The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.

Livestock grazing can be used as a key management tool for maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, the effectiveness of using grazing to modify habitat for species of conservation concern depends on how the grazing regime is implemented. Timing of grazing is one grazing regime component that is les...

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Autores principales:	Stacy C Davis, Laura A Burkle, Wyatt F Cross, Kyle A Cutting
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/b56cd22e567645e0a7a86c37592b38c3
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:b56cd22e567645e0a7a86c37592b38c32021-11-25T05:55:34ZThe effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0110460https://doaj.org/article/b56cd22e567645e0a7a86c37592b38c32014-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0110460https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203Livestock grazing can be used as a key management tool for maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, the effectiveness of using grazing to modify habitat for species of conservation concern depends on how the grazing regime is implemented. Timing of grazing is one grazing regime component that is less understood than grazing intensity and grazer identity, but is predicted to have important implications for plant and higher trophic level responses. We experimentally assessed how timing of cattle grazing affected plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands of southwest Montana to better evaluate its use as a tool for multi-trophic level management. We manipulated timing of grazing, with one grazing treatment beginning in mid-June and the other in mid-July, in two experiments conducted in different grassland habitat types (i.e., wet meadow and upland) in 2011 and 2012. In the upland grassland experiment, we found that both early and late grazing treatments reduced forb biomass, whereas graminoid biomass was only reduced with late grazing. Grazing earlier in the growing season versus later did not result in greater recovery of graminoid or forb biomass as expected. In addition, the density of the most ubiquitous grassland arthropod order (Hemiptera) was reduced by both grazing treatments in upland grasslands. A comparison of end-of-season plant responses to grazing in upland versus wet meadow grasslands revealed that grazing reduced graminoid biomass in the wet meadow and forb biomass in the upland, irrespective of timing of grazing. Both grazing treatments also reduced end-of-season total arthropod and Hemiptera densities and Hemiptera biomass in both grassland habitat types. Our results indicate that both early and late season herbivory affect many plant and arthropod characteristics in a similar manner, but grazing earlier may negatively impact species of conservation concern requiring forage earlier in the growing season.Stacy C DavisLaura A BurkleWyatt F CrossKyle A CuttingPublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 10, p e110460 (2014)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Stacy C Davis Laura A Burkle Wyatt F Cross Kyle A Cutting The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
description	Livestock grazing can be used as a key management tool for maintaining healthy ecosystems. However, the effectiveness of using grazing to modify habitat for species of conservation concern depends on how the grazing regime is implemented. Timing of grazing is one grazing regime component that is less understood than grazing intensity and grazer identity, but is predicted to have important implications for plant and higher trophic level responses. We experimentally assessed how timing of cattle grazing affected plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands of southwest Montana to better evaluate its use as a tool for multi-trophic level management. We manipulated timing of grazing, with one grazing treatment beginning in mid-June and the other in mid-July, in two experiments conducted in different grassland habitat types (i.e., wet meadow and upland) in 2011 and 2012. In the upland grassland experiment, we found that both early and late grazing treatments reduced forb biomass, whereas graminoid biomass was only reduced with late grazing. Grazing earlier in the growing season versus later did not result in greater recovery of graminoid or forb biomass as expected. In addition, the density of the most ubiquitous grassland arthropod order (Hemiptera) was reduced by both grazing treatments in upland grasslands. A comparison of end-of-season plant responses to grazing in upland versus wet meadow grasslands revealed that grazing reduced graminoid biomass in the wet meadow and forb biomass in the upland, irrespective of timing of grazing. Both grazing treatments also reduced end-of-season total arthropod and Hemiptera densities and Hemiptera biomass in both grassland habitat types. Our results indicate that both early and late season herbivory affect many plant and arthropod characteristics in a similar manner, but grazing earlier may negatively impact species of conservation concern requiring forage earlier in the growing season.
format	article
author	Stacy C Davis Laura A Burkle Wyatt F Cross Kyle A Cutting
author_facet	Stacy C Davis Laura A Burkle Wyatt F Cross Kyle A Cutting
author_sort	Stacy C Davis
title	The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
title_short	The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
title_full	The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
title_fullStr	The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
title_full_unstemmed	The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
title_sort	effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2014
url	https://doaj.org/article/b56cd22e567645e0a7a86c37592b38c3
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The effects of timing of grazing on plant and arthropod communities in high-elevation grasslands.

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