Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna

Autores
Mochi, Lucia Sol; Mazía, Cristina Noemí; Biganzoli, Fernando; Aguiar, Martin Roberto
Año de publicación
2022
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Woody encroachment in savannas represents an ecological process of current global interest given its negative impact on ecosystem functioning, particularly on forage production. Traditional savanna models propose competition and niche differentiation as the main mechanisms allowing tree-grass coexistence. Demographic models, instead, propose abiotic and biotic factors as bottlenecks controlling vital rates and transitions from seeds to adult trees. The role played by domestic grazing on woody encroachment is yet controversial. Here, using a multistage tree life approach, we combine both models and evaluate the role of grazing and herbaceous vegetation on woody recruitment in a Neotropical savanna dominated by Vachellia caven, a successful and widely spread encroacher tree species. We performed three experiments to evaluate seed predation, seedling emergence and survival of V. caven by manipulating cattle grazing (grazed and ungrazed areas) and herbaceous vegetation presence (vegetated and unvegetated). Finally, we combined the results of the three experiments to estimate the probability of plant recruitment across these experimental factors. Grazing decreased seed predation by half, did not modify seedling emergence and decreased seedling survival. Herbaceous vegetation did not affect seed predation nor seedling emergence rate, but increased seedling survival. Overall, the net effect of grazing on V. caven recruitment was neutral since the increase in seed availability due to the reduction in seed predation rate was compensated by the negative effect of grazing on seedling survival. Our analysis revealed that cattle grazing and herbaceous vegetation had contrasting effects on the seed and seedling life stages. We propose that in order to restrain the early stages of encroachment, cattle grazing pressure could be managed following the seasonality of demographic tree transitions. Through rotational grazing amongst paddocks, stocking rates could be relaxed during the primary dispersal stage to maximize granivory, and then increased to enhance the chance of seedling consumption and trampling.
Fil: Mochi, Lucia Sol. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentina
Fil: Mazía, Cristina Noemí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Dasonomia; Argentina
Fil: Biganzoli, Fernando. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentina
Fil: Aguiar, Martin Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
Materia
CATTLE GRAZING
SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM
SEED PREDATION
TREE DEMOGRAPHY
TREE-GRASS INTERACTIONS
VACHELLIA CAVEN
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/201315

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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savannaMochi, Lucia SolMazía, Cristina NoemíBiganzoli, FernandoAguiar, Martin RobertoCATTLE GRAZINGSAVANNA ECOSYSTEMSEED PREDATIONTREE DEMOGRAPHYTREE-GRASS INTERACTIONSVACHELLIA CAVENhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1Woody encroachment in savannas represents an ecological process of current global interest given its negative impact on ecosystem functioning, particularly on forage production. Traditional savanna models propose competition and niche differentiation as the main mechanisms allowing tree-grass coexistence. Demographic models, instead, propose abiotic and biotic factors as bottlenecks controlling vital rates and transitions from seeds to adult trees. The role played by domestic grazing on woody encroachment is yet controversial. Here, using a multistage tree life approach, we combine both models and evaluate the role of grazing and herbaceous vegetation on woody recruitment in a Neotropical savanna dominated by Vachellia caven, a successful and widely spread encroacher tree species. We performed three experiments to evaluate seed predation, seedling emergence and survival of V. caven by manipulating cattle grazing (grazed and ungrazed areas) and herbaceous vegetation presence (vegetated and unvegetated). Finally, we combined the results of the three experiments to estimate the probability of plant recruitment across these experimental factors. Grazing decreased seed predation by half, did not modify seedling emergence and decreased seedling survival. Herbaceous vegetation did not affect seed predation nor seedling emergence rate, but increased seedling survival. Overall, the net effect of grazing on V. caven recruitment was neutral since the increase in seed availability due to the reduction in seed predation rate was compensated by the negative effect of grazing on seedling survival. Our analysis revealed that cattle grazing and herbaceous vegetation had contrasting effects on the seed and seedling life stages. We propose that in order to restrain the early stages of encroachment, cattle grazing pressure could be managed following the seasonality of demographic tree transitions. Through rotational grazing amongst paddocks, stocking rates could be relaxed during the primary dispersal stage to maximize granivory, and then increased to enhance the chance of seedling consumption and trampling.Fil: Mochi, Lucia Sol. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; ArgentinaFil: Mazía, Cristina Noemí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Dasonomia; ArgentinaFil: Biganzoli, Fernando. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; ArgentinaFil: Aguiar, Martin Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; ArgentinaElsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag2022-05info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/201315Mochi, Lucia Sol; Mazía, Cristina Noemí; Biganzoli, Fernando; Aguiar, Martin Roberto; Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna; Elsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag; Basic and Applied Ecology; 60; 5-2022; 13-241439-1791CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S143917912200007Xinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.baae.2022.01.007info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T10:12:19Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/201315instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 10:12:19.759CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
title Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
spellingShingle Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
Mochi, Lucia Sol
CATTLE GRAZING
SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM
SEED PREDATION
TREE DEMOGRAPHY
TREE-GRASS INTERACTIONS
VACHELLIA CAVEN
