| Title |
Impact of bush encroachment management on plant response and animal distribution (SASSCAL Book, Biodiversity & Ecology 6) |
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| Author |
Caroline Stolter, Dave Joubert, Kathrin Schwarz, Manfred Finckh |
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| Abstract |
The transformation of grassland by bush encroachment causes socioeconomic problems in arid and semi-arid regions. At the moment, de-bushing is the only way to control bush encroachment. In this context, we conducted two independent projects within SASSCAL. First, in a greenhouse experiment, we investigated the morphological plant response to damage of four different bush encroacher species in order to understand if intervention in the plants? early life stage may reasonably fight bush encroachment and if treated plants are used differently by livestock (e.g., sheep and goats). In a second project, we investigated the influence of bush clearing on the habitat utilisation of different large herbivores (e.g., greater kudu, warthog, and gemsbok). Specifically, we wanted to know if typical grazers (e.g., warthog and gemsbok) are found at open cleared sites and typical browsers (greater kudu) in encroached regions and if vegetation parameters (e.g., grass cover) drive this distribution. For our greenhouse experiment, we found that all seedlings reacted morphologically to the damage of top-shoots, but to different extents. Damaged plants show species-specifi c responses, like diff erences in branching and thorn sizes and survival rates. In contrast to sheep, goats were not absolutely deterred by mechanical defences of the offered plant species. Therefore, we assume that under controlled grazing regimes, goat feeding could be a useful tool to interfere with the establishment of large numbers of seedlings. In our second project, the animal distribution did not consistently match our expectations. While warthog and cattle shared open bush-cleared sites, we found gemsbok utilising non-cleared sites with high thornbush cover of medium height, which was similar to patterns shown by greater kudu. The results are discussed in light of competition, risk avoidance, and habitat heterogeneity. |
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| Citation |
Stolter, C., Joubert, D., Schwarz, K. & Finckh, M. (2018) Impact of bush encroachment management on plant response and animal distribution In: Climate change and adaptive land management in southern Africa – assessments, changes, challenges, and solutions (ed. by Revermann, R., Krewenka, K.M., Schmiedel, U., Olwoch, J.M., Helmschrot, J. & Jürgens, N.), pp. 219-225, Biodiversity & Ecology, 6, Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek. doi:10.7809/b-e.00327 |
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| DOI |
10.7809/b-e.00327 |
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