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Cattle locations inside and outside 3-km buffer zones around watering points in the Simpson Desert study area in late spring (data from November 2006, November 2007 and October 2008 were pooled). Shades of grey indicate the size of cattle groups recorded at each sighting event; records were manually jittered where clumping of records occurred. Transects 1 (western transect) and 3 (eastern transect) run NNW for 10 km from the Carlo Station property boundary, transect 2 runs NE for 20 km and connects transects 1 and 2.
Source publication
The activities of livestock in arid environments typically centre on watering points, with grazing impacts often predicted to decrease uniformly, as radial piospheres, with distance from water. In patchy desert environments, however, the spatial distribution of grazing impacts is more difficult to predict. In this study sightings and dung transects...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... distribution and habitat use were sampled by running line transects by vehicle on three of the major property tracks (Fig. 1). On nine field trips between November 2006 and October 2008, transect 1 (western transect) was traversed 35 times, transect 2 (connecting transects 1 and 3) 27 times and transect 3 (eastern transect) 78 times (Table 1), resulting in 1650 km of travel. Transects 1 and 3 each ran along a swale and were ~10 km long, while transect 2 ran ...
Context 2
... < 0.01), with post hoc analysis confirming that there was more dung in gidgee woodland than on dune crests (Tukey's HSD: P < 0.05) and dune sides (Tukey's HSD: P < 0.05), but no difference was found in the weight of dung in gidgee and spinifex swale (Tukey's HSD: P = 0.253). Spatial mapping confirmed that most cattle occurred within 3 km of water (Fig. 1). While none were recorded more than 3 km from water on transects going over the dunes, individuals recorded inside the same swale as watering points were recorded up to 4 km distant. Individuals on dune crests were more likely (63%) to be recorded on transect 2 (running perpendicular to the dunes) than on either transect 1 or 3 located ...
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Citations
... We focused on gidgee woodland as previous studies have shown this ecosystem to be more heavily grazed than surrounding spinifex grassland (Frank et al., 2012(Frank et al., , 2016. Trees often have distinctive browse lines if livestock are present. ...
... Trees often have distinctive browse lines if livestock are present. The swales are favored by cattle due to their higher fertility compared with the dunes (Buckley, 1982;Frank et al., 2012). As such, gidgee woodlands should be particularly vulnerable to degradation by grazing and should benefit from the exclusion of livestock (Stafford Smith & Morton, 1990). ...
... We selected 17 gidgee woodland patches (ranging between 10 and 40 ha in size) across the three properties. Patches were selected to represent a range of grazing intensities, but located specifically to avoid areas near permanent water (i.e., cattle watering points), which are often extremely heavily grazed (Andrew & Lange, 1986;Frank et al., 2012). We ensured that each patch was at least 2 km away from the nearest open watering point but still regularly accessed by cattle. ...
Herbivore exclusion is implemented globally to recover ecosystems from grazing by introduced and native herbivores, but evidence for large‐scale biodiversity benefits is inconsistent in arid ecosystems. We examined the effects of livestock exclusion on dryland plant richness and reproductive capacity. We collected data on plant species richness and seeding (reproductive capacity), rainfall, vegetation productivity and cover, soil strength and herbivore grazing intensity from 68 sites across 6500 km² of arid Georgina gidgee (Acacia georginae) woodlands in central Australia between 2018 and 2020. Sites were on an actively grazed cattle station and two destocked conservation reserves. We used structural equation modeling to examine indirect (via soil or vegetation modification) versus direct (herbivory) effects of grazing intensity by two introduced herbivores (cattle, camels) and a native herbivore (red kangaroo), on seasonal plant species richness and seeding of all plants, and the richness and seeding of four plant groups (native grasses, forbs, annual chenopod shrubs, and palatable perennial shrubs). Non‐native herbivores had a strong indirect effect on plant richness and seeding by reducing vegetative ground cover, resulting in decreased richness and seeding of native grasses and forbs. Herbivores also had small but negative direct impacts on plant richness and seeding. This direct effect was explained by reductions in annual chenopod and palatable perennial shrub richness under grazing activity. Responses to grazing were herbivore‐dependent; introduced herbivore grazing reduced native plant richness and seeding, while native herbivore grazing had no significant effect on richness or seeding of different plant functional groups. Soil strength decreased under grazing by cattle but not camels or kangaroos. Cattle had direct effects on palatable perennial shrub richness and seeding, whereas camels had indirect effects, reducing richness and seeding by reducing the abundance of shrubs. We show that considering indirect pathways improves evaluations of the effects of disturbances on biodiversity, as focusing only on direct effects can mask critical mechanisms of change. Our results indicate substantial biodiversity benefits from excluding livestock and controlling camels in drylands. Reducing introduced herbivore impacts will improve soil and vegetation condition, ensure reproduction and seasonal persistence of species, and protect native plant diversity.
