Offered Papers Theme A: Efficient Production from Grassland
Description
Grazing of sheep in arid grasslands is risky; sudden shifts to lower functional states may occur when the ecosystem is stressed (Scheffer et al., 2001). To avoid the stresses that shift states, easy-to-recognise critical thresholds need to be identified (Westoby et al., 1989). Preliminary analysis of perennial grass survival in a drought indicated a critical threshold based on co-occurrence of drought and grazing. Crossing this threshold collapses grass populations (Hodgkinson, 1994). Here we examine the relationships between basal area change and rainfall and grazing levels based on a 10-year period and propose a management guideline.
Citation
Hodgkinson, K. C.; Marsden, S. G.; and Muller, W. J., "Sheep Grazing During Drought Collapses the Perennial Grass Resource in Australian Semiarid Wooded Grasslands" (2023). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 415.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/20/themeA/415
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Sheep Grazing During Drought Collapses the Perennial Grass Resource in Australian Semiarid Wooded Grasslands
Grazing of sheep in arid grasslands is risky; sudden shifts to lower functional states may occur when the ecosystem is stressed (Scheffer et al., 2001). To avoid the stresses that shift states, easy-to-recognise critical thresholds need to be identified (Westoby et al., 1989). Preliminary analysis of perennial grass survival in a drought indicated a critical threshold based on co-occurrence of drought and grazing. Crossing this threshold collapses grass populations (Hodgkinson, 1994). Here we examine the relationships between basal area change and rainfall and grazing levels based on a 10-year period and propose a management guideline.
