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Ecology

Title:		Large herbivores facilitate a dominant grassland forb via multiple indirect effects
Author(s):		Zhong Z; Li X; Smit C; Li T; Wang L; Aschero V; Vazquez D; Ritchie M; Cushman JH; Wang D;
Address:		"Institute of Grassland Science, Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education/Jilin Songnen Grassland Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences/Key Laboratory of Sustainable Utilization of Soil Resources in the Commodity Grain Bases in Jilin Province, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, China. Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, Conservation Ecology Group, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands. Argentine Institute for Nivology, Glaciology and Environmental Sciences, CONICET & National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences, National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Argentine Institute for Dryland Research, CONICET & National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina. Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA. Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Science, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, USA"
Journal Title:		Ecology
Year:		2022
Volume:		20220303
Issue:		4
Page Number:		e3635 -
DOI:		10.1002/ecy.3635
ISSN/ISBN:		1939-9170 (Electronic) 0012-9658 (Linking)
Abstract:		"While large herbivores are critically important components of terrestrial ecosystems and can have pronounced top-down effects on plants, our understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving these effects remains incomplete. Large herbivores can alter plant growth, reproduction, and abundance through direct effects (predominantly consumption) and through indirect effects via altered interactions with abiotic factors and other species. We know considerably less about these indirect effects than the direct effects. Here, we integrate medium- and small-scale field experiments to investigate how a large vertebrate herbivore, cattle (Bos taurus), affects the aboveground biomass of a dominant forb species, Artemisia scoparia, via diverse direct and indirect pathways in a temperate grassland in northeast China. Although cattle consumed this forb, its biomass increased significantly in response to grazing, due to multiple indirect positive effects that outweighed the direct negative effects of consumption. Cattle preferentially consumed the competing grass Leymus chinensis, and altered Artemisia microhabitats by reducing total plant cover and litter biomass and by increasing the abundance of co-occurring ant species (e.g., Formica spp. and Lasius spp.). This led to additional indirect positive effects on A. scoparia likely due to (1) increased light availability in understory layers and other limiting resources (e.g., soil nutrients and moisture) caused by removal of competitors and plant litter at the soil surface and (2) the changes in resource availability (e.g., soil nutrients and moisture) associated with ant colonies. Our results show that large herbivores can affect plant growth not only via direct consumption, but also via multiple indirect effects. Focusing on the causes and consequences of herbivore-induced indirect effects will not only help us to better understand the influence of these animals in ecological systems, but will also lead to more effective land management and conservation practices in the regions they inhabit"
Keywords:		Animals Biomass Cattle Ecosystem *Grassland *Herbivory/physiology Poaceae Soil competition direct and indirect effects facilitation plant growth plant-herbivore interactions top-down effects;
Notes:		"MedlineZhong, Zhiwei Li, Xiaofei Smit, Christian Li, Tianyun Wang, Ling Aschero, Valeria Vazquez, Diego Ritchie, Mark Cushman, J Hall Wang, Deli eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2022/01/22 Ecology. 2022 Apr; 103(4):e3635. doi: 10.1002/ecy.3635. Epub 2022 Mar 3"