Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1017/S1751731116001531 |
Carrying capacity in arid rangelands during droughts: the role of temporal and spatial thresholds | |
Accatino, F.1,2; Ward, D.3,4; Wiegand, K.1; De Michele, C.5 | |
通讯作者 | Accatino, F. |
来源期刊 | ANIMAL
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ISSN | 1751-7311 |
EISSN | 1751-732X |
出版年 | 2017 |
卷号 | 11期号:2页码:309-317 |
英文摘要 | Assessing the carrying capacity is of primary importance in arid rangelands. This becomes even more important during droughts, when rangelands exhibit non-equilibrium dynamics, and the dynamics of livestock conditions and forage resource are decoupled. Carrying capacity is usually conceived as an equilibrium concept, that is, the consumer density that can co-exist in long-term equilibrium with the resource. As one of the first, here we address the concept of carrying capacity in systems, where there is no feedback between consumer and resource in a limited period of time. To this end, we developed an individual-based model describing the basic characteristics of a rangeland during a drought. The model represents a rangeland composed by a single water point and forage distributed all around, with livestock units moving from water to forage and vice versa, for eating and drinking. For each livestock unit we implemented an energy balance and we accounted for the gut-filling effect (i.e. only a limited amount of forage can be ingested per unit time). Our results showed that there is a temporal threshold above which livestock begin to experience energy deficit and burn fat reserves. We demonstrated that such a temporal threshold increases with the number of animals and decreases with the rangeland conditions (amount of forage). The temporal threshold corresponded to the time livestock take to consume all the forage within a certain distance from water, so that the livestock can return to water for drinking without spending more energy than they gain within a day. In this study, we highlight the importance of a time threshold in the assessment of carrying capacity in non-equilibrium conditions. Considering this time threshold could explain contrasting observations about the influence of livestock number on livestock conditions. In case of private rangelands, the herd size should be chosen so that the spatial threshold equals (or exceeds) the length of the drought. |
英文关键词 | optimal herd size water point energy deficit drought foraging |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | Germany ; France ; South Africa ; USA ; Italy |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000398134100015 |
WOS关键词 | POPULATION-DYNAMICS ; WATERING POINTS ; CATTLE ; HETEROGENEITY ; HERBIVORES ; NONEQUILIBRIUM ; LANDSCAPE ; RAINFALL ; PATTERNS ; SAVANNA |
WOS类目 | Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science ; Veterinary Sciences |
WOS研究方向 | Agriculture ; Veterinary Sciences |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/197291 |
作者单位 | 1.Univ Gottingen, Fac Forest Sci & Forest Ecol, Busgenweg 4, Gottingen, Germany; 2.Univ Paris Saclay, UMR SADAPT, INRA, AgroParisTech, F-75005 Paris, France; 3.Univ KwaZulu Natal, Sch Life Sci, ZA-3209 Scottsville, South Africa; 4.Kent State Univ, Biol Sci, Kent, OH 44242 USA; 5.Politecn Milan, Dept Civil & Environm Engn, Pzza L Da Vinci 32, I-20133 Milan, Italy |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Accatino, F.,Ward, D.,Wiegand, K.,et al. Carrying capacity in arid rangelands during droughts: the role of temporal and spatial thresholds[J],2017,11(2):309-317. |
APA | Accatino, F.,Ward, D.,Wiegand, K.,&De Michele, C..(2017).Carrying capacity in arid rangelands during droughts: the role of temporal and spatial thresholds.ANIMAL,11(2),309-317. |
MLA | Accatino, F.,et al."Carrying capacity in arid rangelands during droughts: the role of temporal and spatial thresholds".ANIMAL 11.2(2017):309-317. |
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