Grazing in temporary paddocks with hardy breed horses (Konik polski) improved species-rich grasslands restoration in artificial embankments of the Rhône river (Southern France)
| Autor: | Hervé Ramone, Cannelle Moinardeau, François Mesléard, Thierry Dutoit |
|---|---|
| Přispěvatelé: | Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Tour du Valat, Research Institute for the conservation of Mediterranean Wetlands |
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Extensive grazing Tussock [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Normalized Difference Vegetation Index Grassland Grazing pressure Vegetation index Grazing QH540-549.5 Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation 2. Zero hunger Biomass (ecology) geography.geographical_feature_category Livestock tracking Ecology 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences 15. Life on land Breed Remote monitoring Geography Agronomy Anthropized site 040103 agronomy & agriculture 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries Species richness [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology Vegetation survey |
| Zdroj: | Global Ecology and Conservation Global Ecology and Conservation, 2021, ⟨10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01874⟩ Global Ecology and Conservation, Elsevier, 2021, ⟨10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01874⟩ Global Ecology and Conservation, Vol 31, Iss, Pp e01874-(2021) |
| ISSN: | 2351-9894 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01874 |
| Popis: | International audience; Extensive horse grazing with hardy breeds is largely used in conservation management for restoring species-rich semi-natural grasslands in Europe. As an example, the Donzère-Mondragon Rhône river embankments (south-eastern France) where horse grazing with Konik polski succeeded to maintain high species richness in patches of open and short grassland, but failed for patches of tall grassland dominated by the grass tussock species Brachypodium phoenicoides. In response, an increase of herd density by the creation of temporary paddocks was applied in tall grassland patches. Grazing pressure over time between patches was estimated via GPS fixed to mares, biomass, plant species richness measurements and from multispectral photographs, the normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) was calculated. Finally, telemetric data were collected. We wondered if the use of extensive horse grazing with temporary paddocks occupation, increase plant species richness. After three years, our results show that the increase in stocking rate enabled a significant increase of plant species richness in the tall grassland patches, with a significant decline of B. phoenicoides in all paddocks. The NDVI was strongly correlated with herbaceous biomass and plant species richness, while the number of GPS points indicating the position of the mares was higher in areas where the NDVI was high. These results are discussed for improving horse grazing conservation systems efficiency on grasslands established in anthropized sites such as embankments and the use of the NDVI as an appropriate tool to help decision-making for large-scale applications. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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