Browsing herbivores improve the state and functioning of savannas: A model assessment of alternative land-use strategies.

ABSTRACT: Changing climatic conditions and unsustainable land use are major threats to savannas worldwide. Historically, many African savannas were used intensively for livestock grazing, which contributed to widespread patterns of bush encroachment across savanna systems. To reverse bush encroachment, it has been proposed to change the cattle-dominated land use to one dominated by comparatively specialized browsers and usually native herbivores. However, the consequences for ecosystem properties and processes remain largely unclear. We used the ecohydrological, spatially explicit model EcoHyD to assess the impacts of two contrasting, herbivore land-use strategies on a Namibian savanna: grazer- versus browser-dominated herbivore communities. We varied the densities of grazers and browsers and determ

SUBMITTER: Irob K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8931791 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature