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Journal articles on the topic 'Grasslands'
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1
Valkó, Orsolya, Rocco Labadessa, Salza Palpurina, Sabina Burrascano, Atushi Ushimaru, and Stephen Venn. "Conservation and diversity of Palaearctic grasslands – Editorial to the 5th EDGG special issue in Hacquetia." Hacquetia 18, no. 2 (December 1, 2019): 143–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/hacq-2019-0011.
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Abstract Palaearctic grasslands are diverse and dynamic ecosystems that are in the focus of ecology, conservation biology and agronomy. This special issue is dedicated to the biodiversity and conservation issues of Palaearctic grasslands and was initiated by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group members attending the 14th Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference (EDGC) at Sulmona, Italy in 2018. The papers in this special issue cover a wide range of grassland ecosystems from mountain dry grasslands to lowland loess grasslands, feathergrass steppes and wet grasslands, and focus on the biodiversity values and conservation issues of Palaearctic grasslands. We believe that this compilation will contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of grasslands and support their more effective conservation.
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Yamaki, Kazushige, and Shigemitsu Shibasaki. "Decline in Semi-Natural Grasslands and Changes in Value Perceptions in Japan’s Natural Parks." Forests 14, no. 8 (July 31, 2023): 1564. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/f14081564.
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The decline in semi-natural grasslands has resulted from reduced traditional use, leading to a marked decrease in their overall area. Despite being located within Japan’s core protected area system, the effectiveness of natural parks in conserving grasslands remains unclear. This study aimed to determine whether natural parks successfully prevent the decline in grasslands. By analyzing historical changes in value perceptions toward grasslands in natural parks, natural parks’ contribution to grassland conservation and the associated challenges were explored. The study focused on the Sengokuhara grassland in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and incorporated previous studies on other grasslands. It revealed that grasslands have been valued for their scenic views and recreational potential since the establishment of the national park. As grassland scarcity increased nationwide, attention shifted toward rare plants found exclusively on grasslands, along with grasslands’ value as semi-natural landscapes. Consequently, natural-park-based grasslands have primarily been conserved based on these two values. However, conservation efforts within natural parks have mainly focused on regulating human activities, with limited measures to sustain nature, such as grasslands, through livelihoods. To enhance grassland conservation, it is essential to recognize their cultural value and develop mechanisms that ensure economic benefits are reinvested in conservation efforts.
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Hussain, Raja Imran, Daniela Ablinger, Walter Starz, Jürgen Kurt Friedel, and Thomas Frank. "Is the Abandonment of Organic Grassland a Threat to Alpine Insect Diversity?" Land 12, no. 4 (April 11, 2023): 867. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12040867.
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Land abandonment is a multifaceted, nonlinear, worldwide phenomenon that is influenced by a variety of factors and opinions. The goal of this study was to understand the significance of land abandonment for true bugs and syrphids in three grassland management regimes that includes abandoned, intensive, and extensive alpine organic grasslands. In 2021 and 2022, we sampled true bugs and syrphids by applying observation plot and sweep netting sampling methods. Extensive grasslands had significantly higher true bug and syrphid abundance compared to abandoned grasslands. However, no difference of species richness was found in studied grassland regimes. Large numbers of unique species (25.5% true bugs and 21.5% syrphids) only occurred in the abandoned grasslands but not in intensive and extensive grasslands. Similarly, true bug assemblages in abandoned grasslands differed significantly from assemblages in intensive and extensive grasslands. We found that extensive grassland can manage to increase true bugs and syrphid abundance. Likewise, undisturbed abandoned grassland is not a threat to insect diversity, and supports the survival of more unique true bug and syrphid species. A mosaic landscape consisting of abandoned grassland along with grassland having different, mainly extensive, management intensity could be an ideal arrangement for alpine biodiversity conservation.
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Zhang, Qian, and KuoRay Mao. "Disembedding and Disentangling Grassland Valuation: Insights into Grassland Management Institutions and Ecological Research in China." Land 13, no. 8 (August 6, 2024): 1218. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land13081218.
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After two decades of implementing top-down grassland restoration projects focused on reducing livestock numbers and pastoralist populations, the Chinese government’s well-funded efforts have not significantly reversed grassland degradation. This study reviews the institutional changes in grassland management over the past forty years, highlighting the Livestock and Grassland Double Contract Household Responsibility System of the early 1980s and the Grassland Ecological Reward and Compensation Policy introduced in 2011. It demonstrates how these institutional transformations have shaped pastoralists’ evolving understanding of grassland value and reveals that commodifying grassland’s economic and ecological value has led to the capitalization of nature, disembedding husbandry from grassland production, and undermining the effectiveness of conservation projects. This article also showcases the development of grassland ecology research in China, noting its increasing detachment from a holistic understanding of ecosystems and the interdisciplinary needs of management practices. The disjunction between grassland ecology research and practical management has resulted in a lack of techniques aligned with local ecological and socioeconomic contexts. This article champions active engagement with and protection of pastoralist communities to reintegrate grasslands’ true economic and ecological value into management practices, thereby effectively restoring degraded grasslands and achieving sustainable management.
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Liu, Cheng, Hui Li, Kesi Liu, Xinqing Shao, Jing Huang, Muji Siri, Changliang Feng, and Xiaomeng Yang. "Vegetation Characteristics of the Main Grassland Types in China Respond Differently to the Duration of Enclosure: A Meta-Analysis." Agronomy 13, no. 3 (March 15, 2023): 854. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13030854.
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Enclosure is one of the useful measures to protect and restore degraded grasslands, and it is widely used around the world. The vegetation characteristics of grasslands directly reflect the recovery status of degraded grasslands; however, conflicting results of plant traits were continually achieved in the numerous on-site studies of enclosure in the last two decades. It is necessary to conduct a systematic assessment to find a general conclusion for the effects of enclosure on different grasslands. Studies on the enclosure grasslands in China were taken as the objects to refine the relationships between grassland vegetation characteristics and enclosure measures using meta-analysis. Enclosure had positive effects on the restoration of vegetation coverage, aboveground and belowground biomass, and diversity of degraded grasslands. Different vegetation characteristics and grassland types showed different responses to enclosure duration. The vegetation productivity reached a maximum in the 11–15 years of enclosure for alpine grasslands and typical steppe grasslands, 6–10 years for desert grasslands, and more than 15 years of enclosure for meadow grasslands. Plant species diversity reached the peak values when alpine grasslands and typical steppe grasslands were enclosed approximately 10 years, desert grasslands approximately 11–15 years, and meadow grasslands approximately 5 years. These results indicated that the management strategies of enclosed grasslands should be adjusted reasonably according to the types and the management objectives of grasslands in order to maintain or even improve the condition and services of grassland ecosystems.
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Nerlekar, Ashish N., and Joseph W. Veldman. "High plant diversity and slow assembly of old-growth grasslands." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 31 (July 16, 2020): 18550–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1922266117.
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Earth’s ancient grasslands and savannas—hereafter old-growth grasslands—have long been viewed by scientists and environmental policymakers as early successional plant communities of low conservation value. Challenging this view, emerging research suggests that old-growth grasslands support substantial biodiversity and are slow to recover if destroyed by human land uses (e.g., tillage agriculture, plantation forestry). But despite growing interest in grassland conservation, there has been no global test of whether old-growth grasslands support greater plant species diversity than secondary grasslands (i.e., herbaceous communities that assemble after destruction of old-growth grasslands). Our synthesis of 31 studies, including 92 timepoints on six continents, found that secondary grasslands supported 37% fewer plant species than old-growth grasslands (log response ratio = −0.46) and that secondary grasslands typically require at least a century, and more often millennia (projected mean 1,400 y), to recover their former richness. Young (<29 y) secondary grasslands were composed of weedy species, and even as their richness increased over decades to centuries, secondary grasslands were still missing characteristic old-growth grassland species (e.g., long-lived perennials). In light of these results, the view that all grasslands are weedy communities, trapped by fire and large herbivores in a state of arrested succession, is untenable. Moving forward, we suggest that ecologists should explicitly consider grassland assembly time and endogenous disturbance regimes in studies of plant community structure and function. We encourage environmental policymakers to prioritize old-growth grassland conservation and work to elevate the status of old-growth grasslands, alongside old-growth forests, in the public consciousness.
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Tóth, Csilla, Géza Nagy, and Antónia Nyakas. "The Evaluation of Grazed Grasslands on the Hortobágy." Acta Agraria Debreceniensis, no. 10 (May 11, 2003): 50–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.34101/actaagrar/10/3463.
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The sward composition of different grasslands on Puszta Hortobágy has been developed according to prevailing abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic conditions have been more or less constans for long periods of time, and the abiotic factors are determined by ecological conditions (climate, soil, topography). Among biotic factors grazing of herbivores was important in the development of Hortobágy grasslands for centuries (Sipos and Varga, 1993). Result of three-year investigations on the sward composition of grasslands utilised in different ways are presented. Data on ground cover, number of plant species, representation of different plant groups (grasses, sedge and bent-grass, herbs, legumes) and weeds are reported from six different grazed grassland types from Puszta Hortobágy.In 1999-2001 a sward composition survey was conducted. Sample areas of 2x2 m2 were marked out in three replicates: on temporarily waterlogged grassland grazed by cattle (A), on dry grassland grazed by cattle (B), on dry grassland grazed by sheep (C), on dry grassland grazed by buffaloes (D), on dry grassland grazed by buffaloes and geese (E), on dry grassland cut for hay in May then grazed by geese (F). On the sample areas sward composition of grasslands was estimated according to Balázs (1949).The average ground cover of different grasslands ranged between 60 and 100% (Table 2). The lowest value was found for grasslands C and E, which are grazed by sheep (C) and buffaloes and geese alternately (E). In these grasslands were some open spaces, on the other grasslands completely closed swards covers were observed.The species diversity of these natural grasslands are high (Table 2). The grassland F, which were cut for hay in May had the lowest diversity (17-21). The highest number of species was found on grassland A and B (32-51), on other grazed grasslands (C, D, E) had 29-48 species.The different plant groups had different representation in the total ground cover (Table 3). The number of herbs was always higher then that of grasses, but the cover of herbs was lower then that of grasses. The legumes and the sedge and bent grasses were present in high abundance in grassland A, but in the other grasslands were not.The composition of herbs should be a warning for future utilisation systems on some grasslands of Hortobágy. Some species of herbs, e.g. Achillea millefolium, Artemisia vulgaris, Carduus acanthoides, Cirsium arvense, Cirsium vulgare Eryngium campestre, Galium mollugo, Galium verum, Ononis spinosa, Rumex crispus, Verbascum phlomoideus, Phragmites australis can be invasive on short grasslands.
