Abstract
Livestock grazing is a major driver of land-use change, causing significant biodiversity loss globally. Although the short-term effects of livestock grazing on individual species are well studied, a mechanistic understanding of the long-term, cascading impacts is lacking. We manipulated livestock densities using a unique, replicated upland experiment over a 10-year period and found significant effects of grazing treatment on plant and arthropod biomass; the number of Anthus pratensis breeding bird territories; the amplitude of Microtus agrestis population cycles and the activity of a top predator, Vulpes vulpes. Lower plant biomass as a result of higher stocking densities led to cascades across trophic levels, with fewer arthropods and small mammals, the latter affecting predator activity. Breeding bird territories were a function of arthropod abundance and vegetation structure heterogeneity. Our results provide a novel food-web analysis in a grazing experiment to provide a mechanistic understanding of how food-webs in upland ecosystems respond to long-term livestock grazing pressure, with consequences for management.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-15 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Ecosphere |
Volume | 6 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 30 Mar 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2015 |
Keywords
- agro-ecosystems
- conservation
- grassland
- moorland
- population cycles
- trophic interactions
- vole populations
- alpine ecosystem
- trait responses
- farmland birds
- sheep
- management
- dynamics
- rodent
- productivity