High species richness of sheep-grazed sand pastures is driven by disturbance-tolerant and weedy short-lived species.

ABSTRACT: We selected 15 sheep-grazed sand pastures along a gradient of increasing grazing intensity to study the fine-scale patterns of main biomass fractions (green biomass, litter) and that of plant species and functional groups (life forms and social behaviour types). We classified them into five grazing intensity levels based on stocking density, proximity to drinking and resting places and the number of faeces. We aimed to answer the following questions: (i) How does increasing intensity of sheep grazing affect the amount of green biomass, the species richness and their relationship in sand pastures? (ii) How does increasing intensity of sheep grazing affect the biomass of perennial and short-lived graminoids and forbs? (iii) How does the disturbance value-expressed in the biomass ratio of dis

SUBMITTER: Kovacsics-Vari G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11381081 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature