The effects of grazing: Confounding of ecosystem, community, and organism scales
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Authors: A. J. Belsky
Date: 1987
Journal: The American Naturalist
Volume: 129
Number: 5
Pages: 777-783
Summary of Methods: In this article, Belsky states that if overcompensation in total productivity is ever found in natural communities, it will most probably be found in moderately grazed wetlands such as the ones described by Cargill and Jefferies (1984). As in cultivated fields and in controlled-environment chambers, species in these systems have plentiful water supplies, grow in monocultures where unpalatable species cannot gain a competitive advantage, receive even fertilization (by goose droppings), are grazed evenly so that individuals do not overtop one another, and grow in soils that are not compacted by large animals. Additionally, in the Arctic, nutrients may otherwise be bound up in dead biomass for long periods, plants have protected ground-level meristems, and most of the plant biomass is belowground, where it cannot be damaged by occasional overcropping. For ten years, several authors have speculated, suggested, and hypothesized that herbivory can increase the growth and fitness of grazed species. Until now, the evidence has been indirect, extrapolative, unconfirmed by further studies, or obtained from studies of inadequate design (Belsky 1986).
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Scientific Synthesis
Keywords: overcompensation, natural communities, herbivory, ecosystem, community, organism scales
Annotation: This review examines results from studies done in Africa and North America. This summary attempts to only include information pertaining to North America (which was only about 40% of the paper).,The review did not list any specific states or regions. Grasslands and arctic salt marshes were mentioned as vegetation types. ,Grazing intensity and season of use were also not specified.
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