Theme 4-2: Wildlife, Tourism and Multi-Facets of Rangelands/Grasslands--Poster Sessions
Description
On rangelands worldwide, cattle interact with many ecosystem components, most obviously with soils, plants, and other large herbivores. Since 1995, we have been manipulating the presence of cattle, mesoherbivores, and megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes) in a series of eighteen 4-ha (10-acre) plots at the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment. We have demonstrated a wide array of cattle effects on this savanna rangeland, including their reduction of grass cover, wildlife use, and soil nitrogen and phosphorus pools, but their increase of primary productivity and termite abundance. Strikingly, we demonstrate that the presence of mega-herbivores (elephants, mainly) reduces the sizes of these cattle. We provide further experimental evidence that this may be because the elephants are reducing the most desirable (N-rich) forage, causing cattle to slow their extraction of (low-N) grasses, while simultaneously reducing tree cover.
Citation
Young, Truman P.; Kimuyu, Duncan N.; Veblen, Kari E.; Riginos, Corinna; Sitters, Judith; Porensky, Lauren; and Odadi, Wilfred O., "Elephants Mitigate the Effects of Cattle on Wildlife and Other Ecosystem Traits: Experimental Evidence" (2022). IGC Proceedings (1993-2023). 2.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/24/4-2/2
Included in
Elephants Mitigate the Effects of Cattle on Wildlife and Other Ecosystem Traits: Experimental Evidence
On rangelands worldwide, cattle interact with many ecosystem components, most obviously with soils, plants, and other large herbivores. Since 1995, we have been manipulating the presence of cattle, mesoherbivores, and megaherbivores (elephants and giraffes) in a series of eighteen 4-ha (10-acre) plots at the Kenya Long-term Exclosure Experiment. We have demonstrated a wide array of cattle effects on this savanna rangeland, including their reduction of grass cover, wildlife use, and soil nitrogen and phosphorus pools, but their increase of primary productivity and termite abundance. Strikingly, we demonstrate that the presence of mega-herbivores (elephants, mainly) reduces the sizes of these cattle. We provide further experimental evidence that this may be because the elephants are reducing the most desirable (N-rich) forage, causing cattle to slow their extraction of (low-N) grasses, while simultaneously reducing tree cover.