title_short Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
title_full Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
title_fullStr Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
title_full_unstemmed Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
title_sort Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Mochi, Lucia Sol
Mazía, Cristina Noemí
Biganzoli, Fernando
Aguiar, Martin Roberto
author Mochi, Lucia Sol
author_facet Mochi, Lucia Sol
Mazía, Cristina Noemí
Biganzoli, Fernando
Aguiar, Martin Roberto
author_role author
author2 Mazía, Cristina Noemí
Biganzoli, Fernando
Aguiar, Martin Roberto
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv CATTLE GRAZING
SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM
SEED PREDATION
TREE DEMOGRAPHY
TREE-GRASS INTERACTIONS
VACHELLIA CAVEN
topic CATTLE GRAZING
SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM
SEED PREDATION
TREE DEMOGRAPHY
TREE-GRASS INTERACTIONS
VACHELLIA CAVEN
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Woody encroachment in savannas represents an ecological process of current global interest given its negative impact on ecosystem functioning, particularly on forage production. Traditional savanna models propose competition and niche differentiation as the main mechanisms allowing tree-grass coexistence. Demographic models, instead, propose abiotic and biotic factors as bottlenecks controlling vital rates and transitions from seeds to adult trees. The role played by domestic grazing on woody encroachment is yet controversial. Here, using a multistage tree life approach, we combine both models and evaluate the role of grazing and herbaceous vegetation on woody recruitment in a Neotropical savanna dominated by Vachellia caven, a successful and widely spread encroacher tree species. We performed three experiments to evaluate seed predation, seedling emergence and survival of V. caven by manipulating cattle grazing (grazed and ungrazed areas) and herbaceous vegetation presence (vegetated and unvegetated). Finally, we combined the results of the three experiments to estimate the probability of plant recruitment across these experimental factors. Grazing decreased seed predation by half, did not modify seedling emergence and decreased seedling survival. Herbaceous vegetation did not affect seed predation nor seedling emergence rate, but increased seedling survival. Overall, the net effect of grazing on V. caven recruitment was neutral since the increase in seed availability due to the reduction in seed predation rate was compensated by the negative effect of grazing on seedling survival. Our analysis revealed that cattle grazing and herbaceous vegetation had contrasting effects on the seed and seedling life stages. We propose that in order to restrain the early stages of encroachment, cattle grazing pressure could be managed following the seasonality of demographic tree transitions. Through rotational grazing amongst paddocks, stocking rates could be relaxed during the primary dispersal stage to maximize granivory, and then increased to enhance the chance of seedling consumption and trampling.
Fil: Mochi, Lucia Sol. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentina
Fil: Mazía, Cristina Noemí. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomia. Departamento de Producción Vegetal. Cátedra de Dasonomia; Argentina
Fil: Biganzoli, Fernando. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario; Argentina
Fil: Aguiar, Martin Roberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura; Argentina
description Woody encroachment in savannas represents an ecological process of current global interest given its negative impact on ecosystem functioning, particularly on forage production. Traditional savanna models propose competition and niche differentiation as the main mechanisms allowing tree-grass coexistence. Demographic models, instead, propose abiotic and biotic factors as bottlenecks controlling vital rates and transitions from seeds to adult trees. The role played by domestic grazing on woody encroachment is yet controversial. Here, using a multistage tree life approach, we combine both models and evaluate the role of grazing and herbaceous vegetation on woody recruitment in a Neotropical savanna dominated by Vachellia caven, a successful and widely spread encroacher tree species. We performed three experiments to evaluate seed predation, seedling emergence and survival of V. caven by manipulating cattle grazing (grazed and ungrazed areas) and herbaceous vegetation presence (vegetated and unvegetated). Finally, we combined the results of the three experiments to estimate the probability of plant recruitment across these experimental factors. Grazing decreased seed predation by half, did not modify seedling emergence and decreased seedling survival. Herbaceous vegetation did not affect seed predation nor seedling emergence rate, but increased seedling survival. Overall, the net effect of grazing on V. caven recruitment was neutral since the increase in seed availability due to the reduction in seed predation rate was compensated by the negative effect of grazing on seedling survival. Our analysis revealed that cattle grazing and herbaceous vegetation had contrasting effects on the seed and seedling life stages. We propose that in order to restrain the early stages of encroachment, cattle grazing pressure could be managed following the seasonality of demographic tree transitions. Through rotational grazing amongst paddocks, stocking rates could be relaxed during the primary dispersal stage to maximize granivory, and then increased to enhance the chance of seedling consumption and trampling.
publishDate 2022
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2022-05
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/201315
Mochi, Lucia Sol; Mazía, Cristina Noemí; Biganzoli, Fernando; Aguiar, Martin Roberto; Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna; Elsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag; Basic and Applied Ecology; 60; 5-2022; 13-24
1439-1791
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/201315
identifier_str_mv Mochi, Lucia Sol; Mazía, Cristina Noemí; Biganzoli, Fernando; Aguiar, Martin Roberto; Contrasting effects of grazing on the early stages of woody encroachment in a Neotropical savanna; Elsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag; Basic and Applied Ecology; 60; 5-2022; 13-24
1439-1791
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S143917912200007X
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.baae.2022.01.007
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier Gmbh, Urban & Fischer Verlag
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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