Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?

Autores
Cingolani, Ana María; Vaieretti, Maria Victoria; Giorgis, Melisa Adriana; Poca, María; Tecco, Paula Andrea; Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel
Año de publicación
2014
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
The livestock industry is converting mountain ecosystems in central Argentina into rocky deserts. However, it helps to conserve plant biodiversity, presumably because the ecosystem has evolved under wild herbivores now locally extinct. We hypothesized that low or moderate livestock stocking rates, instead of the high stocking rates currently used for commercial production, might mimic pre-hispanic herbivore pressures. Thus, the mosaic of physiognomies necessary to maintain landscape diversity and soil integrity could be preserved. To test this hypothesis we tracked physiognomic changes in 200 plots (16 m2 each) under different stocking rates, including livestock exclusion, for five years. Contrary to our expectations, we found that both low and moderate stocking rates failed to maintain landscape diversity. As observed for livestock exclusion, low to moderate stocking rates promote retraction and, finally, elimination of short grazing lawns and their replacement by tall tussock grasslands, or possibly by woody vegetation. In turn, heavy grazing pressure maintains the desired short lawn patches in the landscape, but also promotes a concomitant loss and eventual elimination of woodlands, together with an expansion of bare rock as a consequence of soil erosion. These results indicate that the present mosaic of physiognomic types is difficult to maintain and raise questions about the past stability of the ecosystem. We suggest that during the last 400 years of livestock production in the ecosystem, short lawns have been maintained by means of heavy stocking rates and anthropogenic fires ignited to eliminate tussocks. However, this relative stability of lawns has been attained concomitantly with a progressive loss of soils and woodland area. We also discuss some possible explanations for the maintenance of short lawns before the introduction of livestock, based on main climatic and floristic shifts during the late Holocene
Fil: Cingolani, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Vaieretti, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Giorgis, Melisa Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Poca, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Tecco, Paula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Materia
Physiognomy
Soil Erosion
Stocking Rate
Tussock Grasslands
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/22535
Acceder
id CONICETDig_fa95ed62a2d08f356a8231157c15bdf4
oai_identifier_str oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/22535
network_acronym_str CONICETDig
repository_id_str 3498
network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?Cingolani, Ana MaríaVaieretti, Maria VictoriaGiorgis, Melisa AdrianaPoca, MaríaTecco, Paula AndreaGurvich, Diego EzequielPhysiognomySoil ErosionStocking RateTussock Grasslandshttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1The livestock industry is converting mountain ecosystems in central Argentina into rocky deserts. However, it helps to conserve plant biodiversity, presumably because the ecosystem has evolved under wild herbivores now locally extinct. We hypothesized that low or moderate livestock stocking rates, instead of the high stocking rates currently used for commercial production, might mimic pre-hispanic herbivore pressures. Thus, the mosaic of physiognomies necessary to maintain landscape diversity and soil integrity could be preserved. To test this hypothesis we tracked physiognomic changes in 200 plots (16 m2 each) under different stocking rates, including livestock exclusion, for five years. Contrary to our expectations, we found that both low and moderate stocking rates failed to maintain landscape diversity. As observed for livestock exclusion, low to moderate stocking rates promote retraction and, finally, elimination of short grazing lawns and their replacement by tall tussock grasslands, or possibly by woody vegetation. In turn, heavy grazing pressure maintains the desired short lawn patches in the landscape, but also promotes a concomitant loss and eventual elimination of woodlands, together with an expansion of bare rock as a consequence of soil erosion. These results indicate that the present mosaic of physiognomic types is difficult to maintain and raise questions about the past stability of the ecosystem. We suggest that during the last 400 years of livestock production in the ecosystem, short lawns have been maintained by means of heavy stocking rates and anthropogenic fires ignited to eliminate tussocks. However, this relative stability of lawns has been attained concomitantly with a progressive loss of soils and woodland area. We also discuss some possible explanations for the maintenance of short lawns before the introduction of livestock, based on main climatic and floristic shifts during the late HoloceneFil: Cingolani, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Vaieretti, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Giorgis, Melisa Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Poca, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Tecco, Paula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaFil: Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; ArgentinaElsevier Gmbh2014-06info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/22535Cingolani, Ana María; Vaieretti, Maria Victoria; Giorgis, Melisa Adriana; Poca, María; Tecco, Paula Andrea; et al.; Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?; Elsevier Gmbh; Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics; 16; 4; 6-2014; 143-1531433-8319CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1433831914000407info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.ppees.2014.04.002info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-11-12T09:34:07Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/22535instacron: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:34982025-11-12 09:34:07.311CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
title Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
spellingShingle Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
Cingolani, Ana María
Physiognomy
Soil Erosion
Stocking Rate
Tussock Grasslands
title_short Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