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Liu, Yu, Fuping Tian, Pengyan Jia, Jingge Zhang, Fujiang Hou, and Gaolin Wu. "Leguminous species sequester more carbon than gramineous species in cultivated grasslands of a semi-arid area." Solid Earth 8, no. 1 (January 23, 2017): 83–91. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/se-8-83-2017.
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Abstract. The establishment of grasslands on abandoned cropland has been proposed as an effective method to mitigate climate change. In this study, five cultivated grasslands (three leguminous species and two gramineous species), one abandoned cropland, and one natural grassland were studied to examine how soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration rate and sequestration efficiency change in a semi-arid area in China. Our results showed that leguminous grasslands had greater total biomass (above- and belowground biomass), SOC storage, SOC sequestration rate, and efficiency than gramineous grasslands, abandoned cropland, and natural grassland during the experimental period. The largest soil carbon (C) accumulation in leguminous grassland was mainly attributed to the capacity to incorporate C and the higher biomass production. Leguminous grasslands accumulated more SOC than gramineous grasslands by 0.64 Mg C ha−1 yr−1. The average SOC sequestration efficiency in leguminous grassland (1.00) was about 2 times greater than gramineous grassland (0.34). The results indicate that cultivated leguminous grassland sequestered more SOC with higher SOC sequestration efficiency than cultivated gramineous grassland in arid and semi-arid areas. Our results provide a reference for ecological management in arid and semi-arid areas.
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Zhou, Huakun, Xiaoyuan Yang, Chenyu Zhou, Xinqing Shao, Zhengchen Shi, Honglin Li, Hongye Su, et al. "Alpine Grassland Degradation and Its Restoration in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau." Grasses 2, no. 1 (March 3, 2023): 31–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/grasses2010004.
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The alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are one of the most famous grazing ecosystems in the world, providing a variety of ecosystem functions and services. The rate of grassland degradation has been slowed by the implementation of national grassland restoration projects, but the degradation of grasslands on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau has not yet been fundamentally reversed, and some grasslands are still degraded to varying degrees. The main causes of grassland degradation on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau are both human and natural factors. Human factors include overgrazing, over-cultivation, indiscriminate digging and mining, mineral resource development, infrastructure construction and use, and tourism development. Natural factors include climate change, wildlife destruction, pests, etc. Based on the principles of restoration ecology, a number of effective practices and integrated management responses for restoring degraded grasslands have been developed on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The degraded grassland restoration practices include fencing, fertilization, sown grassland establishment, rodent control, and grazing management. Based on these practices, the comprehensive restoration of degraded grasslands and the establishment and sustainable management of sown grasslands in the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau should be further strengthened, and research on the mechanisms of grassland degradation and restoration should be further developed.
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Li, Qiang, Junyin Yang, Wenhao Guan, Zhigang Liu, Guoxing He, Degang Zhang, and Xiaoni Liu. "Soil fertility evaluation and spatial distribution of grasslands in Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve of eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau." PeerJ 9 (April 23, 2021): e10986. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10986.
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The study assessed the overall soil characteristics of grasslands on Qilian Mountains and rated the soil nutrient status with classification standard of the second national soil survey of China. Nemerow index method was used to evaluate the soil fertility of different grassland types. GIS was used to analyze the spatial distribution of the soil nutrients and provided a database for the grassland’s ecological protection and restoration. The study graded the soil organic matter (SOM), total N, and available K at level 2 (high) or above for most regions, available soil-P at level 4, while the soil bulk density, total porosity and pH were 0.77–1.32 g cm−3, 35.36–58.83% and 7.63–8.54, respectively. The rank of comprehensive soil fertility index was temperate steppe (TS) > alpine meadow (AM) > alpine steppe (AS) >upland meadow (UM) >alpine desert (AD)> lowland meadow (LM)> temperate desert steppe (TDS)> temperate desert (TD). The areas with high, medium and low soil fertility accounted for 63.19%, 34.24% and 2.57% of the total grassland area. Soil fertility of different grassland types had different main limiting factors, for instance, the pH, total N and SOM were the main factors limiting soil fertility in LM, while pH and available P were the main factors limiting soil fertility in UM, AM, TS and AS. In summary, the grassland soil fertility was generally at the mid-upper level, and the main limiting factors were found in the different types of the grasslands and their spatial distributions were figured out. Our findings also indicated that the typical grasslands and meadows may require phosphorus application, while for desert grasslands, both nitrogen and phosphorus were required to improve their comprehensive soil fertility and grassland productivity.
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Valkó, Orsolya, Rocco Labadessa, and Stephen Venn. "Conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands – Editorial to the 6th EDGG special issue in Hacquetia." Hacquetia 20, no. 1 (March 1, 2021): 167–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/hacq-2021-0008.
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Abstract This special issue is a collection of articles about the conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands and was initiated by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group at the 15th Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference (EDGC), held at Graz, Austria in 2019. The papers in this special issue cover a range of grassland habitats from montane dry grasslands to lowland sandy grasslands, feathergrass steppes and meadow steppes, and focus on the biodiversity values, conservation issues and restoration prospects of Palaearctic grasslands. We hope that the articles in this special issue will contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of grasslands and support their more effective conservation.
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Wang, Bei, Xin Li, Gaofeng Zhu, Chunlin Huang, Chunfeng Ma, Meibao Tan, and Juntao Zhong. "Evaluating the Impact of Dynamic Changes in Grasslands on the Critical Ecosystem Service Value of Yanchi County in China from 2000 to 2015." Sustainability 14, no. 19 (September 20, 2022): 11762. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su141911762.
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Grasslands are the basis for sustainable development in the northern farming-pastoral transition zone of China, with functions of human production, living, and ecology. Large-scale human activities inevitably lead to significant changes in grasslands, resulting in significant impacts on ecosystem services. To this end, we quantitatively estimated the ecosystem services value in each positive succession process (the improvement in the coverage or area of grasslands) and negative succession process (the degradation in the coverage or area of grasslands). The results indicated that (1) grasslands showed an improving trend from 2000 to 2015. The grassland improvement from low to high coverage dominated the positive succession process. Grassland degradation from high to low coverage dominated the negative succession process. (2) The total ecosystem services value increased by 25,294.87 × 104 yuan from 2000 to 2015. The grassland improvement from low to high coverage was the most important process that led to the increase in ecosystem service value. The degradation between grasslands and non-grasslands was the key process that led to the decrement in ecosystem services value. (3) The impact of grassland dynamics on the regional ecosystem service value showed significant spatial heterogeneity at the town scale. The results will provide some implications for the sustainable development of grassland ecosystem services to improve human well-being.
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Vannoppen, Astrid, Jeroen Degerickx, Niels Souverijns, and Anne Gobin. "Spatio-Temporal Dynamics in Grasslands Using the Landsat Archive." Land 12, no. 4 (April 21, 2023): 934. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12040934.
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Grasslands are an important biotope in Europe, not only because they are widespread, but also because they provide valuable ecosystem services. The ecological value of a grassland parcel is directly proportional to the number of uninterrupted years of grassland cover. However, the area of long-term grassland (i.e., grassland of 5 years or older) is decreasing, limiting its ability to provide ecosystem services. To prevent the further disappearance of long-term grasslands, Europe developed an agricultural policy instrument in 2003 to protect grasslands of 5 years or older. Nature policy instruments aim to protect grasslands that have existed for more than 10 years to support their high environmental value. However, there is currently no multi-annual information on the location and age of grasslands at a high spatial and temporal resolution, which makes it difficult to assess the effectiveness of the current grassland protection regulations. Multi-annual satellite-based land cover classification can provide a solution for grassland area and age monitoring, which we tested by producing a series of Landsat-based land cover classification maps from 2005 to 2019 for the region of Flanders, Belgium. Historical land cover classification maps proved useful for evaluating past and present planning and policy to ensure grassland conservation, linking spatial and temporal changes in the area of long-term grasslands with policy changes and landscape dynamics. We were able to locate grasslands that were grassland between 2005 and 2014 but were converted to arable land between 2015 and 2019, identify the year in which these grasslands were converted to arable land, and demonstrate regional differences in the conservation of long-term grassland aged 5–9 years and 10 years or more. Long-term grassland aged 10 years or more disappeared faster in urban than in rural areas in Flanders between 2014 and 2019. Our study shows that multi-annual high-resolution satellite imagery provides objective and quantitative information on long-term grassland to support climate, agricultural, environmental, and nature policies.
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Saha, Kuntal, Manoj Chandran, Ranjana Negi, and Saurabh Guleri. "Challenges and Opportunities in Conserving Grassland Ecosystems of Western Himalayan region." Phytotalks 1, no. 2 (July 2024): 131–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.21276/pt.2024.1.2.7.
