Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1111/1365-2664.12186 |
Controls over the strength and timing of fire-grazer interactions in a semi-arid rangeland | |
Augustine, David J.1; Derner, Justin D.2 | |
通讯作者 | Augustine, David J. |
来源期刊 | JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
![]() |
ISSN | 0021-8901 |
EISSN | 1365-2664 |
出版年 | 2014 |
卷号 | 51期号:1页码:242-250 |
英文摘要 | The degree to which large herbivores select and forage within recently burned areas is a key driver of vegetation heterogeneity in rangeland ecosystems. However, few studies have quantified the strength and timing of herbivore selection for burned areas or examined how selection strength varies among ecosystems differing in precipitation and primary productivity. We conducted a 4-year patch-burning experiment in semi-arid rangeland of Colorado, USA, where 25% of the area available to cattle was burned each year and burned patches were shifted annually. We used GPS collars with activity sensors to quantify the distribution of free-ranging cattle at a high temporal resolution (5-min intervals) during the growing season each year. We used a classification tree model to discriminate between cattle grazing vs. non-grazing locations, which significantly increased precision in quantifying burn selection strength. We fit generalized linear models predicting the frequency of cattle use of a given location within each study area and month, enabling comparisons between the relative influence of burns and topography on grazing distribution. Across multiple growing seasons, cattle selectively spent 31% of grazing time on recently burnt areas, which comprised 25% of the landscape; this selection strength was half as strong as that documented in mesic rangeland. At a monthly temporal scale, strong cattle selection for burned areas occurred during periods of rapid vegetation growth regardless of when during the growing season this greening occurred. Outside these intervals, burn selection strength was inconsistent and cattle grazing distribution was primarily influenced by topography. Thus, the relative importance of fire and topography in controlling grazer distribution was temporally contingent upon the timing and size of precipitation pulses.Synthesis and applications. Spatiotemporal interactions between fire and herbivores are a consistent feature of both semi-arid and mesic rangelands, with interaction strength varying across gradients of precipitation and primary productivity. Management of semi-arid ecosystems to sustain ecological processes should include strategies that allow ungulate herbivores to shift their grazing distribution seasonally in response to fire, topoedaphic variation and precipitation patterns. Combined management of fire and grazing for conservation objectives can be consistent with, and even complementary to, livestock production goals. |
英文关键词 | foraging behaviour grazing distribution patch burn grazing management pyric herbivory resource selection shortgrass steppe spatial heterogeneity |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | USA |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000329846500026 |
WOS关键词 | GRASSLAND BIRD ; SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY ; VEGETATION RESPONSES ; TALLGRASS PRAIRIE ; PYRIC-HERBIVORY ; BURNED PATCHES ; HABITAT ; LIVESTOCK ; CONSERVATION ; PERFORMANCE |
WOS类目 | Biodiversity Conservation ; Ecology |
WOS研究方向 | Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/182928 |
作者单位 | 1.ARS, Rangeland Resources Res Unit, USDA, Ft Collins, CO 80526 USA; 2.ARS, Rangeland Resources Res Unit, USDA, Cheyenne, WY 82009 USA |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Augustine, David J.,Derner, Justin D.. Controls over the strength and timing of fire-grazer interactions in a semi-arid rangeland[J],2014,51(1):242-250. |
APA | Augustine, David J.,&Derner, Justin D..(2014).Controls over the strength and timing of fire-grazer interactions in a semi-arid rangeland.JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,51(1),242-250. |
MLA | Augustine, David J.,et al."Controls over the strength and timing of fire-grazer interactions in a semi-arid rangeland".JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 51.1(2014):242-250. |
条目包含的文件 | 条目无相关文件。 |
除非特别说明,本系统中所有内容都受版权保护,并保留所有权利。