Effects of seasonal grazing on plant species diversity and vegetation structure in a semi-arid ecosystem

In evolutionary time frames, grazing by domesticated livestock on the short grass plains of East Africa is a new occurrence resulting in increased animal densities year around and modification to annual timing of grazing. We addressed the following questions: (1) do plant species diversity and veget...

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Vydáno v:	Journal of arid environments Ročník 61; číslo 1; s. 147 - 160
Hlavní autoři:	Metzger, K.L., Coughenour, M.B., Reich, R.M., Boone, R.B.
Médium:	Journal Article
Jazyk:	angličtina
Vydáno:	Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2005
Témata:	arid lands community structure dry season East Africa Evolutionary history of grazing forbs grasses grazing livestock Modified-Whittaker plots plant communities population density Rangeland rangelands SAVANNA Seasonal grazing seasonal variation semiarid zones Serengeti ecosystem shrubs spatial variation species diversity Tanzania vegetation wet season Tanzania SAVANNA Seasonal grazing Modified-Whittaker plots Rangeland Evolutionary history of grazing Serengeti ecosystem East Africa
ISSN:	0140-1963, 1095-922X
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Shrnutí:	In evolutionary time frames, grazing by domesticated livestock on the short grass plains of East Africa is a new occurrence resulting in increased animal densities year around and modification to annual timing of grazing. We addressed the following questions: (1) do plant species diversity and vegetation structural differences exist between an area that is grazed only during the wet season and an adjacent area that is grazed year around; and, (2) does plant species diversity and structure correlate temporally with density of grazers? A spatially explicit ecosystem model was used to determine grazer densities. The two areas were similar with respect to grazer density during the wet season but not in the dry season. Dry season grazer densities were solely due to the presence of domesticated livestock. No significant differences in plant species diversity (H’), evenness, or richness were found between the two areas. However, the relative abundance of forbs, shrubs, percent cover of shrubs and bare ground was positively correlated with grazer densities during the dry season.
Bibliografie:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0140-1963 1095-922X
DOI:	10.1016/j.jaridenv.2004.07.019