Cushion shrubs encroach subhumid rangelands and form fertility islands along a grazing gradient in Patagonia

Threshold changes in vegetation along a grazing gradient in Mongolian rangelands

Two-phase functional redundancy in plant communities along a grazing gradient in Mongolian rangelands.

The concept of functional redundancy is at the core of theory relating changes in ecosystem functioning to species loss. However, few empirical studies have investigated the strength and form of the relationship between species and functional diversity (i.e., the presence of functional redundancy in ecological communities) in this context. In particular, we know little about how local extinctio...

Divaricating shrubs in Patagonia and New Zealand

There are at least three hypotheses to account for the abundance of divaricating shrubs in New Zealand: 1) Ratites in the form of 11 species of moa, led to divarication for browse protection (Greenwood and Atkinson, 1977); 2) Divarication evolved as a microclimatic shield (McGlone and Webb, 1981); 3) Divarication evolved to aid leaves in light harvesting (Kelly, 1994). In Patagonia before human...

Facilitation Effects of the Rangeland Shrubs Astragalus chrysostachys Boiss and Artemisia kopetdaghensis (Poljakov) Y.R.Ling on the Species Diversity, Along a Gradient of Livestock Grazing

Spiny and aromatic species in rangelands can play important role in the conservation of plant species in rangelands; however, few studies  have been done on the role of these plants under different levels of livestock grazing. In this research, the facilitation effects of spiny (Astragalus chrysostachys Boiss) and aromatic (Artemisia kopetdaghensis (Poljakov) Y.R.Ling) shrubs were studied on sp...

Variation of Plant Functional Groups along Livestock Grazing Gradient in Semi-steppe Rangelands (Case Study: Tangsayad Rangelands of Chaharmahal Bakhtiari Province, Iran)

Assessment and monitoring of rangeland in different grazing managements seems necessary to manage rangelands. The plant functional groups can be used as appropriate responders for rangelands condition and management. Therefore, this study was performed and aimed to determine the most important traits that are influenced by rangeland variation and management. In order to this, three areas along ...