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Grasslands are delineated as terrestrial ecosystems principally distinguished by predominantly herbaceous flora devoid of shrubbery, and their persistence hinges upon mechanisms such as combustion, herbivore browsing, harvesting, arid conditions, and exposure to sub-zero temperatures. The primary plant families encountered in grassland ecosystems include family Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Fabaceae, and Asteraceae. In India, there are different types of grasslands observed, but in the Western Himalayan region, Cool temperate grassy slopes grasslands, Sub-alpine meadows grasslands, Alpine meadows and Steppe formations of trans-Himalaya grasslands predominantly prevail. Furthermore, the grasslands are primarily inhabited by small herbs, which directly or indirectly hold immense importance in the lives of local communities. The Western Himalayan stands as one of the most recent and dynamically evolving mountain ranges globally, marked by both activity and vulnerability. They confront human-induced challenges in the pursuit of development. Grassland communities are encountering numerous threats due to significant human activities, including land degradation, intense grazing, habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and, to some extent, the impact of climate change. These factors are contributing to the decline of grasslands and a decrease in species diversity. Preserving grasslands necessitates a comprehensive approach encompassing a variety of tactics. Diverse conservation strategies are needed for the management of various grassland types. The mid-elevation grasslands, especially the meadows used for hay production, are preserved through the control of livestock grazing and controlled burning during the winter season. While several government departments are active in different grassland regions, focusing on habitat restoration and eco-development, their collective efforts are directed towards preserving these distinctive habitats.
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Wearne, L. J., and J. W. Morgan. "Floristic composition and variability of subalpine grasslands in the Mt Hotham region, north-eastern Victoria." Australian Journal of Botany 49, no. 6 (2001): 721. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/bt01025.
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Subalpine grasslands in the Mt Hotham area, Victoria, are a common feature of cold-air drainage valleys at elevations of 1260–1660 m. Here, the pooling of cold air prevents trees from establishing and results in a distinct grassland community, composed of tussock grasses and a wide variety of intertussock species. Despite their common occurrence in the region, such grasslands have yet to be fully described. This study focused on identifying the floristic composition of subalpine grasslands across 51 sites in the vicinity of Mt Cope, Dinner Plain and Mt Hotham. The vegetation was sampled from 172, 20-m2 quadrats which were analysed by multivariate ordination techniques. Environmental variables were quantified (i.e. soil depth, pH, aspect, slope, biomass, grazing intensity, altitude). Analysis revealed that the grassland sites varied greatly in their composition and richness. There was a gradual rather than abrupt change in species composition across grassland sites, thought to be related to both the geographic proximity of the sites and environmental factors such as geology. The following five grassland types were identified from the entire data set and defined primarily by the dominant species: Poa hiemata, Poa costiniana, Poa sieberiana, Poa labillardierei and Themeda triandra. Vector-fitting revealed significant correlations between the location of the quadrats in ordination space and altitude, biomass, pH and soil depth. Both increasing altitude and biomass were associated with the P. costiniana grasslands and some of the P. hiemata grasslands. The P. hiemata grasslands were widely distibuted across altitudes and geology (i.e. basalt and metamorphic). The lower-altitude grasslands (P. labillardierei, P. sieberiana, T. triandra) were associated with increasing pH and increasing soil depth. These grasslands were of limited extent and usually occupied small areas within larger grasslands dominated by P. hiemata or P. costiniana. The floristic composition of the Hotham grasslands (1260–1630 m a.s.l.), when compared with previously published data from the higher-elevation subalpine grasslands of both the Dargo High Plains (1450–1680 m a.s.l.) and Bogong High Plains (>1700 m a.s.l.), showed that there was no distinct differentiation between grasslands of these areas. However, there was a suggestion of gradual floristic change across this geographic range. This study highlights the need for ongoing conservation of grasslands in the Hotham area, particularly those at lower altitudes (1260–1450 m a.s.l.), which represent the upper limits of many temperate grassland species.
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Su, Chen Xia, Yuan Ting Mi, Duo Wang, Qing Shan Zhao, Jun Jie Duan, and Bao Ling Mei. "Research Progress on Exchanging Fluxes of Greenhouse Gases from Artificial Grassland." Advanced Materials Research 726-731 (August 2013): 4131–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.726-731.4131.
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At present, in order to improve the yield of grasslands, artificial grasslands are largely constructed, which has a great significance to improve the ecological environment. The researches on greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, Methane and Nitrous Oxide) fluxes of artificial grassland are lacking and the exchange of fluxes has a great impact on global greenhouse gases balance. We summarize the researching progress on greenhouse gases exchanging fluxes from artificial grassland, and we analyze the similarities and differences of greenhouse gases exchanging fluxes between artificial grasslands and natural grasslands by the way of comparisons.
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Qu, Jiahao, Hui Wang, and Ying Zhang. "LSTM multivariate time series-based prediction of grassland multi-indicator data." Journal of Physics: Conference Series 2450, no. 1 (March 1, 2023): 012040. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/2450/1/012040.
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Abstract Xilinguole grassland in Inner Mongolia is one of the four major grasslands in China, which not only provides a large amount of livestock industry for the country but also prevents soil erosion and plays a key role in the regulation of ecological climate. To ensure the sustainable development of grasslands, this paper provides prediction data for the grassland grazing system optimization model by using LSTM multivariate time series prediction method to predict soil moisture, chemical properties, and desertification degree of grasslands under different grazing strategies to ensure the sustainable development of grasslands.
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Feng, Jiguang, Jingsheng Wang, Yanjun Song, and Biao Zhu. "Patterns of soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity in grassland ecosystems across China." Biogeosciences 15, no. 17 (September 3, 2018): 5329–41. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5329-2018.
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Abstract. Soil respiration (Rs), a key process in the terrestrial carbon cycle, is very sensitive to climate change. In this study, we synthesized 54 measurements of annual Rs and 171 estimates of Q10 value (the temperature sensitivity of soil respiration) in grasslands across China. We quantitatively analyzed their spatial patterns and controlling factors in five grassland types, including temperate typical steppe, temperate meadow steppe, temperate desert steppe, alpine grassland, and warm, tropical grassland. Results showed that the mean (±SE) annual Rs was 582.0±57.9 g C m−2 yr−1 across Chinese grasslands. Annual Rs significantly differed among grassland types, and was positively correlated with mean annual temperature, mean annual precipitation, soil temperature, soil moisture, soil organic carbon content, and aboveground biomass, but negatively correlated with soil pH (p<0.05). Among these factors, mean annual precipitation was the primary factor controlling the variation of annual Rs among grassland types. Based on the overall data across Chinese grasslands, the Q10 values ranged from 1.03 to 8.13, with a mean (±SE) of 2.60±0.08. Moreover, the Q10 values varied largely within and among grassland types and soil temperature measurement depths. Among grassland types, the highest Q10 derived by soil temperature at a depth of 5 cm occurred in alpine grasslands. In addition, the seasonal variation of soil respiration in Chinese grasslands generally cannot be explained well by soil temperature using the van't Hoff equation. Overall, our findings suggest that the combined factors of soil temperature and moisture would better predict soil respiration in arid and semi-arid regions, highlight the importance of precipitation in controlling soil respiration in grasslands, and imply that alpine grasslands in China might release more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere under climate warming.
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Li, Jie, Hua Chai, Shiwen Ding, Jinsong Wang, Xincheng Li, Yinong Li, Tianyun Li, et al. "Species-specific herbivore grazing of type-specific grassland can assist with promotion of shallow layer of soil carbon sequestration." Environmental Research Letters 16, no. 11 (November 1, 2021): 114033. http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac302f.
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Abstract Grassland soils represent a significant potential pool for the sequestering of atmospheric CO2; however, the magnitude of this pool depends to a certain extent on the grazing management of the grassland. Whether different herbivore species and combinations (herbivore assemblage) influence the soil organic carbon (SOC) in various grasslands remains unclear. Here we have investigated the impacts of herbivore assemblages (NG, no grazing; SG, sheep grazing; CG, cattle grazing; and MG, mixed grazing of sheep and cattle) under moderate grazing intensity on a shallow layer of SOC storage across the three different grassland types (meadow steppe, typical steppe, and desert steppe) in the temperate steppes of Eastern Eurasia. We found that herbivore-species-specific effects on SOC storage depended on the grassland type. In mesic grasslands (i.e. meadow steppe and typical steppe), CG enhanced SOC storage, but there were no effects from SG. In contrast, SG in the xeric grassland (i.e. desert steppe) dramatically increased SOC storage while no effects were observed for CG. Importantly, MG of sheep and cattle consistently increased SOC storage across all grassland types. We suggest that adopting herbivore-type-specific stewardship in different grasslands could assist with the enhancement of ecosystem C functionality and services; large herbivores and small herbivores are suitable for grazing in mesic grasslands and xeric grasslands, respectively. Moreover, MG with diverse herbivores may be the optimal moderate grazing mode for soil C sequestration in most grasslands of northern China.
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Koyama, Asuka, Tomoyo F. Koyanagi, Munemitsu Akasaka, Yoshinobu Kusumoto, Syuntaro Hiradate, Masayuki Takada, and Kimiko Okabe. "Partitioning the plant diversity of semi-natural grasslands across Japan." Oryx 52, no. 3 (February 20, 2017): 471–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605316001526.
