Adapting the fire-grazing interaction to small pastures in a fragmented landscape for grassland bird conservation

In North America, the loss of habitat heterogeneity resulting from homogeneous livestock grazing is one factor contributing to steep population declines of many grassland bird species. Patch-burn grazing is a management technique that uses historic grassland disturbance as a model to create heterogeneous grassland composition and structure, providing for the diverse habitat requirements of grassland birds. Though this management technique has been used successfully in relatively extensive grasslands, its utility on smaller grassland patches is less clear. We examined the efficacy of patch-burn grazing to restore habitat heterogeneity and increase grassland bird diversity in relatively small pastures (15-32 ha) in a grassland landscape fragmented by cultivation and tree encroachment. In 2006, we established 12 experimental pastures in the Grand River Grasslands of southern Iowa and northern Missouri, with 4 pastures in each of three treatments: 1) patch-burn graze, with spatially discrete fires and free access by cattle (the fire-grazing interaction), 2) graze-and-burn, with free access by cattle and a single burn of the entire pasture every third year, and 3) burn-only, with a single burn of the entire pasture every third year and no grazing. Patch-burn grazing in the first phase of the project (2007-2009) did not generate habitat heterogeneity or significant differences in bird diversity. From 2010 to 2013, stocking rates were reduced to increase residual vegetation in unburned patches at the end of the grazing season to increase heterogeneity. Habitat heterogeneity in patch-burn graze pastures subsequently increased relative to other treatments. Concomitantly, diversity of obligate grassland birds also increased in patch-burn graze pastures and was greatest in 2012 and 2013. We conclude that the fire-grazing interaction can be used to restore habitat heterogeneity and increase grassland bird diversity, even in relatively small grassland patches embedded in a highly fragmented landscape. © 2016 The Society for Range Management. Published by Elsevier Inc.The Rangeland Ecology & Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information

Predação de sementes ao longo de uma borda de Floresta Ombrófila Mista e pastagem Seed predation along an edge gradient between Araucaria forest and pasture

Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar o processo de predação de sementes em três árvores nativas (Mimosa scabrella Bentham, Prunus sellowii Koehne e Myrsine laetevirens Mez.) ao longo de uma borda de Floresta Ombrófila Mista e pastagem, na Floresta Nacional de São Francisco de Paula, RS, Brasil. Grupos de sementes foram distribuídos em dez pontos aleatórios nas distâncias: 0m, 25m, 50m, 100m e 250m da borda para dentro da floresta e 5m e 50m da borda para dentro da pastagem. As sementes foram monitoradas até a predação total ou até esgotado o tempo para germinação. Houve redução nas taxas de predação de sementes até 50m da borda para dentro da floresta em relação ao interior da floresta e da pastagem. M. scabrella e M. laetevirens apresentaram redução nas taxas de predação de sementes na pastagem próxima à borda da floresta. Os resultados indicam que houve decréscimo na atividade de predadores de sementes nas proximidades da borda florestal estudada, podendo ocorrer maior regeneração de plantas próximo à borda e um avanço da floresta na pastagem adjacente.<br>This study aims to evaluate how seed predation of three native tree species (Mimosa scabrella Bentham, Prunus sellowii Koehne, and Myrsine laetevirens Mez.) could be altered along an edge between Araucaria forest and pasture at the National Forest of São Francisco de Paula, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Groups of seeds were placed at ten random points in each of the following distances from the forest edge: 0m, 25m, 50m, 100m, and 250m from the edge into the forest, and 5m and 50m from the edge into the pasture. Seeds were monitored until total predation or until their time for germination was over. Seed predation rates decreased from the edge up to 50m inside the forest in relation to the forest interior and open pasture. M. scabrella and M. laetevirens showed a reduction in seed predation rates in pasture points that were located at the vicinities of the forest. The results indicated a decrease in the activity of seed predators near the forest edge, which could enhance plant community regeneration at the edge, and promote the expansion of the forest towards the adjacent pasture