气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Can livestock exclusion affect understory plant community structure? An experimental study in the dry Chaco forest, Argentina

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DOI	10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118014
	Can livestock exclusion affect understory plant community structure? An experimental study in the dry Chaco forest, Argentina
	Trigo C.B.; Villagra P.E.; Cowper Coles P.; Marás G.A.; Andrade-Díaz M.S.; Núñez-Regueiro M.M.; Derlindati E.J.; Tálamo A.
发表日期	2020
ISSN	0378-1127
卷号	463
英文摘要	Livestock grazing can be a problem for forest conservation because it can generate heterogeneous and unpredictable changes in plant communities. Understanding these changes is important for generating management strategies that are compatible with long-term conservation of threatened forests. Livestock exclusion is a useful experimental approach used to evaluate grazing effects. However, the evidence showing the effects of grazing on forests is mixed and little in know about the responses of different plant life forms, especially in dry forests. In this study, we evaluated the effects of a 7–8 year of livestock exclusion experiment on understory plant community structure in the dry Chaco forest (Argentina). We categorized understory plant life forms as shrubs, succulents (Cactaceae family + Bromelia hieronymi), and herbs (forbs, grasses and vines). Then, we compared the plant community structure (richness, diversity, density and cover) and understory structure (soil hardness, bare soil and vegetation vertical and horizontal structure) between five excluded plots and five grazed plots, in a paired design. We found that livestock exclusion lead to an increase in grass species richness and grass cover as well as an increase in lower understory biomass (0–0.5 m) and a decrease in percentage of bare soil. On excluded plots, dominant herbs were Setaria nicorae (grass), Trichloris crinita (grass), and Justicia squarrosa (forb). Grass species that were recorded exclusively on excluded plots were Gouinia latifolia, T. crinita, and Pappophorum mucronulatum, all forage species preferred by livestock. In contrast, on grazed plots, the dominant species was Stenandrium dulce (forb), a species with resistance strategies to grazing. As for the other variables, we did not find strong differences between excluded and grazed plots. Livestock grazing did not modify the ensemble structure of shrubs and succulents nor did it change the horizontal vegetation structure or soil hardness. Our evidence suggests that the assemblage composed by shrubs and succulents seems to be tolerant to livestock grazing, and that the grass assemblage has the ability to quickly recover when grazing stops. Finally, the effectiveness of exclusion as a management tool will depend on which attribute of the plant community to be conserved or recovered. In dry Chaco forests after many years of grazing at moderate stocking rates, livestock exclusion could help recover grass cover, generate opportunities for the establishment of certain grass species that are sensitive to grazing, and increase ground cover. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.
英文关键词	Grasses; Plant life forms; Soil; Vertical and horizontal structure
语种	英语
scopus关键词	Conservation; Hardness; Recovery; Soils; Vegetation; Experimental approaches; Grasses; Long-term conservation; Management strategies; Plant life; Understory plant communities; Unpredictable changes; Vegetation structure; Forestry; bare soil; biomass; community structure; dry forest; exclusion experiment; experimental study; grass; plant community; strategic approach; understory; Conservation; Forestry; Grasses; Hardness; Plants; Recovery; Argentina; Chaco; Bromelia; Cactaceae; Justicia; Pappophorum mucronulatum; Poaceae; Setaria nicorae; Stenandrium dulce; Trichloris crinita
来源期刊	Forest Ecology and Management
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/155352
作者单位	Instituto de Bio y Geociencias del NOA (IBIGEO), Universidad Nacional de Salta, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Avenida 9 de julio 14, Rosario de Lerma, Salta CP 4405, Argentina; Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CCT-CONICET Mendoza), Av. Ruiz Leal s/n, Parque General San Martín, Mendoza, CP 5500, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Almirante Brown 500, Mendoza, Argentina; Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste (IBONE), Universidad Nacional del Nordeste, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Sargento Juan Bautista Cabral 2131, Corrientes, CP 3400, Argentina; Facultad de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Salta, Avda. Bolivia 5150, Salta, Argentina; Facultad de Economía y Administración, Universidad Católica de Salta, Campus Castañares, Salta, CP4400, Argentina
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Trigo C.B.,Villagra P.E.,Cowper Coles P.,et al. Can livestock exclusion affect understory plant community structure? An experimental study in the dry Chaco forest, Argentina[J],2020,463.
APA	Trigo C.B..,Villagra P.E..,Cowper Coles P..,Marás G.A..,Andrade-Díaz M.S..,...&Tálamo A..(2020).Can livestock exclusion affect understory plant community structure? An experimental study in the dry Chaco forest, Argentina.Forest Ecology and Management,463.
MLA	Trigo C.B.,et al."Can livestock exclusion affect understory plant community structure? An experimental study in the dry Chaco forest, Argentina".Forest Ecology and Management 463(2020).