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AbstractEffective conservation of global species diversity requires a clear understanding of spatial scales that support overall diversity across broad scales. Abandonment of semi-natural grasslands has increased their fragmentation and decreased their areal extent. We quantified diversity patterns of plant communities in Japan across hierarchical scales to facilitate the development of an effective nationwide strategy for conserving species diversity in remnant semi-natural grasslands. We applied additive partitioning of plant species diversity, using a nested hierarchical design at three spatial scales (quadrat, grassland, and western and eastern regions of Japan) for three groups of plant species (all species, grassland species and national Red Listed species). We consistently found lower proportions of among-quadrats diversity, and higher proportions of among-grasslands diversity and between-regions diversity in the overall diversity of the entire species complement than would be expected by chance. The high contribution of among-grasslands diversity to overall diversity suggests that each grassland had a unique species content. The second-ranking contributor to overall diversity differed between grassland species and Red Listed species: the second-ranking contributor for grassland species was diversity at the among-quadrats scale but the second-ranking contributor for all species and for Red Listed species was diversity at the between-regions scale. Thus, effective conservation of diversity of the entire species complement in remnant semi-natural grasslands requires preservation of beta diversity in individual grasslands. Our findings highlight the importance of strengthening local preservation and restoration activities within each grassland, and of nationwide strategies for conserving Red Listed species in remnant semi-natural grassland communities.
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Chen, Yaxian, Ziqi Lin, Xu Chen, Yangyang Liu, Jinshi Jian, Wei Zhang, Peidong Han, and Zijun Wang. "Spatial–Temporal Dynamics of Grassland Net Primary Productivity and Its Driving Mechanisms in Northern Shaanxi, China." Agronomy 13, no. 11 (October 25, 2023): 2684. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13112684.
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Grasslands, a vital ecosystem and component of the global carbon cycle, play a significant role in evaluating ecosystem health and monitoring the global carbon balance. In this study, based on the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model, we estimated the Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of grasslands in northern Shaanxi from 2000 to 2020. Employing trend analysis, stability analysis, multiple regression analysis, and residual analysis, the research examined the dynamic changes of grassland NPP and its response to climatic and human factors. Key findings include: (1) Grassland NPP showed a significant increasing trend during 2000–2020, with high-coverage grasslands showing a higher rate of increase than medium and low-coverage grasslands. (2) Most grasslands (>90%) exhibited unstable growth and high NPP fluctuation. (3) While temperature, precipitation, and radiation undulate, the trends were not significant. Rainfall and radiation emerged as dominant factors affecting NPP, with temperature suppressing NPP increase to some extent. (4) Policies like returning farmland to grassland had a positive impact on grassland recovery, vegetation productivity, and regional ecosystem health.
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Berisha, Naim, and Donard Geci. "The analysis of the influence of grazing intensity on the diversity and abundance of plants and spiders (Arachnida: Araneae)." EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 13, no. 1 (June 30, 2023): 31–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.14712/23361964.2023.4.
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In restoration projects, low stock grazing has become a popular means of management. However, an accurate understanding of the effects of grazing on plants and spiders is often lacking. Although spiders and plants are not closely related evolutionarily or genetically, the relationship between them can be complex and diverse. Many species of spider build their webs or nests on plants, using the leaves, stems, or flowers as anchoring points. This provides them with protection from predators, access to prey and a stable habitat. On the other hand, spiders can provide a number of benefits to grassland ecosystems, such as helping to control populations of insects and other arthropods that can damage or consume grassland plants. This study addresses the effects of different grazing regimes on plant and spider diversity in siliceous grasslands. Plant and spider diversity was studied for four months in the Sharri Mountains (Kosovo) in order to determine the biodiversity in ungrazed, moderately grazed and overgrazed siliceuous grasslands. The responses of plant height, plant biomass, plant species diversity and spider species diversity to three grazing intensities at 12 sites were recorded. Vegetation structure (plant height and plant biomass) was significantly higher in ungrazed grasslands compared to grazed and overgrazed grasslands. This was not the case, however, for spider species richness and diversity, as these were higher in moderately grazed than ungrazed grassland. On overgrazed grasslands, spider diversity was extremely low, as only one species of spider (Pardosa saltuaria) was recorded. Plant and spider diversity increased in the following order: overgrazed grasslands < ungrazed grasslands < moderately grazed grasslands, in all the habitats studied. Different grazing intensities significantly affected the abundance of particular plants on siliceous grasslands, for example, Deschampsia cespitosa, one of the most dominant plants on siliceous grasslands had an abundance of 4.77% in ungrazed grasslands., but only 4.94% in moderately grazed grasslands and was absent in overgrazed grasslands. There were other species of plants that were most abundant in intensively grazed silicate grasslands. One of them was Nardus stricta, whose percentage in ungrazed, moderately grazed and overgrazed grasslands was characterized by a multiple exponential increase in % (s1 – ungrazed grasslands = 0.99%, s2 – moderately grazed grasslands = 1.25% and s3 – overgrazed grasslands = 10.50%). It is concluded that the intensity of grazing of natural grasslands directly affects biodiversity and that this information may be valuable for long-term management and conservation programs in similar habitats in SE Europe and beyond.
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Setubal, Robberson Bernal, and Ilsi Iob Boldrini. "Phytosociology and natural subtropical grassland communities on a granitic hill in southern Brazil." Rodriguésia 63, no. 3 (September 2012): 513–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s2175-78602012000300003.
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A phytosociological survey was carried out in a study area located at Serra do Sudeste, southern Brazil, where forests and grasslands are distributed in a mosaic, seeking to unravel diversity patterns in four different grassland communities. Grassland management traditionally adopted by the local population is characterized by burning practices that aim to eliminate woody species, delaying the forest expansion process that is favored by the extant climate. The number of plots distributed per community was as follows: rocky grasslands (17), dry grasslands (33), moist grasslands (15) and marshy grasslands (5). Different numbers of plots were used due to the natural conditions of these communities, with highest cover for dry grasslands, followed by rocky, moist and marshy grasslands. Data analyses consisted of calculating community indexes and parameters and exploratory multivariate analysis. We verified that c. 15% of species among the 177 registered taxa were highly dominant in the constitution of the vegetation matrix in all communities, whereas most of the species showed low frequency and cover values. Rocky and dry grasslands showed higher similarity and diversity indexes than moist and marshy grasslands. We concluded that the large number of rare or intermediate-frequency species is decisive for the high diversity found in these grasslands.
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Becker, Rafael Gustavo, Gabriela Paise, and Marco Aurélio Pizo. "A comparison of bird communities in natural and revegetated grasslands in south Brazil." Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia 27, no. 3 (September 2019): 199–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/bf03544471.
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AbstractNatural grasslands are declining due to loss, fragmentation and degradation, resulting in the decline of grassland-associated bird species. The Pampas Biome in south Brazil is not exception to this worldwide trend, facing the expansion of croplands and afforestation with exotic tree plantations for cellulose production. To cope with the continuous degradation and loss of grasslands, restoration is an important conservation strategy, but basic information regarding the response of the fauna to restoration practices in southeastern South America grasslands is lacking. Here we compared the structure of bird communities in natural grasslands and revegetated grasslands after mining by planting native and exotic grasses. We sampled birds using 5-min point counts with unlimited radius in three replicates of each habitat (natural and revegetated grasslands; average size 22.2 ± 2.3 ha). We also compared the vegetation density between the two habitat types. The structure of bird communities at natural and revegetated grasslands differed, with natural grasslands presenting higher species richness (42 vs. 35 species) and abundance (1459 vs. 839 records) than revegetated areas, and also a distinct species composition. Ten of the 11 grassland species that were associated to one of the two habitat types occurred more frequently in natural grasslands, which had higher vegetation density than revegetated areas. Even a decade after the beginning of the restoration process, revegetated areas did not resemble natural grasslands in bird species richness, abundance, and composition. These results differed from another study conducted in the Brazilian Pampas in which native plant species were used to actively restore a grassland. Therefore, until we have additional studies addressing the use of exotic grasses for the recovery of bird communities in South America grasslands, we encourage greater representation of native plant species in restoration projects.
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Špur, Natalija, Sonja Škornik, and Andrej Šorgo. "Influence of experience, interest, knowledge and learning source on children’s attitudes towards extensive grassland conservation." Environmental Conservation 47, no. 2 (April 15, 2020): 130–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892920000119.
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SummaryDecisions made by grassland owners are crucial for the conservation of extensive grasslands (EGs); however, the predispositions determining how adults decide to act in certain situations are developed during childhood. Children are future decision-makers and potential grassland owners; therefore, the factors that form and affect their attitudes towards EG conservation need to be examined. Positive attitudes could be developed during environmental education, and this study aimed to understand the influence of elementary school children’s interest in and knowledge of grasslands, sources of learning about grasslands and experience working with grasslands on their attitudes towards preserving EGs. Principal component analysis and structural equation modelling results showed that interest in grasslands directly influenced attitudes towards preserving EGs, while experience and learning also indirectly influenced these attitudes. Children’s interest should be stimulated through gathering experience with grasslands and education in order to resolve any potential misconceptions about EG management.
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Li, Meng, Xianzhou Zhang, Yongtao He, Ben Niu, and Jianshuang Wu. "Assessment of the vulnerability of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau." PeerJ 8 (February 6, 2020): e8513. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8513.
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Assessing ecosystem vulnerability to climate change is critical for sustainable and adaptive ecosystem management. Alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau are considered to be vulnerable to climate change, yet the ecosystem tends to maintain stability by increasing resilience and decreasing sensitivity. To date, the spatial pattern of grassland vulnerability to climate change and the mechanisms that vegetation applies to mitigate the impacts of climate change on grasslands by altering relevant ecosystem characteristics, especially sensitivity and resilience, remain unknown. In this study, we first assessed the spatial pattern of grassland vulnerability to climate change by integrating exposure, sensitivity, and resilience simultaneously, and then identified its driving forces. The results show that grasslands with high vulnerability were mainly located on the edges of the plateau, whereas alpine grasslands in the hinterlands of the plateau showed a low vulnerability. This spatial pattern of alpine grassland vulnerability was controlled by climatic exposure, and grassland sensitivity and resilience to climate change might also exacerbate or alleviate the degree of vulnerability. Climate change had variable impacts on different grassland types. Desert steppes were more vulnerable to climate change than alpine meadows and alpine steppes because of the high variability in environmental factors and their low ability to recover from perturbations. Our findings also confirm that grazing intensity, a quantitative index of the most important human disturbance on alpine grasslands in this plateau, was significantly correlated with ecosystem vulnerability. Moderate grazing intensity was of benefit for increasing grassland resilience and then subsequently reducing grassland vulnerability. Thus, this study suggests that future assessments of ecosystem vulnerability should not ignore anthropogenic disturbances, which might benefit environmental protection and sustainable management of grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.
