Regional productivity mediates the effects of grazing disturbance on plant cover and patch-size distribution in arid and semi-arid communities

Oikos ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 127 (8) ◽  
pp. 1205-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gastón R. Oñatibia ◽  
Luciano Boyero ◽  
Martín R. Aguiar
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Regional Productivity ◽  
Grazing Disturbance ◽  
Semi Arid

HIGH COUNTRY GRAZING IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES

1956 ◽  
pp. 113-125
Author(s):  
R.Merton Love
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Western United States ◽  
Saline Soils ◽  
Livestock Industry ◽  
Low Precipitation ◽  
Semi Arid ◽  
Desert Shrubland

Between the deserts and the forests are vast expanses of basins, plateaux, and grasslands with a plant cover of grasses, broadleaved herbs, shrubs, and open, arid woodlands. The semi-arid grassland, the open woods, and the desert shrubland constitute the domain of the huge western livestock industry in the 17 states lying roughly west of the 100th meridian. These are known as the range states and they are likely to remain predominantly range states because of the low precipitation, rough topography, and shallow, rocky and saline soils.

scholarly journals Testing for consistency in the impacts of a burrowing ecosystem engineer on soil and vegetation characteristics across biomes

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Louw ◽  
N. S. Haussmann ◽  
P. C. le Roux
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Ecosystem Engineer ◽  
Environmental Gradients ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Ecosystem Engineers ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Mesic Grassland ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics ◽  
Semi Arid

AbstractThe impacts of ecosystem engineers may be expected to vary along environmental gradients. Due to some resources being more limited in arid than in mesic environments, disturbances created by burrowing mammals are expected to have a greater ameliorating effect in arid environments, with larger differences in microhabitat conditions expected between burrows and undisturbed areas. The aim of this study was to test if the impacts of a medium-sized burrowing mammal, the aardvark, on soil properties (soil temperature, moisture and compaction) and vegetation characteristics (plant cover, species richness and species composition) are consistent across three biomes that differ strongly in annual rainfall. Burrowing affected soil and vegetation attributes, but the direction and magnitude of these biogeomorphological impacts were not consistent across the different biomes. For example, plant species composition was altered by burrowing in the arid scrubland and in the mesic grassland, but not in the semi-arid savannah. Contrary to expectations, the difference in the impacts of burrowing between biomes were not related to rainfall, with burrowing having strong, albeit different, impacts in both the arid scrubland and the mesic grassland, but weaker effects in the semi-arid savannah. It appears, therefore, that the impacts of these biogeomorphic agents may be site-specific and that it may be difficult to predict variation in their biotic and abiotic effects across environmental gradients. As a result, forecasting the impacts of ecosystem engineers under different conditions remains a challenge to management, restoration and conservation strategies related to these types of species.

Soil infiltrability as a driver of plant cover and species richness in the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 320 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 321-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Mills ◽  
Martin Fey ◽  
John Donaldson ◽  
Simon Todd ◽  
Leon Theron
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Semi Arid

scholarly journals The Interactive Effects of Pulsed Grazing Disturbance and Patch Size Vary among Wetland Arthropod Guilds

PLoS ONE ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e76672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna R. Armitage ◽  
Chuan-Kai Ho ◽  
Antonietta Quigg
Keyword(s):  
Patch Size ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Grazing Disturbance

scholarly journals ASYMMETRIC PATCH SIZE DISTRIBUTION LEADS TO DISRUPTIVE SELECTION ON DISPERSAL

Evolution ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 490-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Massol ◽  
Anne Duputié ◽  
Patrice David ◽  
Philippe Jarne
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Patch Size ◽  
Disruptive Selection
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