Timescale of perennial grass recovery in desertified arid grasslands following livestock removal
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Authors: T. J. Valone, M. Meyer, J. H. Brown, and R. M. Chew
Date: 2002
Journal: Conservation Biology
Volume: 16
Number: 4
Pages: 995-1002
Summary of Methods: In this study, vegetation cover and composition were compared between two exclosures, 20 and 39 years old, in order to determine the amount of time required for desert shrubland plant communities to recover after release from continuous grazing pressure. The plant community was similar inside and outside a 20 year old exclosure, suggesting that minimal recovery occurred during the first 20 years after grazing was removed in this shrub-dominated plant community. At the 39 year old grazing exclosure, perennial grasses species and cover were greater inside the exclosure compared to outside the exclosure, which was still shrub-dominated. These results indicate that the recovery of desert grasslands are slow, possibly requiring more than 20 years for these plant communities to begin recovering in arid environments, after the removal of grazing pressure.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: succession, grazing impacts, plant community, climactic conditions, exclosures, rate of recovery, threshold
Annotation: Grazing intensity not defined for areas outside the exclosures.
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