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Valkó, Orsolya, András Kelemen, Orsolya Kiss, and Balázs Deák. "Patch and matrix characteristics determine the outcome of ecosystem engineering by mole rats in dry grasslands." PeerJ 10 (December 15, 2022): e14582. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14582.
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Background Burrowing mammals are important ecosystem engineers, especially in open ecosystems where they create patches that differ from the surrounding matrix in their structure or ecosystem functions. Methods We evaluated the fine-scale effects of a subterranean ecosystem engineer, the Lesser blind mole rat on the vegetation composition of sandy dry grasslands in Hungary. In this model system we tested whether the characteristics of the patch (mound size) and the matrix (total vegetation cover in the undisturbed grassland) influence the structural and functional contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grasslands. We sampled the vegetation of 80 mounds and 80 undisturbed grassland plots in four sites, where we recorded the total vegetation cover, and the occurrence and cover of each vascular plant species. We used two proxies to characterise the patches (mounds) and the matrix (undisturbed grassland): we measured the perimeter of the mounds and estimated the total vegetation cover of the undisturbed grasslands. First, we compared the vegetation characteristics of the mounds and the surrounding grasslands with general linear models. Second, we characterised the contrasts between the mounds and the undisturbed grassland by relative response indices (RRIs) of the vegetation characteristics studied in the first step. Results Species composition of the vegetation of the mounds and undisturbed grasslands was well separated in three out of the four study sites. Mounds were characterised by lower vegetation cover, lower cover of perennial graminoids, and higher diversity, and evenness compared to undisturbed grasslands. The contrast in vegetation cover between mounds and undisturbed grasslands increased with decreasing patch size. Increasing vegetation cover in the matrix grasslands increased the contrasts between the mounds and undisturbed grasslands in terms of total cover, perennial graminoid cover, diversity, and evenness. Our results suggest that mole rat mounds provide improved establishment conditions for subordinate species, because they are larger than other types of natural gaps and are characterised by less intense belowground competition. The ecosystem engineering effect, i.e., the contrast between the patches and the matrix was the largest in the more closed grasslands.
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Dias, Rafael A., Vinicius A. G. Bastazini, Maycon S. S. Gonçalves, Felipe C. Bonow, and Sandra C. Müller. "Shifts in composition of avian communities related to temperate-grassland afforestation in southeastern South America." Iheringia. Série Zoologia 103, no. 1 (March 2013): 12–19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s0073-47212013000100002.
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Afforestation of temperate grasslands with fast-growing trees for industrial pulpwood production is spreading in South America. Despite high afforestation rates resulting from governmental policies that stimulate pulpwood production in grasslands of southern Brazil and Uruguay, the impact of this activity on biodiversity remains to be properly assessed. We used an Impact-Reference study design to evaluate how grassland afforestation affects the composition of grassland bird assemblages. We sampled eucalyptus plantations and neighboring natural grasslands in southern Brazil from 2006-2009, and relied on nested sampling and analysis to separate the effects of afforestation from the natural variability of grasslands. We recorded a significant difference in composition between assemblages from grasslands and tree plantations. Species adapted to open, treeless areas tended to be negatively affected in relation to edge or forest birds in eucalyptus plantations. Afforestation is systematically replacing the bird assemblage of hilltop grasslands by a collection of common edge and forest species that occur in nearby riverine and hillside forests. Although most grassland birds negatively affected by tree plantations are common and widespread, observed and predicted afforestation rates in southeastern South America may result in regional population reductions in the near future.
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Hubert-Moy, Laurence, Jeanne Thibault, Elodie Fabre, Clémence Rozo, Damien Arvor, Thomas Corpetti, and Sébastien Rapinel. "Mapping Grassland Frequency Using Decadal MODIS 250 m Time-Series: Towards a National Inventory of Semi-Natural Grasslands." Remote Sensing 11, no. 24 (December 17, 2019): 3041. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs11243041.
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Semi-natural grasslands are perennial ecosystems and an important part of agricultural landscapes that are threatened by urbanization and agricultural intensification. However, implementing national grassland conservation policies remains challenging because their inventory, based on short-term observation, rarely discriminate semi-natural permanent from temporary grasslands. This study aims to map grassland frequency at a national scale over a long period using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m satellite time-series. A three-step method was applied to the entire area of metropolitan France (543,940 km²). First, land-use and land-cover maps—including grasslands—were produced for each year from 2006–2017 using the random forest classification of MOD13Q1 and MYD13Q1 products, which were calibrated and validated using field observations. Second, grassland frequency from 2006–2017 was calculated by combining the 12 annual maps. Third, sub-pixel analysis was performed using a reference layer with 20 m spatial resolution to quantify percentages of land-use and land-cover classes within MODIS pixels classified as grassland. Results indicate that grasslands were accurately modeled from 2006–2017 (F1-score 0.89–0.93). Nonetheless, modeling accuracy varied among biogeographical regions, with F1-score values that were very high for Continental (0.94 ± 0.01) and Atlantic (0.90 ± 0.02) regions, high for Alpine regions (0.86 ± 0.04) but moderate for Mediterranean regions (0.62 ± 0.10). The grassland frequency map for 2006–2017 at 250 m spatial resolution provides an unprecedented view of stable grassland patterns in agricultural areas compared to existing national and European GIS layers. Sub-pixel analysis showed that areas modeled as grasslands corresponded to grassland-dominant areas (60%–94%). This unique long-term and national monitoring of grasslands generates new opportunities for semi-natural grassland inventorying and agro-ecological management.
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Čelik, Tatjana. "Diversity of Bytterfly Fauna (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in the Skocjanske jame Regional Park." Acta Biologica Slovenica 47, no. 2 (December 1, 2004): 95–111. http://dx.doi.org/10.14720/abs.47.2.16983.
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In 2001 and 2002 buttert1y diversity were sampled in Skocjanske jame Regional Park, across 9 habitat types: dry grasslands, semi-dry grasslands, unmanaged dry grasslands (dry grasslands in the early successional stages), culti vated grasslands, abandoned fields, woodland margins, woodland paths, tracks and rides, screes and settlements. A total of 90 species of butterflies were recorded, which represent 50% of Slovenian butterfly fauna. All-European (33%), south-European (20%) and southeast-European (17%) species are prevailing. The butterfly fauna consists of grassland (56 spp.), seminemoral (16 spp.), nemoral (8 spp.) and ubiquitous (10 spp.) species. Among grassland species are 34 (39%) mesophilous and 22 (24%) xerothermophilous species. A total of 18 (20%) species are threatened at a European and a national level. Species composition of habitat type depends on floristic composition and structure of vegetation in habitat type, and land scape structure, which affects dispersal of butterfly species. The highest alfa diversity was found in dry grasslands (62 spp.) and unmanaged dry grasslands (60 spp.). The large proportions of special ist species and habitat heterogeneous area result in high values of beta diversity between habitat types and high gama diversity. For preserving the high species richness and threatened species in studied area, the most important habitat types are dry grasslands, semi-dry grasslands, unmanaged dry grasslands, woodland margins, woodland paths and screes.
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Fensham, RJ. "Native Grasslands of the Central Highlands, Queensland, Australia. Floristics, Regional Context and Conservation." Rangeland Journal 21, no. 1 (1999): 82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj9990082.
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A floristic classification of grassland and related woodland vegetation from the Central Highlands of Queensland suggests four broad types: Mountain coolibah (Eucalyptus orgadophila) woodland on basalt, Mitchell grassland (dominated by Astrebla lappacea) on alluvia and two closely related groups dominated by Dichanthium sericeum, Blue grassland on basalt and Blue grassland on sediment. An analysis including floristic data from grassland and woodland on vertosols from throughout southern, central and western Queensland revealed that the Blue grasslands of the Central Highlands are highly dissimilar from other grasslands in Queensland. Mountain coolibah woodland on basalt is represented within four reserves, but the other more arable grassland types are either not represented or only barely represented within the reserve system. The most immediate threatening process to these communities is conversion to crops and this process is exacerbated by the difficulties of managing the grasslands as native pasture. Large areas of grasslands are degraded, having been converted from dominance by native perennial grasses to the unpalatable, annual, exotic herb Partheniunz hysterophorus. Once this shift has occurred a long period with little or no production benefits is required to recover a sward of native perennial grasses and the cropping alternative becomes particularly favourable. The long-term security of the native grasslands of the Central Highlands will require an enhanced reserve system and incentives designed to retain appropriately managed native pasture. Key words: grassland, grazing, reserves, woodland. Queensland, exotics, Parthenium
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Wang, Ruijing, Qisheng Feng, Zheren Jin, and Tiangang Liang. "The Restoration Potential of the Grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau." Remote Sensing 14, no. 1 (December 24, 2021): 80. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/rs14010080.
