Vegetation Response to Removal of Plant Groups and Grass Seeding in a Microphyllous Desert Shrubland: A 4-Year Field Experiment

Miguel Mellado,Juan A Encina-Domínguez,Eduardo Estrada-Castillón,José E García,José R Arévalo

doi:10.3390/agriculture11040322

Miguel Mellado, Juan A Encina-Domínguez + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11040322

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Abstract

Grazing is one of the most important land management activities worldwide, and cases of overgrazing increase erosion, land degradation, and plant invasion. The objective of this study was to assess the effect on individual species and species composition in response to groups of plants removals or grass seeding after four years of vegetation transformation in a microphyllous desert shrubland excluded from cattle grazing. Nine treatments involved (1) clearing of vegetation and seeding of Bouteloua curtipendula (BOCU), a native grass, (2) clearing and seeding of Chloris gayana (CHGA), an introduce grass from Africa, (3) clearing except for grasses (GRA), (4) clearing except for grasses and fodder shrubs (GRA-SHR), (5) free grazing by cattle (GRAZ), (6) clearing except fodder shrubs (SHR), (7) no modification (CON), (8) clearing of all plants (BARE), and (9) clearing except plants not eaten by cattle (UND). Treatments were replicated five times each in 10 m × 10 m experimental plots. Plots were surveyed for density, cover of all plants, and standing forage. Total plant cover was higher in CON and UND than the other treatments. Except for BOCU, where forage production was the highest, forage production ha−1 was low among all other treatments. Plant density was highest in SHR and lowest in CON. Results after four years of transformation indicate that seeded Chloris gayana failed to become established, but seeding of Bouteloua curtipendula was able to persist, and had the greatest influence on the vegetation restoration, which is what we consider the most appropriate restoration treatment.

Highlights

In arid ecosystems, rangeland managers struggle to neutralize the impacts of multiple disturbances such as drought, overgrazing, fire, weeds, or human influences, which affects the rangeland health [1]
Seeding of B. curtipendula was effective for managing the spatial presence of some shrubs not consumed by cattle, and was an effective procedure to boost the spatial development of reconstructed rangelands
Valone and Sauter [42] indicate that more than 20 years are required for perennial grass to recover in sites excluded from livestock grazing in the Chihuahuan Desert, but the present study suggests an incipient recovery with only four years of grazing exclusion despite the extremely low rainfall during the study period

Summary

Introduction

Rangeland managers struggle to neutralize the impacts of multiple disturbances such as drought, overgrazing, fire, weeds, or human influences, which affects the rangeland health [1]. Rangeland managers must have an understanding of current strategies, temporal, and spatial processes affecting the rangeland structure, as well as biotic and abiotic elements contributing to disturbance. This is necessary to maintain productive rangelands and, productivity of livestock on rangelands where frequent drought, low and erratic annual rainfall, and spatiotemporal variation in forage prevail [2]. Management of arid rangeland is a multiscale effort, with the interactions of climate, soil, herbivores using the rangeland, dynamics of present vegetation, and historic management of the ecosystem [3,4]. Range managers must prioritize management actions to maintain high availability of forage plants and focus upon the removal of invasive plants for the reestablishment of native forage species

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