... The preference to spend more time close to attractants in the landscape leads to biomass contours, with low biomass close to attractants and increasing biomass further away from attractants. This piosphere effect has been associated with larger paddocks (Manthey and Peper 2010;Frank et al. 2012) and contributes to poor overall pasture utilisation of ~10% standing biomass (Hunt et al. 2007). Coleman (2005), citing Raeburn (1986), demonstrated the concept of relative intake in relation to the maximum intake expected for that class of animal on that quality of pasture. ...
The measurement and prediction of pasture intake in extensive grazing systems, typical of northern Australia, remain elusive after 50 years of research. The aim of this paper is to review research conducted over the past 50 years, highlight advances in understanding, discuss remaining challenges and consider future developments with digital technologies. While the fundamental components of voluntary intake are well understood, their measurement is difficult, particularly in extensive grazing systems, which has limited the development of predictive models that adequately address the interplay of factors influencing intake from the bite to the landscape scale. Ongoing research by the authors is used as an example to highlight the potential application of digital technologies to overcome limitations in measurement and prediction. Digital technologies offer the opportunity for monitoring factors that control voluntary pasture intake at scale and under commercial conditions. However, our ability to ground-truth novel indices of intake remains limited without ongoing development of physical methods. This will limit the accuracy and precision of predictive models incorporating digital technologies that can be applied to the extensive grazing conditions of northern Australia. The advent of precision livestock management for extensive cattle production is essential if the industry is to remain viable in the future where production is transparent, ethically sound and environmentally defensible as well as profitable.
... We sampled at Ethabuka Reserve (214 000 ha), Simpson Desert, central Australia, at five sites within 10 km of 'Main Camp' (23°4 6 0 S, 138°28 0 E). Ethabuka Reserve was a cattle station (stock density less than one animal per 100 ha [28]) until purchased by Bush Heritage Australia and destocked in 2004. The landscape is dominated by parallel sand dunes up to 10 m high and 0.6-1 km apart [29]. ...
Under the Ecosystem Exploitation Hypothesis ecosystem productivity predicts trophic complexity, but it is unclear if spatial and temporal drivers of productivity have similar impacts. Long-term studies are necessary to capture temporal impacts on trophic structure in variable ecosystems such as deserts. We sampled ants and measured plant resources in the Simpson Desert, central Australia over a 22-year period, during which rainfall varied 10-fold. We sampled dune swales (higher nutrient) and crests (lower nutrient) to account for spatial variation in productivity. We asked how temporal and spatial variation in productivity affects the abundance of ant trophic guilds. Precipitation increased vegetation cover, with the difference more pronounced on dune crests; seeding and flowering also increased with precipitation. Generalist activity increased over time, irrespective of productivity. Predators were more active in more productive (swale) habitat, i.e. spatial impacts of productivity were greatest at the highest trophic level. By contrast, herbivores (seed harvesters and sugar feeders) increased with long-term rainfall; seed harvesters also increased as seeding increased. Temporal impacts of productivity were therefore greatest for low trophic levels. Whether productivity variation leads to top-down or bottom-up structured ecosystems thus depends on the scale and dimension (spatial or temporal) of productivity.
... Three line transects measuring 100 m were laid in each HSP and their AHSP. All transects were laid perpendicular to the general area's hydrologic gradient to capture variations due to the moisture gradient (Frank et al., 2012;Dotzler et al., 2015). Grass species samples were identified, quantified, and recorded using standardized data collection sheets from quadrats (0.5 m 2 ) that were systematically laid after every 5 m along each transect, starting at the center and going to the edge of the HSP (Frank et al., 2012;Gebeyehu et al., 2019;Atsbha et al., 2019). ...