title_full Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
title_fullStr Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
title_full_unstemmed Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
title_sort Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Cingolani, Ana María
Vaieretti, Maria Victoria
Giorgis, Melisa Adriana
Poca, María
Tecco, Paula Andrea
Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel
author Cingolani, Ana María
author_facet Cingolani, Ana María
Vaieretti, Maria Victoria
Giorgis, Melisa Adriana
Poca, María
Tecco, Paula Andrea
Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel
author_role author
author2 Vaieretti, Maria Victoria
Giorgis, Melisa Adriana
Poca, María
Tecco, Paula Andrea
Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel
author2_role author
author
author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Physiognomy
Soil Erosion
Stocking Rate
Tussock Grasslands
topic Physiognomy
Soil Erosion
Stocking Rate
Tussock Grasslands
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv The livestock industry is converting mountain ecosystems in central Argentina into rocky deserts. However, it helps to conserve plant biodiversity, presumably because the ecosystem has evolved under wild herbivores now locally extinct. We hypothesized that low or moderate livestock stocking rates, instead of the high stocking rates currently used for commercial production, might mimic pre-hispanic herbivore pressures. Thus, the mosaic of physiognomies necessary to maintain landscape diversity and soil integrity could be preserved. To test this hypothesis we tracked physiognomic changes in 200 plots (16 m2 each) under different stocking rates, including livestock exclusion, for five years. Contrary to our expectations, we found that both low and moderate stocking rates failed to maintain landscape diversity. As observed for livestock exclusion, low to moderate stocking rates promote retraction and, finally, elimination of short grazing lawns and their replacement by tall tussock grasslands, or possibly by woody vegetation. In turn, heavy grazing pressure maintains the desired short lawn patches in the landscape, but also promotes a concomitant loss and eventual elimination of woodlands, together with an expansion of bare rock as a consequence of soil erosion. These results indicate that the present mosaic of physiognomic types is difficult to maintain and raise questions about the past stability of the ecosystem. We suggest that during the last 400 years of livestock production in the ecosystem, short lawns have been maintained by means of heavy stocking rates and anthropogenic fires ignited to eliminate tussocks. However, this relative stability of lawns has been attained concomitantly with a progressive loss of soils and woodland area. We also discuss some possible explanations for the maintenance of short lawns before the introduction of livestock, based on main climatic and floristic shifts during the late Holocene
Fil: Cingolani, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Vaieretti, Maria Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Giorgis, Melisa Adriana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Poca, María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Tecco, Paula Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
Fil: Gurvich, Diego Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal; Argentina
description The livestock industry is converting mountain ecosystems in central Argentina into rocky deserts. However, it helps to conserve plant biodiversity, presumably because the ecosystem has evolved under wild herbivores now locally extinct. We hypothesized that low or moderate livestock stocking rates, instead of the high stocking rates currently used for commercial production, might mimic pre-hispanic herbivore pressures. Thus, the mosaic of physiognomies necessary to maintain landscape diversity and soil integrity could be preserved. To test this hypothesis we tracked physiognomic changes in 200 plots (16 m2 each) under different stocking rates, including livestock exclusion, for five years. Contrary to our expectations, we found that both low and moderate stocking rates failed to maintain landscape diversity. As observed for livestock exclusion, low to moderate stocking rates promote retraction and, finally, elimination of short grazing lawns and their replacement by tall tussock grasslands, or possibly by woody vegetation. In turn, heavy grazing pressure maintains the desired short lawn patches in the landscape, but also promotes a concomitant loss and eventual elimination of woodlands, together with an expansion of bare rock as a consequence of soil erosion. These results indicate that the present mosaic of physiognomic types is difficult to maintain and raise questions about the past stability of the ecosystem. We suggest that during the last 400 years of livestock production in the ecosystem, short lawns have been maintained by means of heavy stocking rates and anthropogenic fires ignited to eliminate tussocks. However, this relative stability of lawns has been attained concomitantly with a progressive loss of soils and woodland area. We also discuss some possible explanations for the maintenance of short lawns before the introduction of livestock, based on main climatic and floristic shifts during the late Holocene
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014-06
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/11336/22535
Cingolani, Ana María; Vaieretti, Maria Victoria; Giorgis, Melisa Adriana; Poca, María; Tecco, Paula Andrea; et al.; Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?; Elsevier Gmbh; Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics; 16; 4; 6-2014; 143-153
1433-8319
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/22535
identifier_str_mv Cingolani, Ana María; Vaieretti, Maria Victoria; Giorgis, Melisa Adriana; Poca, María; Tecco, Paula Andrea; et al.; Can livestock grazing maintain landscape diversity and stability in an ecosystem that evolved with wild herbivores?; Elsevier Gmbh; Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics; 16; 4; 6-2014; 143-153
1433-8319
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1433831914000407
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.ppees.2014.04.002
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier Gmbh
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier Gmbh
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
_version_ 1848597101651427328
score 12.976206

Publicaciones similares