Capybaras (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) Generate Grazing Lawns and Maintain Plant Diversity in Neotropical Savanna

IF 2 3区 环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY
Julia C. Mata, Jens-Christian Svenning, Renata Nicora Chequín, Marcos Davalos, Roberto Salas, Ayrton Vucko, Robert Buitenwerf
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Questions

Herbivores can exert strong top-down control on vegetation structure and composition, which in turn can affect overall biodiversity and ecosystem processes. However, South American megafauna was largely driven to extinction in recent prehistory, and remaining species have suffered severe range reductions from human actions. The potential role of South American megafauna in shaping vegetation therefore remains unclear. We examined herbivore-driven top-down control of the vegetation, particularly impacts on plant diversity, structure and functional composition.

Location

Iberá Wetlands, Corrientes, Argentina.

Methods

We set up an herbivore exclosure experiment in a restoration area with 10 wild large-herbivore species. We compared vegetation dynamics in fenced plots with paired control plots to which herbivores had full access. Replicate plot pairs were established in three grassland types: characterized as short, medium-tall and tall grasslands. Grass height, plant biomass, functional types and community composition were measured at the start of the experiment and after 6, 13 and 18 months.

Results

We found that in short and medium-tall grasslands, herbaceous biomass and grass height increased significantly in no-grazing plots, while species richness decreased. Similarly, community dissimilarity between paired grazed and ungrazed plots increased over time for short and medium-tall grasslands. Camera trap images revealed that capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) was the dominant grazer on the grazed plots.

Conclusion

Our results show a strong impact of native herbivores on the structure and composition of South American savannas akin to African grazing lawns, with higher plant species richness and dominance of grazing-tolerant growth forms. These results imply that South American grassy ecosystems, despite severely reduced herbivore richness and density, have retained plant taxa and functional trait complexes that tolerate intense herbivory. Further, they also show that herbivory can still play an important role in maintaining their plant diversity. The conservation and restoration of South American grassy ecosystems are likely to benefit from restoring functional grazing regimes.

Abstract Image

水豚(Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris)在新热带稀树草原上形成放牧草地并维持植物多样性
草食动物可以对植被的结构和组成进行自上而下的控制,从而影响整体的生物多样性和生态系统过程。然而,南美洲的巨型动物在最近的史前时期大部分被灭绝了,剩下的物种因人类活动而遭受了严重的范围缩小。因此,南美巨型动物在塑造植被方面的潜在作用仍不清楚。我们研究了草食驱动的自上而下的植被控制,特别是对植物多样性、结构和功能组成的影响。位置:iberwetlands, Corrientes,阿根廷。方法在10种野生大型食草动物的恢复区内设置草食动物圈闭实验。我们比较了围栏样地的植被动态与配对对照样地,草食动物可以完全进入。在矮、中、高草地3种草地类型中建立重复样地对。在试验开始时和试验后6、13和18个月分别测定草高、植物生物量、功能类型和群落组成。结果在矮、中高草地中,禁牧样地草本生物量和草高显著增加,物种丰富度显著降低;同样,在中矮草地中,配对放牧和未放牧地块之间的群落差异随着时间的推移而增加。诱捕器图像显示水豚是放牧地的优势食草动物。结论本土食草动物对南美热带稀树草原结构和组成的影响与非洲放牧草地相似,具有较高的植物物种丰富度和耐放牧生长形式优势。这些结果表明,尽管食草动物的丰富度和密度严重降低,但南美洲的草地生态系统仍保留了能够承受强烈食草性的植物分类群和功能性状复合体。此外,他们还表明草食在维持植物多样性方面仍然发挥着重要作用。南美洲草地生态系统的保护和恢复可能受益于恢复功能性放牧制度。
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来源期刊
Applied Vegetation Science
Applied Vegetation Science 环境科学-林学
CiteScore
6.00
自引率
10.70%
发文量
67
审稿时长
3 months
期刊介绍: Applied Vegetation Science focuses on community-level topics relevant to human interaction with vegetation, including global change, nature conservation, nature management, restoration of plant communities and of natural habitats, and the planning of semi-natural and urban landscapes. Vegetation survey, modelling and remote-sensing applications are welcome. Papers on vegetation science which do not fit to this scope (do not have an applied aspect and are not vegetation survey) should be directed to our associate journal, the Journal of Vegetation Science. Both journals publish papers on the ecology of a single species only if it plays a key role in structuring plant communities.
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