... All transects were laid perpendicular to the general area's hydrologic gradient to capture variations due to the moisture gradient (Frank et al., 2012;Dotzler et al., 2015). Grass species samples were identified, quantified, and recorded using standardized data collection sheets from quadrats (0.5 m 2 ) that were systematically laid after every 5 m along each transect, starting at the center and going to the edge of the HSP (Frank et al., 2012;Gebeyehu et al., 2019;Atsbha et al., 2019). Transects were also laid at least 30 m from roads or footpaths to minimize the influence of the road effects. ...
Over the last 30 years, the global positioning system (GPS) tracking collars have significantly enhanced livestock grazing behavior studies. Practices designed to understand and improve livestock grazing distribution can now be accurately and cost-effectively monitored with GPS tracking. The behavior and spatiotemporal microhabitat selection of Mashona cattle relative to the season in a semi-free-range grazing system was evaluated using a low‐cost GPS herd activity monitoring (GPSHAM) collar. The GPSHAM automatically logged the position of the lead cow at 20-second intervals over a 7–hour daily grazing period. Additionally, the GPS data was complemented by visually observing the lead cow during daylight hours for nine successive days each in winter (July – August) and summer (February – March) of 2017. Summer and winter tracks were used to identify the Mashona cattle preferred grass species and hotspot areas by identifying the concentration of the GPS generated tracks and points (n ≥ 30) in each grid and were used to calculate the distance from the water source using the shortest distance to the water point from the HSP. The activities of the lead cow were recorded at five-minute fixed intervals for every 60 minutes in the morning (09:00 – 10:00 hrs), afternoon (13:00 – 14:00 hrs), and evening (16:00 – 17:00 hrs). The percentage of the observation time spent on an activity for the observed animal was calculated for the duration of the observation. Results showed a significant difference in patch selection (p < 0.05) between summer and winter with 17 hotspot patches (HSP) being identified in summer and 8 HSPs in winter. Again, the range of Mashona cattle movement was 0 – 3 km from the water source. Seasonal activity patterns varied significantly across seasons. Therefore, Mashona cattle foraging behavior depends on seasonal variation. The landscape and animal attributes responded to paddock nutritional level dynamics with more frequent use of patches with higher plant species diversity and near the water source. Our research is useful to range managers, researchers, and cattle ranchers as a guideline for forage management of cattle preferred microhabitats, pasture, and nutrition.
... In the context of pastoralism, the complexities of spatiotemporal use of pasture land tend to be oversimplified in existing conceptual models [16] and have not been analyzed in a way that has led to an explanatory model of nomadic movement [17]. Explaining why, where, and how pastoral land use and movement occur requires considerable effort in terms of mobility modeling and evaluation [18]. ...
Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a key tool for both environmental and land management. It identifies potential adverse and unintended consequences of the projects on land use and the environment and derives possible mitigation measures to address these impacts. Calculating the volume and severity of impacts is complex and often relies on selections and simplifications. Moreover, calculating impacts associated with nomadic-pastoral (dynamic) land use is still an unresolved methodological problem. A full understanding of the patterns of dynamic land use in nomadic pastoralism is still lacking. Consequently, EIAs are currently able to predict the negative impacts associated with dynamic land use insufficiently. This article addresses this lacuna by modeling the spatial occupation of grazing land using a statistical modeling technique of structural equation modeling (SEM) and the R package lavaan for SEM, in order to explain the behavior of dynamic land use for EIA. Based on the concepts of the production of space and pastoral spatiality, we specified and tested a model of spatial occupation of grazing areas hypothesizing interrelationships between factors influencing the pastoral space using empirical data from two different ecological zones in Mongolia. The findings suggest that grazing areas, herd mobility, and herd size and composition have direct positive effects on each other. Compared to broad-scale pastoral movements, the herd size and composition significantly affect the size of grazing areas and the extent of fine-scale herding mobility. Herders occupy more pastoral space and increase their daily herding movements at their campsites when the population of livestock increases. By contrast, the herd size and composition do not considerably affect the herders’ decision to migrate for extensive grazing between their seasonal campsites. Likewise, the scale of grazing areas and fine-scale pastoral mobility do not affect significantly the broad-scale herding mobility between campsites. The broad-scale herding mobility is relatively independent of the fine-scale mobility; however, they covary. This is the first study to analyze and quantify the effects of grazing areas, herding mobility, and herd size and composition in the same study. EIA impact prediction should consider grazing areas as a dynamic space that is influenced by grazing orbits, fine and broad-scale herding movements including otor, livestock species, the number of animals as well as households at campsites.
