Interactions of grazing history, cattle removal and time since rain drive divergent short-term responses by desert biota.

ABSTRACT: Arid grasslands are used worldwide for grazing by domestic livestock, generating debate about how this pastoral enterprise may influence native desert biota. One approach to resolving this question is to experimentally reduce livestock numbers and measure the effects. However, a key challenge in doing this is that historical grazing impacts are likely to be cumulative and may therefore confound comparisons of the short-term responses of desert biota to changes in stocking levels. Arid areas are also subject to infrequent flooding rainfalls that drive productivity and dramatically alter abundances of flora and fauna. We took advantage of an opportunity to study the recent effects of a property-scale cattle removal on two properties with similarly varied grazing histories in central Australi

SUBMITTER: Frank AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3713037 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature