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Assessing the impacts of livestock production on biodiversity in rangeland ecosystems
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Biodiversity in rangelands is decreasing, due to intense utilization for livestock production and conversion of rangeland into cropland; yet the outlook of rangeland biodiversity has not been considered in view of future global demand for food. Here we assess the impact of future livestock production on the global rangelands area and their biodiversity. First we formalized exist- ing knowledge about livestock grazing impacts on biodiversity, expressed in mean species abundance (MSA) of the original rangeland native species assemblages, through metaanalysis of peer-reviewed literature. MSA values, ranging from 1 in natural rangelands to 0.3 in man-made grasslands, were entered in the IMAGE-GLOBIO model. This model was used to assess the impact of change in food demand and livestock production on future rangeland biodiversity. The model revealed remarkable regional variation in impact on rangeland area and MSA between two agricultural production scenarios. The area of used rangelands slightly increases globally between 2000 and 2050 in the baseline scenario and reduces under a scenario of enhanced uptake of resource-efficient production technologies increasing production [high levels of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (high-AKST)], particularly in Africa. Both scenarios suggest a global decrease in MSA for rangelands until 2050. The contribution of livestock grazing to MSA loss is, however, expected to diminish after 2030, in particular in Africa under the high-AKST scenario. Policies fostering agricultural intensification can reduce the overall pressure on rangeland biodiversity, but additional measures, addressing factors such as climate change and infrastructural development, are necessary to totally halt biodiversity loss.
dose-response model | intactness | land use
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Burning in the Growing Season
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Learn about the opportunities of using prescribed fire during the growing season in the warm Summer and Fall months. Prescribed fire can help livestock operations extend good forage later into the year. This factsheet designed for landowners and producers interested in prescribed fire and the practitioners that support them.
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Training
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Publications, fact sheets, training materials
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Conservation Innovation Grants: Successful Grazing Lands - Innovation to Implementation
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Join pasture specialists, local graziers, and NRCS staff to discuss the Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) on Grazing Lands and the benefits of establishing and grazing native warm season grasses for livestock and ground nesting wildlife. See how NRCS is helping more farmers establish and utilize good grazing techniques on their farms.
Featuring Dr. Pat Keyser (Center for Native Grasslands Management), J.B. Daniel (NRCS Virginia), and Keith Tuck (Virginia Grazier).
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Learning & Tech Transfer
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Webinars & Videos
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Effects of grazing on grassland soil carbon: a global review
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Soils of grasslands represent a large potential reservoir for storing CO2, but this potential likely depends on how grasslands are managed for large mammal grazing. Previous studies found both strong positive and negative grazing effects on soil organic carbon (SOC) but explanations for this variation are poorly developed. Expanding on previous reviews, we performed a multifactorial meta-analysis of grazer effects on SOC density on 47 independent experimen- tal contrasts from 17 studies. We explicitly tested hypotheses that grazer effects would shift from negative to positive with decreasing precipitation, increasing fineness of soil texture, transition from dominant grass species with C3 to C4 photosynthesis, and decreasing grazing intensity, after controlling for study duration and sampling depth. The six variables of soil texture, precipitation, grass type, grazing intensity, study duration, and sampling depth explained 85% of a large variation (`150 g m␣2 yr␣1) in grazing effects, and the best model included significant interactions between precipitation and soil texture (P = 0.002), grass type, and grazing intensity (P = 0.012), and study duration and soil sampling depth (P = 0.020). Specifically, an increase in mean annual precipitation of 600 mm resulted in a 24% decrease in grazer effect size on finer textured soils, while on sandy soils the same increase in precipitation pro- duced a 22% increase in grazer effect on SOC. Increasing grazing intensity increased SOC by 6–7% on C4-dominated and C4–C3 mixed grasslands, but decreased SOC by an average 18% in C3-dominated grasslands. We discovered these patterns despite a lack of studies in natural, wildlife-dominated ecosystems, and tropical grasslands. Our results, which suggest a future focus on why C3 vs. C4-dominated grasslands differ so strongly in their response of SOC to grazing, show that grazer effects on SOC are highly context-specific and imply that grazers in different regions might be managed differently to help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.
Keywords: carbon sequestration, grasslands, grazing, grazing intensity, precipitation, soil organic carbon, soil texture
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Resources
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Climate Science Documents
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Grazing for Bog Turtle Habitat Management: Case Study of a New York Fen
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This study presents results from a single wetland complex in New York, USA, which we managed primarily with cattle grazing over four and a half growing seasons. Management effectiveness was assessed by monitoring Bog Turtle nest placement, habitat use via radio tracking, and vegetation structure and composition change in permanent plots.
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Research
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Peer-reviewed Science
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Grazing Management Minute: Establishing Native Warm Season Grasses
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In ODA's latest Grazing Management Minute, join Quail Forever's Jason Jones and Clinton County farmer Nathan Rice to learn more about establishing native warm season grasses.
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Training Resources
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Webinars and Instructional Videos
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Podcast: Native Warm Season Grass Episode 8 – Dr. Pat Keyser
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Dr. Pat Keyser, Director of the Center for Native Grasslands Management shares his 40+ year knowledge about establishing native warm-season forages.
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Training Resources
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Podcast: Native Warm Season Grass Episode 7 – Steve Clubine
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Steve Clubine, producer from West-central Missouri and retired grassland biologist discusses starting out with a grazing system and animal performance.
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Training Resources
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Producer Adoption of Native Grass Forages
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Pat Keyser (Center for Native Grasslands, University of Tennessee) describes opportunities for practitioners to better partner with livestock producers to adopt native grass forages and advance working lands conservation. What is good for the cows is good for native species too. This webinar was presented as part of the Mississippi Flyway Summit in September 2020.
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Training
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Videos and Webinars
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Reconnecting Cattle and Quail
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Learn about the Working Lands for Wildlife program and work in Ohio between USDA-NRCS and local farmers and ranchers. Grazing cattle on warm season, native grasses is great for cattle as well as critical species like the Northern Bobwhite Quail. Video for landowners and cattle producers.
Presented by Nick Schell (USDA-NRCS Ohio) and Dr. Pat Keyser (UT - Center for Native Grasslands Management) at the Ohio Forage and Grassland Council Conference in 2017.
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Learning & Tech Transfer
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Webinars & Videos
