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Effect of cattle activities on gap colonization in mountain pastures

Auteur(s)
Kohler, Florian
Gillet, François 
Institut de biologie 
Gobat, Jean-Michel 
Institut de biologie 
Buttler, Alexandre
Date de parution
2006
In
Folia Geobotanica, OpulusPress, 2006/41/3/289-304
Mots-clés
  • Biodiversity
  • Environmental filters
  • Plant functional traits
  • Principal response curves
  • Spatial monitoring
  • Swiss Jura Mountains
  • Biodiversity

  • Environmental filters...

  • Plant functional trai...

  • Principal response cu...

  • Spatial monitoring

  • Swiss Jura Mountains

Résumé
Cattle influences gap dynamics in pastures in two ways: (1) by creating gaps and (2) by affecting the colonization process. This effect of cattle activity on gap revegetation can be subdivided in three main factors: herbage removal, trampling and dung and urine deposition. The objective of this study was to assess how these three effects moderate the plant succession following gap creation. <br> In an exclosure, four controlled treatments simulating cattle activity (repeated mowing, trampling, manuring and untreated control) were applied on plots of 2 x 2 m. In the centre of each plot, one artificial gap of 60 x 60 cm was created. During three years, vegetation changes were monitored in spring and in autumn, with a square grid of 100 cells of 0.01 m2 centred on the gap. <br> Our experiment confirmed that fine-scale gap creation may have a high impact on relative abundances of species in the community. The gap environment acts on species as a filter and this filtering was described in terms of regenerative attributes. Colonizers were species with small seeds, unspecialized seed dispersal, persistent seed bank and high vegetation spread. However, the role of dung deposition, herbage removal or trampling by cattle did not seem to be of primary importance in the revegetation process, but could moderate vegetation response. Therefore, the different cattle effects act as secondary filters that selectively favoured or disadvantaged different species from the gap-regenerating community. These complex interactions are probably keys to understand plant coexistence in perennial grasslands.
Identifiants
https://libra.unine.ch/handle/123456789/17875
Type de publication
journal article
Dossier(s) à télécharger
 main article: Kohler_Florian_-_Effect_of_Cattle_Activities_20070405.pdf (895.62 KB)
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