干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Sustainable grazing management in rangelands: Over a century searching for a silver bullet

Arid

DOI	10.1016/j.agee.2019.05.020
	Sustainable grazing management in rangelands: Over a century searching for a silver bullet
	di Virgilio, Agustina 1,2; Lambertucci, Sergio A.2; Morales, Juan M.1
通讯作者	di Virgilio, Agustina
来源期刊	AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT
ISSN	0167-8809
EISSN	1873-2305
出版年	2019
卷号	283
英文摘要	Rangelands represent 91% of the surface devoted to livestock production and a high proportion of them are exposed to some sort of degradation. Considerable research interest has been centered in the effect of grazing strategies on different indicators of rangeland sustainability (e.g., vegetation dynamics, soil properties, livestock productivity and grazing distribution). Considering the large amount of experimental evidence collected during a century of range science, a quantitative study assessing the performance of grazing schemes is timely and necessary. Therefore, we assessed the performance of grazing strategies on sustainability indicators worldwide, considering rangeland type (i.e., grasslands, shrublands, woodlands and forests) and other management variables (e.g., livestock type, grazing level, paddock sizes, precipitation) through a meta-analysis using experimental publications. Our results show that complete destocking does not improve soil or vegetation in comparison to grazed systems, but it could have less negative impacts if it is applied on woodlands, deserts and forests, particularly in areas of higher precipitation. Even though continuous grazing was thought as detrimental, we only observed negative impacts on vegetation on woodlands or under heavy grazing levels. Moreover, continuous grazing is less likely to impact negatively on livestock productivity in forest ranges. Also, it can maintain grazing distribution (except in woodland ranges) when applied for shorter periods of time. For multi-paddock schemes, we observed that rotational grazing is less likely to impact negatively on vegetation under moderate grazing levels, while Savory grazing method is more likely to show negative impacts on livestock productivity (particularly when applied for short time periods). Although many grazing schemes are applied worldwide, their effects can be very different in different range types. Here we provide a quantitative assessment of under which scenarios the different strategies can have negative, positive or neutral outcomes on rangelands. In addition, other management decisions, such as grazing intensity, livestock type and the length of the application period, together with environmental factors such as precipitation level, showed to be key to prevent negative impacts of grazing schemes on rangeland sustainability. Considering that the length of the application periods was very influential for many grazing schemes and indicators, we believe this is highlighting the need for more adaptive grazing strategies with more flexible decisions to allow rangeland sustainability. Finally, we found important information gaps, particularly related to potential interactions with livestock type, alternative rest periods length in rotational schemes, and notably about socio-economic factors. Filling these gaps could lead to more integrative range science and management.
英文关键词	Extensive livestock production Fenced systems Grazing management strategies Complete destocking Continuous grazing Specialized grazing systems Sustainability indicators
类型	Review
语种	英语
国家	Argentina
收录类别	SCI-E ; SSCI
WOS记录号	WOS:000500210500003
WOS关键词	PATCH DYNAMICS ; SHORT-DURATION ; VEGETATION ; LIVESTOCK ; NONEQUILIBRIUM ; DEGRADATION ; EQUILIBRIUM ; STRATEGIES ; GRASSLAND ; PASTURES
WOS类目	Agriculture, Multidisciplinary ; Ecology ; Environmental Sciences
WOS研究方向	Agriculture ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
EI主题词	2019-11-01
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/310686
作者单位	1.Univ Nacl Comahue, CONICET, INIBIOMA, Grp Ecol Cuantitat, Quintral 1250, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina; 2.Univ Nacl Comahue, CONICET, INIBIOMA, Grp Invest Biol Conservac, Quintral 1250, RA-8400 San Carlos De Bariloche, Rio Negro, Argentina
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	di Virgilio, Agustina,Lambertucci, Sergio A.,Morales, Juan M.. Sustainable grazing management in rangelands: Over a century searching for a silver bullet[J],2019,283.
APA	di Virgilio, Agustina,Lambertucci, Sergio A.,&Morales, Juan M..(2019).Sustainable grazing management in rangelands: Over a century searching for a silver bullet.AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT,283.
MLA	di Virgilio, Agustina,et al."Sustainable grazing management in rangelands: Over a century searching for a silver bullet".AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT 283(2019).