover and/or increased frequency of defoliation of certain preferred grasses and perennial forbs, (b) did not increase the aerial cover of any life form, but only the proportion of bare soil, (c) did not change the litter aerial cover, and (d) defoliated the flowers of even the least preferred shrub. Result a) was coincident with previous plant aerial cover long-term studies; but results (b) and (c) were contrary to long-term studies, probably because they resulted from indirect rather than direct grazing effects. Result (d) was not detected by long-term studies, probably because flower defoliation through grazing is undetectable when measuring shrub plant aerial cover. Our study showed that grazing has short-term direct effects mainly on the most preferred species. This could be useful for rangeland management and conservation of Patagonian steppes because short-term effects may be more easily reversible than longterm ones, and may provide early warning of rangeland condition deterioration.

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Main Authors: Valenta, Magalí Débora, Golluscio, Rodolfo Angel, Frey, Ana Lidia, Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro, Cipriotti, Pablo Ariel
Format: Texto biblioteca
Language:eng
Subjects:DEGRADATION, DEFOLIATION, HERBIVORY, PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES, PREFERRED SPECIES,
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id KOHA-OAI-AGRO:53928
record_format koha
institution UBA FA
collection Koha
country Argentina
countrycode AR
component Bibliográfico
access En linea
En linea
databasecode cat-ceiba
tag biblioteca
region America del Sur
libraryname Biblioteca Central FAUBA
language eng
topic DEGRADATION
DEFOLIATION
HERBIVORY
PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES
PREFERRED SPECIES
DEGRADATION
DEFOLIATION
HERBIVORY
PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES
PREFERRED SPECIES
spellingShingle DEGRADATION
DEFOLIATION
HERBIVORY
PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES
PREFERRED SPECIES
DEGRADATION
DEFOLIATION
HERBIVORY
PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES
PREFERRED SPECIES
Valenta, Magalí Débora
Golluscio, Rodolfo Angel
Frey, Ana Lidia
Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro
Cipriotti, Pablo Ariel
Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
description Grazing modifies ecosystem function through direct effects on plants, but also through indirect effects mediated by floristic changes induced by grazing. Although both types of effects occur in the long term, only the direct effects are evident in the short term. We evaluated the short-term direct effects of sheep (Ovis aries) grazing on a Patagonian steppe during one growing season.Wemeasured plant aerial cover in permanent transects located at increasing distances from a watering point in three paddocks with different stocking rates through the growing season. We also measured frequency of defoliation for vegetative and reproductive phases of different plant species located along these transects. Sheep grazing directly (a) reduced aerial cover and/or increased frequency of defoliation of certain preferred grasses and perennial forbs, (b) did not increase the aerial cover of any life form, but only the proportion of bare soil, (c) did not change the litter aerial cover, and (d) defoliated the flowers of even the least preferred shrub. Result a) was coincident with previous plant aerial cover long-term studies; but results (b) and (c) were contrary to long-term studies, probably because they resulted from indirect rather than direct grazing effects. Result (d) was not detected by long-term studies, probably because flower defoliation through grazing is undetectable when measuring shrub plant aerial cover. Our study showed that grazing has short-term direct effects mainly on the most preferred species. This could be useful for rangeland management and conservation of Patagonian steppes because short-term effects may be more easily reversible than longterm ones, and may provide early warning of rangeland condition deterioration.
format Texto
topic_facet DEGRADATION
DEFOLIATION
HERBIVORY
PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPES
PREFERRED SPECIES
author Valenta, Magalí Débora
Golluscio, Rodolfo Angel
Frey, Ana Lidia
Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro
Cipriotti, Pablo Ariel
author_facet Valenta, Magalí Débora
Golluscio, Rodolfo Angel
Frey, Ana Lidia
Garibaldi, Lucas Alejandro
Cipriotti, Pablo Ariel
author_sort Valenta, Magalí Débora
title Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
title_short Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
title_full Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
title_fullStr Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
title_full_unstemmed Short - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppe
title_sort short - term responses to sheep grazing in a patagonian steppe
url http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=53928
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spelling KOHA-OAI-AGRO:539282023-08-16T10:03:17Zhttp://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=53928http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=http://ceiba.agro.uba.ar/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=AAGShort - term responses to sheep grazing in a Patagonian steppeValenta, Magalí DéboraGolluscio, Rodolfo AngelFrey, Ana LidiaGaribaldi, Lucas AlejandroCipriotti, Pablo Arieltextengapplication/pdfGrazing modifies ecosystem function through direct effects on plants, but also through indirect effects mediated by floristic changes induced by grazing. Although both types of effects occur in the long term, only the direct effects are evident in the short term. We evaluated the short-term direct effects of sheep (Ovis aries) grazing on a Patagonian steppe during one growing season.Wemeasured plant aerial cover in permanent transects located at increasing distances from a watering point in three paddocks with different stocking rates through the growing season. We also measured frequency of defoliation for vegetative and reproductive phases of different plant species located along these transects. Sheep grazing directly (a) reduced aerial cover and/or increased frequency of defoliation of certain preferred grasses and perennial forbs, (b) did not increase the aerial cover of any life form, but only the proportion of bare soil, (c) did not change the litter aerial cover, and (d) defoliated the flowers of even the least preferred shrub. Result a) was coincident with previous plant aerial cover long-term studies; but results (b) and (c) were contrary to long-term studies, probably because they resulted from indirect rather than direct grazing effects. Result (d) was not detected by long-term studies, probably because flower defoliation through grazing is undetectable when measuring shrub plant aerial cover. Our study showed that grazing has short-term direct effects mainly on the most preferred species. This could be useful for rangeland management and conservation of Patagonian steppes because short-term effects may be more easily reversible than longterm ones, and may provide early warning of rangeland condition deterioration.Grazing modifies ecosystem function through direct effects on plants, but also through indirect effects mediated by floristic changes induced by grazing. Although both types of effects occur in the long term, only the direct effects are evident in the short term. We evaluated the short-term direct effects of sheep (Ovis aries) grazing on a Patagonian steppe during one growing season.Wemeasured plant aerial cover in permanent transects located at increasing distances from a watering point in three paddocks with different stocking rates through the growing season. We also measured frequency of defoliation for vegetative and reproductive phases of different plant species located along these transects. Sheep grazing directly (a) reduced aerial cover and/or increased frequency of defoliation of certain preferred grasses and perennial forbs, (b) did not increase the aerial cover of any life form, but only the proportion of bare soil, (c) did not change the litter aerial cover, and (d) defoliated the flowers of even the least preferred shrub. Result a) was coincident with previous plant aerial cover long-term studies; but results (b) and (c) were contrary to long-term studies, probably because they resulted from indirect rather than direct grazing effects. Result (d) was not detected by long-term studies, probably because flower defoliation through grazing is undetectable when measuring shrub plant aerial cover. Our study showed that grazing has short-term direct effects mainly on the most preferred species. This could be useful for rangeland management and conservation of Patagonian steppes because short-term effects may be more easily reversible than longterm ones, and may provide early warning of rangeland condition deterioration.DEGRADATIONDEFOLIATIONHERBIVORYPLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPESPREFERRED SPECIESThe Rangeland Journal