Selective forces exerted by vertebrate herbivores on plants
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Authors: M. Westoby
Date: 1989
Journal: Trends in Ecology and Evolution
Volume: 4
Number: 4
Pages: 115-117
Summary of Methods: This is a summary of research conducted on goose grazing and attempts to answer whether herbivory can benefit plants. Grazing has immediate effects, such as removing older tissue and reducing self-inhibition, fertilization by animal wastes, and reducing competition from neighbors. Longer-term effects involve the reshaping of the genetic mixture in a system. The net above-ground primary productivity in goose-grazed areas was 30-106% higher than ungrazed marshes. This increase in production would not be able to take place without the nitrogen input from the goose manure, as shown by other studies. Geese select faster growing genotypes, that need more nutrients, resulting in significant impact. Although the community as a whole is benefiting from grazing, it cannot be said that individual genotypes are benefiting; but rather the genotypes that are benefiting are in an environment where their neighbors are being grazed.
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: chen caerulescens caerulescens, lesser snow goose, pucinellia phryganodes, carex subspathacea, selection, herbivory
Annotation: Grazing intensity: during the season that the geese are present, more than 95% of the shoots are grazed to about 25 mm in height.
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