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While the alpine grassland ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have generally improved in recent years, some grasslands still suffer from varying degrees of degradation. Studying the restoration potential (R) of the grasslands on the TP is crucial to the conservation and restoration of its alpine grassland ecosystems. Few studies have assessed the restoration value of the alpine grasslands on the TP. We attempt to estimate the actual (ANPP) and potential net primary productivity (PNPP) of the grasslands on the TP. On this basis, we defined R as the “gap” between the current and highest achievable levels of restoration of a grassland. Then, R estimates were yielded for the alpine grasslands on the TP, which we used to analyze the restoration value of these grasslands. Specifically, based on the meteorological data for the period 2001–2019, in conjunction with remote-sensing imagery acquired by a moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer for the same period, the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford approach model was selected to produce ANPP estimates for the grasslands on the TP. Then, the Thornthwaite memorial model, the principle of similar habitats, and the Chikugo model, were employed to generate PNPP estimates for these grasslands. In addition, the R of these grasslands was then assessed based on the difference between their PNPP and ANPP. The main results are summarized as follows. (1) A multiyear mean R of 332.33 g C·m–2 (81.59% of the ANPP) was determined for the grasslands on the TP over the period 2001–2019. A notable spatial distribution pattern of high Rs in the southwestern, eastern and middle parts of the TP, and low Rs in the northwestern part of the TP were also identified. Most of the grasslands in areas such as the southern part of Nagqu, the southwestern part of Ngari, Xigaze, Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haibei Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture were found to have high restoration value. (2) Grasslands with a stable R account were the highest proportion (76.13%) of all the grasslands on the TP, followed by those with a decreasing R (19.62%) and those with an increasing R (4.24%). Grasslands with an increasing R were mainly concentrated in the southern part of Xigaze, and parts of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Guoluo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. (3) Analysis based on the local conditions of the TP revealed a high restoration value for three types of grassland (i.e., alpine meadows, mountain meadows, and temperate meadow steppes), the grasslands distributed at altitudes of 3000–4000 m, and the grasslands located in the warm temperate zone. The results of this study are expected to provide scientific and theoretical support for the formulation of policies and measures aimed at conserving grasslands, as well as restoring ecosystems and degraded grasslands on the TP.
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Tang, Chuanjiang, Xinyu Fu, Dong Jiang, Jingying Fu, Xinyue Zhang, and Su Zhou. "Simulating Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Sichuan Grassland Net Primary Productivity Using the CASA Model and In Situ Observations." Scientific World Journal 2014 (2014): 1–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/956963.
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Net primary productivity (NPP) is an important indicator for grassland resource management and sustainable development. In this paper, the NPP of Sichuan grasslands was estimated by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model. The results were validated with in situ data. The overall precision reached 70%; alpine meadow had the highest precision at greater than 75%, among the three types of grasslands validated. The spatial and temporal variations of Sichuan grasslands were analyzed. The absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (APAR), light use efficiency (ε), and NPP of Sichuan grasslands peaked in August, which was a vigorous growth period during 2011. High values of APAR existed in the southwest regions in altitudes from 2000 m to 4000 m. Light use efficiency (ε) varied in the different types of grasslands. The Sichuan grassland NPP was mainly distributed in the region of 3000–5000 m altitude. The NPP of alpine meadow accounted for 50% of the total NPP of Sichuan grasslands.
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Aguilera Nuñez, Guillermo, Anders Glimskär, Giulia Zacchello, Richard M. Francksen, Mark J. Whittingham, and Matthew Hiron. "Agriculturally Improved and Semi-Natural Permanent Grasslands Provide Complementary Ecosystem Services in Swedish Boreal Landscapes." Agronomy 14, no. 3 (March 12, 2024): 567. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14030567.
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Permanent grasslands cover more than a third of European agricultural land and are important for a number of ecosystem services. Permanent grasslands used for agriculture are broadly separated into agriculturally improved and semi-natural grasslands. High cultural and natural values linked to semi-natural grasslands are well documented. However, in boreal and hemi-boreal agricultural landscapes, less information is available about the areal coverage of improved permanent grasslands and their role for ecosystem service provision and biodiversity. In Sweden, grasslands are administratively separated into semi-natural (i.e., land that cannot be ploughed) or arable (i.e., improved temporary or permanent grassland on land that can be ploughed). We used data from a large-scale environmental monitoring program to show that improved permanent grassland (i.e., permanent grasslands on arable fields) may be a previously unrecognised large area of the agricultural land use in Sweden. We show that improved permanent grasslands together with semi-natural grasslands are both comparable but also complementary providers of a range of ecosystem services (plant species richness, plant resources for pollinators and forage amount for livestock production). However, as expected, semi-natural grasslands with the highest-level AESs (special values) show high species richness values for vascular plants, plants indicating traditional semi-natural management conditions and red-listed species. Improved permanent grasslands on arable fields are likely an underestimated but integral part of the agricultural economy and ecological function in boreal landscapes that together with high nature value semi-natural grasslands provide a broad range of ecosystem services.
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Salamon-Albert, Éva, and Ferenc Horváth. "Vegetation of Külső-Somogy in Hungary II : Regional diversity and pattern of non-woody habitats at landscape scale." Natura Somogyiensis, no. 12 (2008): 17–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.24394/natsom.2008.12.17.
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In this study occurrence, proportion and landscape pattern of grasslands and wastelands are analysed in Külső-Somogy based on MÉTA method at landscape scale. The relative importance of these habitat types represent more than the half of the total number of non-woody habitats listed for Hungary. Wastelands (62%) and disturbed grasslands (54%) have relatively the greatest area in this region, where uncharacteristic dry or semi-dry grasslands and tall herb communities dominate. Semi-natural dry and semi-dry grassland habitat types are in subordinated position in the southern and eastern parts of the region, especially with habitats of E-group, H-group or uncharacteristic herb communities (OC). As semi-natural non-woody wet grasslands types habitats of B-group are the relatively most frequent with eu- and mesotrophic reed and Typha beds, nontussock beds of large sedges and mosaics of marsh communities of channels, ditches and artificial lakes. In landscape elements which are poor in grasslands uncharacteristic wet or dry grass habitats (O-group) are significant. The north-western parts of Külső-Somogy near Lake Balaton are strongly endangered by the reduction or lack of semi-natural grasslands. Regional land and grassland management ought to promote functioning of grassland regeneration processes.
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Liu, Yun-Hua, Jun-Hui Cheng, Bernhard Schmid, Li-Song Tang, and Jian-Dong Sheng. "Woody plant encroachment may decrease plant carbon storage in grasslands under future drier conditions." Journal of Plant Ecology 13, no. 2 (January 23, 2020): 213–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtaa003.
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Abstract Aims Woody plants are widely distributed in various grassland types along the altitudinal/climatic gradients in Xinjiang, China. Considering previously reported change in carbon (C) storage following woody plant encroachment in grasslands and the mediating effect of climate on this change, we predicted that a positive effect of woody plants on plant C storage in semiarid grasslands may revert to a negative effect in arid grasslands. We first investigated the spatial variation of aboveground C (AGC) and belowground C (BGC) storage among grassland types and then tested our prediction. Methods We measured the living AGC storage, litter C (LC) and BGC storage of plants in two physiognomic types, wooded grasslands (aboveground biomass of woody plants at least 50%) and pure grasslands without woody plants in six grassland types representing a gradient form semiarid to arid conditions across Xinjiang. Important Findings Living AGC, LC, BGC and total plant C storage increased from desert to mountain meadows. These increases could also be explained by increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) or decreasing mean annual temperature (MAT), suggesting that grassland types indeed represented an aridity gradient. Woody plants had an effect on the plant C storage both in size and in distribution relative to pure grasslands. The direction and strength of the effect of woody plants varied with grassland types due to the mediating effect of the climate, with wetter conditions promoting a positive effect of woody plants. Woody plants increased vegetation-level AGC through their high AGC relative to herbaceous plants. However, more negative effects of woody plants on herbaceous plants with increasing aridity led to a weaker increase in the living AGC in arid desert, steppe desert and desert steppe than in the less arid other grassland types. Under greater aridity (lower MAP and higher MAT), woody plants allocated less biomass to roots and had lower BGC and had a more negative impact on herbaceous plant production, thereby reducing vegetation-level BGC in the desert, steppe desert and desert steppe. In sum, this resulted in a negative effect of woody plants on total plant C storage in the most arid grasslands in Xinjiang. As a consequence, we predict that woody plant encroachment may decrease rather than increase C storage in grasslands under future drier conditions.
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Guo, Zheng Gang, Tian Gang Liang, Xing Yuan Liu, and Fu Jun Niu. "A new approach to grassland management for the arid Aletai region in Northern China." Rangeland Journal 28, no. 2 (2006): 97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/rj05018.
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Land degradation in the arid Aletai Region in northern China is not only detrimental to animal production, but also reduces the ability to conserve water resources by destabilising the catchments of rivers which affects runoff, thus, threatening the sustainable use of these grasslands. A new approach to grassland management based on carrying capacity and ecological services value of grassland types, using an index of classification management (ICG), was designed to ensure the sustainability of grassland ecosystems. In this approach, grassland is classified into 3 management sectors. The first is conservation grassland, which is mainly devoted to ecological and social values; the second is the moderately productive grassland, dedicated to multiple benefits by rational use; and the third is intensively productive grassland, focusing on maximum economic effect. For the arid Aletai region, no intensively productive grassland was available. Conservation grassland occupied 2.5 million ha, accounted for 25.4% of grassland area, and included alpine meadow, mountain meadow, mountain meadow steppe, mountain steppe and flat meadow. In these grasslands, grazing should be eliminated to allow restoration of degenerated areas, protect grasslands with important ecological values from destruction, and to further improve the environment. Moderately productive grassland covered 7.3 million ha, and the grassland types were alpine steppe, mountain desert steppe, plain desert steppe, steppe desert, and plain desert. Agricultural measures, such as fertiliser and irrigation application, should be used to enhance the productivity of these grasslands.
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Zhao, Na, Yang Zhuang, Ling Jin, Qiqige Wuyun, and Ji Zhao. "Evaluation of Potential and Value on Grassland Carbon Sink - A Case Study in Xilinhot of Inner Mongolia, China." Advanced Materials Research 524-527 (May 2012): 2562–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.524-527.2562.
