Small-Scale Structures and Grazing Intensity in Semi-Natural Pastures - Eff ects on Plants and Insects

نویسنده

  • Aina Pihlgren
چکیده

Pihlgren, A. 2007. Small-scale structures and grazing intensity in semi-natural pastures effects on plants and insects. Doctor’s dissertation. ISSN 1652-6880, ISBN 91-576-7312-1. Semi-natural grasslands characterized by nutrient poor soils are among the most species-rich habitats in Europe and they harbour many red-listed species. The area of semi-natural grasslands has decreased drastically due to intensifi ed land use or abandonment of farms. Ceased grazing can lead to encroachment of shrubs and trees and reduced plant species richness. The aim of this thesis is to study the effects of spatial structures and grazing intensity on plant assemblages, plant reproduction and phytophagous insects. Pastures with scattered trees and shrubs grazed by cattle in south central Sweden were used as study sites. The studied spatial structures were two trees: Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris, two shrubs: Juniperus communis, Rosa dumalis, and dung rejects, grazing rejects (ungrazed patches) and grazed patches. Trees and shrubs are long-lived structures and they signifi cantly infl uenced plant assemblages. For example, R. dumalis shrubs had a positive effect on tall, grazing sensitive species and a negative effect on short, less competitive species. Structures that could function as grazing refuges, i.e. shrubs, dung and grazing rejects increased plant reproduction. Grazing intensity also had a strong effect on plant reproduction and intensive grazing decreased the quantity of fl owers and fruits. The effect of spatial structures on four plant species of the Fabaceae family and their seed predators was also studied. The four species varied in abundance between the structures but in shrub rejects and dung rejects reproduction was higher than in grazed patches. The available oviposition places, i.e. pods, for seed predators were considerable higher in shrub and dung rejects than in grazed patches. But no clear patterns in predation rate between structures were found. For two species long pods were more predated than short pods indicating oviposition selection at pod level. In conclusion, regulation of grazing intensity and shrub cover are important tools when managing pastures for both plants and phytophagous insects.

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

منابع مشابه

Paper I.indd

Vegetation composition and reproduction of vascular plants were studied in relation to seven spatial structures: Betula pendula, Pinus sylvestris, Juniperus communis, Rosa dumalis, dung pats, grazing rejects and grazed patches. Th e study was performed in 14 unfertilized semi-natural pastures, with diff erent grazing intensities, in southcentral Sweden. Vegetation height diff ered between sites...

متن کامل

Unpalatable plants facilitate tree sapling survival in wooded pastures

1. In endangered wooded pasture ecosystems established tree saplings are frequently found in spatial association with protective structures, suggesting nurse effects. This associational resistance is thought to be a driving force behind tree regeneration in wooded pastures. Experimental evidence for associational resistance is, however, scarce. We studied the effects of unpalatable plants on tr...

متن کامل

Grazing and plant recruitment in semi-natural grasslands - a tradeoff between competition and disturbance

In grazed habitats is a tradeoff between competition (decreases with the grazing intensity) and disturbance (increases). This may give tradeoffs between plant life stages. The seed production can be assumed to decrease at high disturbance intensities because of herbivory of reproductive organs, but also at high levels of competition (low grazing intensity) because of resource limitation. The es...

متن کامل

Plant Species and Functional Types’ Diversity in Relation to Grazing in Arid and Semi-arid Rangelands, Khabr National Park, Iran

In arid and semi-arid rangelands, grazing as one of the natural or human induced processes has direct and indirect effects on structure and dynamics of plant community and ecosystems. A study was done to analyze the effects of grazing on plant species diversity and Plant Functional Types‘ (PFTs) diversity of arid and semi-arid rangelands. We analyzed plant richness and diversity data from 75 sa...

متن کامل

The effects of exclosure on plants in the semi-arid rangeland of North Khorasan province, Iran

Abstract Over the last fifty years, most of the semi-arid rangeland in Iran has been converted to cropland without an equivalent reduction in grazing animals. This shift has led to heavy grazing pressure on rangeland vegetation. The present study has been conducted in Sisab Research Station in the North Khorasan Province to evaluate effects of long-term grazing exclosures on biodiversity of ra...

متن کامل

ذخیره در منابع من


  با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید

برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید

ثبت نام

اگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید

عنوان ژورنال:

دوره   شماره 

صفحات  -

تاریخ انتشار 2007