Impact of grazing and desertification in the Chihuahuan Desert: Plant communities, granivores and granivory
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Authors: G. I. H. Kerley, and W. G. Whitford
Date: 2000
Journal: American Midland Naturalist
Volume: 144
Number: 1
Pages: 78-91
Summary of Methods: Kerley and Whitford measured the effects of grazing on the vegetation structure of desert grasslands, and the subsequent effects of vegetation structure changes on populations and seed predation levels of granivorous ants (Pogonomyrmex sp., Solenopsis xyloni, and Pheidole xerophila) and rodents (Dipodomys ordii). Grazing did not decrease plant species richness or diversity but changed the species composition of desert grasslands in a general shift towards a shrub-dominated plant community. Grazing did not affect the presence or seed predation of granivorous species, however, ants populations and seed predation were greater on grassland vegetation types while rodents were greater on creosote (Larrea tridentata) shrubland vegetation types. Therefore, as cattle grazing shifts vegetation towards a more shrub-dominated community, ant populations may decrease while rodent populations increase, indicating that grazing has greater ecological impacts than simply altering plant species composition in the Chihuahuan desert.
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: granivory, species composition, ecological impacts, succession, plant community dynamics, seed predation, vegetation structure
Annotation: A total of 20 sites were sampled, representing ungrazed (5 exclosures) and grazed (5) grasslands, creosotebush-dominated shrublands (5), and mesquite-dominated shrublands (5). Grazing defined as "ungrazed" or "grazed".
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