Full textAbstract:
Durban climate conference decided to continue the second commitment period of the Kyoto protocol, and announced to start Green Climate Fund, which provided great opportunities for the rapid development of the carbon trading market. The problem of grassland carbon sink has already received more and more attention from the countries all over the world, and the grassland carbon sink potential and value also got more attention from people. Xilinhot has abundant grassland resources and it is one of the main grasslands in Inner Mongolia. The huge carbon sink has important ecological function and also contains huge economic benefits. Based on the principle of additionality, this paper proposed the method of calculating the carbon sink potential of grasslands, and calculated and analyzed the carbon sink potential of degraded grasslands in Xilinhot. The results indicated that the existing huge carbon sink potential of Xilinhot grasslands was 0.733-0.869Tg C/a. According to the carbon sequestration cost price of afforestation cost method (260.9 RMB yuan / ton C), we estimated the value of grassland carbon sink was 191.2 - 226.7 million RMB yuan / year in Xilinhot.
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Chang, Shenghua, Kaili Xie, Wucheng Du, Qianmin Jia, Tianhan Yan, Hao Yang, and Fujiang Hou. "Effects of Mowing Times on Nutrient Composition and In Vitro Digestibility of Forage in Three Sown Pastures of China Loess Plateau." Animals 12, no. 20 (October 17, 2022): 2807. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12202807.
Full textAbstract:
Mowing, Mowing, which affects the nutritional levels of grasslands, is the main utilization of sown pasture. We sowed alfalfa monoculture grassland, tall fescue monoculture grassland and tall fescue + alfalfa mixed grassland in typical steppe of the Loess Plateau to investigate the nutrient compositions and in vitro degradability of those three grasslands under different mowing stubble times and to provide reference for nutrient management of sown pastures. The results showed that the stubble time significantly affected (P < 0.05) the nutrient compositions and mineral elements of forages in alfalfa monoculture grassland, whereas had no effects on the nutrient compositions and dry matter digestibility of forages in tall fescue monoculture grassland and alfalfa + tall fescue mixed grassland. The relative feeding value of mixed grassland of alfalfa and tall fescue was increased by 2.6-22.4% as compared to monoculture grasslands. The model constructed based on forage nutrient content could accurately predict the forage dry matter degradability of alfalfa monoculture, tall fescue monoculture and mixed alfalfa and tall fescue, respectively.
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Chen, Yusen, Shihang Zhang, Yongdong Wang, Talgat Abzhanov, Dani Sarsekova, and Zhazira Zhumabekova. "The Spatial Distribution of Soil Nitrogen Storage and the Factors That Influence It in Central Asia’s Typical Arid and Semiarid Grasslands." Diversity 14, no. 6 (June 8, 2022): 459. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d14060459.
Full textAbstract:
Using a structural equation model (SEM), this paper investigates the response of soil nitrogen content of five typical grasslands in the middle line countries of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative to the changes of climate variables, soil pH value, and normalized vegetation index, and employs the principal component analysis method to determine the spatial variation characteristics and influencing factors of nitrogen reserves in different grasslands. Pontiac grassland (PS), Middle East grassland (MES), Kazakh grassland (KS), Kazakh forest grassland (KFS), and Kazakh semi-desert grassland (KFS) are the five grasslands in the research region (KSD). The results indicated that (1) the nitrogen reserves of the five grassland soils (0–100 cm) in the research area were 7.49 Pg, or approximately 5.7 percent of the total world nitrogen reserves. The sum of the five grasslands’ 0–30 cm and 0–50 cm N reserves accounted for 36.3 percent and 63.1 percent, respectively, of the total 0–100 cm N reserves. The density of nitrogen in the soil (0–100 cm) varied significantly between grasslands, ranging from 1.47 to 3.87 kg/m2, with an average of 3.10 kg/m2. (2) PCA analysis revealed a substantial positive correlation between soil N and MAP (p < 0.01), a negative correlation between soil N and Srad (p < 0.01), and a high degree of similarity between the three grassland samples, KFS, KS, and KSD. (3) The decision tree algorithm determined that MAP had the most relative importance for changes in soil nitrogen content in PS, MES, and KFS, whereas Srad had the greatest relative importance for changes in soil nitrogen content in KS and KSD. The pH showed the least proportional impact for variations in soil N concentration in all five grasslands. (4) Different factors influence the change in soil N content across diverse grasslands. The principal positive driving factor of soil N content in KS and KSD is Srad, with loads of −0.39 and −0.44, respectively. The principal negative driving factor of soil N content in PS and MES is Map, with loads of 0.38 and 0.2, respectively. In the SEM model of soil nitrogen content in KFS, no environmental variables had a significant effect on N content, and the model’s R2 value was 0.08, indicating an average fit.
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Ievinsh, Gederts. "Disentangling the Belowground Web of Biotic Interactions in Temperate Coastal Grasslands: From Fundamental Knowledge to Novel Applications." Land 12, no. 6 (June 10, 2023): 1209. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12061209.
Full textAbstract:
Grasslands represent an essential part of terrestrial ecosystems. In particular, coastal grasslands are dominated by the influence of environmental factors resulting from sea–land interaction. Therefore, coastal grasslands are extremely heterogeneous both spatially and temporally. In this review, recent knowledge in the field of biotic interactions in coastal grassland soil is summarized. A detailed analysis of arbuscular mycorrhiza symbiosis, rhizobial symbiosis, plant–parasitic plant interactions, and plant–plant interactions is performed. The role of particular biotic interactions in the functioning of a coastal grassland ecosystem is characterized. Special emphasis is placed on future directions and development of practical applications for sustainable agriculture and environmental restoration. It is concluded that plant biotic interactions in soil are omnipresent and important constituents in different ecosystem services provided by coastal grasslands.
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Draskovic, Branislav, Sladjana Petronic, Marko Gutalj, and Natasa Maric. "Horizontal and vertical spatial distribution and loss of grassland in Bosnia and Herzegovina." Journal of the Geographical Institute Jovan Cvijic, SASA 72, no. 2 (2022): 159–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/ijgi2202159d.
Full textAbstract:
Two databases related to grassland in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) have been used in this research-the Copernicus Grassland (GRA) and CORINE Land Cover (CLC). The data have been processed by using GIS tools, and the spatial distribution of grass vegetation in relation to three biogeographical and four elevation zones has been determined. By using the Copernicus Water and Wetness (WaW) database, an insight into the coverage of grass vegetation in wetlands has been obtained. In addition, the analysis of changes in databases determined the total amount and location of the largest grassland losses. Based on GRA database, B&H is one of the richest countries, with 22.4% of its territory covered by grassland. According to the CLC database, pastures occupy 6.3% and natural grasslands 5.6% of the territory of B&H. However, grassland is exposed to various anthropogenic and natural processes that affect its distribution, quality, functions, etc. The CLC database has been processed by extracting the grasslands (pastures and natural grasslands) and calculating their spatial coverage and changes which happened during the three six-year periods from 2000 to 2018. The trend of decreasing pasture areas and increasing natural grasslands has been noticed. The pastures are most endangered by the processes of conversion to other types of agricultural land, while natural grassland increased spatial coverage during the period 2012-2018 mostly due to the revitalization and grazing of burned areas in the region of Herzegovina. Grasslands have been particularly targeted for afforestation and cropland conversion at present.
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Schwarz, A. G., and Ross W. Wein. "Threatened dry grasslands in the continental boreal forests of Wood Buffalo National Park." Canadian Journal of Botany 75, no. 8 (August 1, 1997): 1363–70. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b97-849.
Full textAbstract:
Dry grasslands in Wood Buffalo National Park are unique biological features at 60°N latitude, since they contain plant species normally found in more southern grasslands at 50–55°N latitude. The objectives of this study were to inventory dry grasslands, classify them according to similarity of species cover, and establish relationships with understory species in Populus tremuloides and shrub communities. Dry grasslands were studied at nine sites; most were clustered in the Salt River and Peace Point areas. The largest unit of grassland was about 3.0 ha, and most units were less than 0.5 ha. This contrasts with the hundreds of hectares recorded earlier in the century. Of the 128 vascular plant species identified, 29 are considered as southern, and of these, 15 are regionally rare. Sixty-four plots were classified into nine community types, using two-way indicator species analysis. A group of six communities were dominated by grass and shrub species with a component of southern grassland species. Three communities, strongly dominated by Populus and shrubs, represent community types that invade dry grasslands. Ordination of plots using detrended correspondence analysis showed relationships among the community types and a clear separation of southern grassland species from those found in forest communities. Vascular plant diversity, as represented by mean species richness, ranged from about 15 to 28, and Shannon diversity indices ranged from 1.883 to 2.615. The cover of southern grassland species was negatively correlated (correlation coefficient of −0.524) with cover of tall shrubs and trees, suggesting that the dry grasslands of Wood Buffalo National Park are threatened by tree and shrub invasion, which is due, in part, to a lack of recent fires at these sites. Key words: northern grasslands, biodiversity, endangered species, endangered spaces.
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Ma, Li, Qing Wang, and Tianzhi Huang. "Soil Ecological Stoichiometric Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Degraded Alpine Grassland in Northwest Sichuan." Journal of Biobased Materials and Bioenergy 18, no. 3 (May 1, 2024): 473–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1166/jbmb.2024.2385.
Full textAbstract:
Alpine grasslands are important ecosystems providing a variety of ecosystem services. However, alpine grassland degradation poses significant threats impacting soil health, stabilization and soil ecosystem function. This study aims to investigate the soil ecological stoichiometric characteristics and influencing factors in alpine grasslands, to find the primary contributing factors in soil degradation process. Soil samples were collected from alpine grassland areas with varying degrees of degradation, including non-, lightly, moderately and severely degraded (ND, LD, MD, SD). Soil characteristics including soil organic carbon (SOC), total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), available phosphorus (AP), available nitrogen (AN), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), and microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN) were measured. The results revealed that soil TN, N:P ratios and C:P ratios were below the average level of China’s soil, while C:N ratio were above the average. With increasing aggravation of grassland degradation, SOC, TP, AN, MBN and MBC significantly decreased. Correlation were observed between SOC and C:N ratios as well as C:P ratios in alpine grassland with different degradation degrees (P < 0.05). The C:N ratios in degraded grasslands were lower than those in ND grasslands but higher than the average level of China’s soil. Additionally, the N:P and C:P ratios of LD and MD were significantly higher than those of ND, but lower than the China’s soil average level. In conclusion, soil degradation in alpine grasslands is associated with lower TN contents, higher C:N ratios, and lower N:P ratios, which can impact soil organic matter decomposition and act as plant growth restriction factor. This study provides comprehensive insights into the ecological stoichiometry of alpine grasslands, understanding these factors is essential for the sustainable management of alpine grasslands and restoration strategies for the ecosystem services.
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Dzwonko, Zbigniew, and Stefania Loster. "Changes in plant species composition in abandoned and restored limestone grassiands - the effects of tree and shrub cutting." Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae 77, no. 1 (2011): 67–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.5586/asbp.2008.010.
Full textAbstract:
Abandoned semi-natural limestone grasslands are often overgrown by shrubs and trees. Little is know if and to what extant xerothermic limestone grasslands can be restored by tree cutting. This was tested in a 12-year experiment after the clearing of a 35-year-old secondary pine wood developed on unmanaged grassland in the close proximity of not overgrown old grassland. After 12 years, there were no significant differences in the number of field layer species on the plots in the old and restored grasslands. But over this period the number of meadow species increased in all sites, while the number of xerothermic calcareous species increased significantly only in the old grassland plots. The developing shrub layer negatively influenced the number of nitrophilous and ruderal species in grasslands restored in the former close and open woods, and the number of all species, including the number of non-tufted perennials and perennials with vegetative spread, in the former open wood. The number of meadow species increased in years with higher precipitation in late spring and early summer. The obtained results suggest that in overgrowing grasslands shrubs and trees should be cut every few years, before their covers increase to about 30%. However, this treatment alone will not stop the changes to communities with dominance of tall and vegetatively spreading grasses and forbs. Cutting trees and shrubs in sites where most grassland species have already vanished, without additional managements supporting their dispersal, seedling recruitment and development, is not sufficient to restore limestone grasslands rich in xerothermic species.
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Ciprian, Stroia, Sarac Ioan, Irina Petrescu, Emilian Onisan, and Stroia Marius. "The Use of Grass Typology in Diagnosing and Sustainably Managing Permanent Grasslands." Sustainability 16, no. 15 (July 24, 2024): 6309. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su16156309.
Full textAbstract:
Permanent grasslands are characterized by herbaceous flora adapted to local conditions, with deep root systems that facilitate resource uptake and provide resistance to anthropogenic and abiotic stresses. This study aimed to develop and implement efficient diagnostic and agronomic management tools for farmers. In order to demonstrate the methodology, we selected five diverse grasslands with different characteristics. The research tested the grass typology method to diagnose these areas and establish optimal management practices based on floristic composition. The method was applied to achieve the rational management of the grasslands studied. The results provided valuable data on floristic composition, species frequency, and specific functional indices. The characterization of the five grasslands in Moșnița Nouă in Timiș County enabled us to recognize optimal grassland strategies for each area, maximizing production based on the grass typology. Thus, the study demonstrated the impact of using simplified tools to improve grassland diagnosis and management, significantly contributing to the more sustainable maintenance of the permanent grasslands for farmers.
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Stolarski, Oiliam, João A. Santos, André Fonseca, Chenyao Yang, Henrique Trindade, and Helder Fraga. "Climate Change Impacts on Grassland Vigour in Northern Portugal." Land 12, no. 10 (October 12, 2023): 1914. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12101914.
Full textAbstract:
Grasslands are key elements of the global agricultural system, covering around two-thirds of all agricultural areas and playing an important role in biodiversity conservation, food security, and balancing the carbon cycle. Climate change is a growing challenge for the agricultural sector and may threaten grasslands. To address these challenges, it is vital to conduct in-depth climate studies to understand the vulnerability of grasslands. In this study, machine learning was used to build an advanced model able to evaluate the future impact of climate change on grassland vigour. The objective was to identify the most vulnerable grassland areas, analyse the interaction between climate and grassland performance, and outline management strategies against the detrimental implications of climate change. A Random Forest (RF) regression was used to model the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) using the Standardised Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The model explained 76% of the NDVI variability. The foremost significant predictors of grassland vigour are the SPEI with temporal lags of 1, 4, and 12 months. These findings suggest that the vegetative status of grasslands exhibits high sensitivity to short-term drought while also being influenced by the memory of past climatic events over longer periods. Future projections indicate an overall reduction in grassland vigour, mostly in RCP8.5. The results indicate that negative effects will be more pronounced in mountainous regions, which currently host the most vigorous grasslands. Dry lowlands in the north should continue to have the lowest vigour in the future. A substantial reduction in vigour is expected in autumn, with an effect on grassland phenology. The development of grasslands in winter, favoured by increasing temperatures and precipitation, can advance the harvesting of grassland (cutting) and the grazing of livestock. To ensure that vigour is maintained in less favourable zones, adaptation measures will be needed, as well as more efficient management of highlands to provide an adequate level of production.
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Fuhlendorf, Samuel D., Craig A. Davis, R. Dwayne Elmore, Laura E. Goodman, and Robert G. Hamilton. "Perspectives on grassland conservation efforts: should we rewild to the past or conserve for the future?" Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 373, no. 1761 (October 22, 2018): 20170438. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2017.0438.
Full textAbstract:
Grasslands are among the most imperilled biomes of the world. Identifying the most appropriate framework for restoring grasslands is dependent on the objectives of restoration, which is inherently determined by human priorities. Debates over the appropriate conservation model for grasslands have often focused on which species of herbivores should be the focus of restoration efforts. Here we discuss three perspectives of herbivore-based conservation in North American grasslands. First, the Pleistocene rewilding perspective is based upon the idea that early humans contributed to the demise of megafauna that were important to the evolution and development of many of North America's grasslands; therefore, their aim of restoration is rewilding of landscapes to pre-human times. Second, the bison rewilding perspective considers American bison a keystone herbivore that is culturally and ecologically important to North American grasslands. A third perspective focuses on restoring the pattern and processes of herbivory on grasslands and is less concerned about which herbivore is introduced to the landscape. We evaluate each of these three conservation perspectives in terms of a framework that includes a human domain, an herbivore domain and a biophysical domain. While all conservation perspectives partly address the three domains, they all fall short in key areas. Specifically, they fail to recognize that past, current and future humans are intimately linked to grassland patterns and processes and will continue to play a role in structuring grasslands. Furthermore, these perspectives seem to only superficially consider the role of fragmentation and climate change in influencing grassland patterns and processes. As such, we argue that future grassland conservation efforts must depend on the development of a model that better integrates societal, economic and policy objectives and recognizes climate change, fragmentation and humans as an integral part of these ecosystems. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Trophic rewilding: consequences for ecosystems under global change’.
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Zhao, Xu Dong, De Gang Zhang, Li Na Shi, and Yong Shun Yang. "Effects of Ecological Projects on Grassland Soil Physicochemical Properties in Three-River Headwater." Advanced Materials Research 807-809 (September 2013): 843–47. http://dx.doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.807-809.843.
Full textAbstract:
The depth variations of soil physicochemical properties in the degraded native grasslands and the artificially restored grasslands were studied in the Three-river headwater areas of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, China. The results showed: (1) With the increase of the gradient of restoration years, soil water content, total chemical properties, total potassium, phosphorus, available phosphorus and potassium were increased thereafter in the artificial grasslands. (2) With the increase of grassland degradation gradient, soil water content was gradually reduced, and the total N, K, the organic matter didnt gradually reduced also. (3) Both restoration years and degradation degree didnt influence the nutrient distribution in soil. (4) The organic matter, total N and K of degraded grassland were increased by artificial grassland construction. Therefore, artificial grassland construction canbe used as an effective measure of ecological projects in the Three-river headwater area.
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Tiscornia, Guadalupe, Martín Jaurena, and Walter Baethgen. "Drivers, Process, and Consequences of Native Grassland Degradation: Insights from a Literature Review and a Survey in Río de la Plata Grasslands." Agronomy 9, no. 5 (May 10, 2019): 239. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/agronomy9050239.
Full textAbstract:
Natural grasslands are being progressively degraded around the world due to human-induced action (e.g., overgrazing), but there is neither a widely accepted conceptual framework to approach degradation studies nor a clear definition of what “grassland degradation” is. Most of the drivers, processes, and consequences related to grassland degradation are widespread and are usually separately quoted in the literature. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive framework with different conceptual categories, for monitoring grassland degradation, and a new definition based on current ones. We provide a conceptual update of grassland degradation based on a literature review and an expert survey, focused on the Río de la Plata grasslands (RPG). We identified “drivers” as external forces or changes that cause degradation; “processes” as measurable changes in grasslands conditions that can be evaluated using indicators; and “consequences” as the impacts or results of the process of grassland degradation. We expect that this conceptual framework will contribute to monitoring programs, to support management decisions, to design conservation measures, and to communicate the importance of grasslands conservation and the different concepts involved. Particularly for RPG, we expect that this paper will contribute to promote sustainable management practices in this important and often neglected ecosystem.