... While there exist many different approaches to model piospheres (e.g. Derry 2004;Adler and Hall 2005;Frank et al. 2012;Wesuls et al. 2013; see also Thrash and Derry (1999) for strengths and weaknesses of some), these focus primarily on the emergence of patterns without providing contextualized landscapes as input for simulation models. ...
Context
Piospheres describe herbivore utilization gradients around watering points, as commonly found in grass-dominated ecosystems. Spatially explicit, dynamic models are ideal tools to study the ecological and economic problems associated with the resulting land degradation. However, there is a need for appropriate landscape input maps to these models that depict plausible initial vegetation patterns under a range of scenarios.
Objectives
Our goal was to develop a spatially-explicit piosphere landscape generator (PioLaG) for semi-arid savanna rangelands with a focus on realistic vegetation zones and spatial patterns of basic plant functional types around livestock watering points.
Methods
We applied a hybrid modelling approach combining aspects of both process- and pattern-based modelling. Exemplary parameterization of PioLaG was based on literature data and expert interviews in reference to Kalahari savannas. PioLaG outputs were compared with piosphere formations identified on aerial images.
Results
PioLaG allowed to create rangeland landscapes with piospheres that can be positioned within flexible arrangements of grazing units (camps). The livestock utilization gradients showed distinct vegetation patterns around watering points, which varied according to the pre-set initial rangeland condition, grazing regime and management type. The spatial characteristics and zoning of woody and herbaceous vegetation were comparable to real piosphere patterns.
Conclusions
PioLaG can provide important input data for spatial rangeland models that simulate site-specific savanna dynamics. The created landscapes can also be used as a direct decision support for land managers in attempts to maintain or restore landscape functionality and key ecosystem services such as forage production.
... This alienation has occurred even in the absence of empirical evidence for their contribution to declining biodiversity. For example, despite the value-driven, widely held belief linking agricultural production and small mammal decline (Williams and Price, 2010), reliable evidence establishing grazing as the primary factor for the loss of biodiversity, rather than a possible contributing factor, is lacking (Fensham et al., 2010;Frank, 2010;Frank et al., 2012;Silcock and Fensham, 2019). ...
Tensions in values between dryland pastoralists and non-pastoralists, and often between pastoralists themselves, are common globally. The re-imagining of grazed landscapes must recognize that current pastoralists have their own visions of what pastoralism does, can and should provide to both themselves and society at large. “Disrupters” may rapidly and permanently alter the social-ecological system but understanding pastoralist visions and values may help highlight effective and ethical mechanisms by which we can gently shift current systems toward socially re-imagined systems. Here we draw on two case studies from grazed dryland landscapes to highlight the ways in which understanding pastoralist values and visions could help with this shift. We choose case studies from contrasting institutional, cultural and economic contexts to better explore fit-for-purpose policy options. The first case study is from the typical and desert steppe of Mongolia, and the second from dryland Australia. Drawing on primary data and the literature, we explore in these contexts: what constitutes a meaningful livelihood for pastoralists? how might these imaginings align (or misalign) with the imaginings of the broader population? what inertia against future societal imaginings might a potential misalignment create? and how might policy provide a push (or pull) against such an inertia? We show that context-specific understandings of pastoralist values and visions can highlight appropriate policy options to encourage the movement of social-ecological systems toward those that are more socially desirable. However, the design of these options requires understanding unique combinations of pastoral and societal values, biophysical parameters and institutional contexts.
... Reserve is a former cattle station (stock density was <1 animal per 100 ha, Frank, Dickman, & Wardle, 2012), but it was destocked in 2004 when it was purchased by Bush Heritage Australia. The region experienced extensive wildfires in 2001-2002, but these did not affect our ant sampling sites (Greenville, Dickman, Wardle, & Letnic, 2009). ...
Productivity is a key driver of ecosystem structure and function, so long‐term studies are critical to understanding ecosystems with high temporal variation in productivity. In some deserts, productivity, driven by moisture availability, varies immensely over time (rainfall) and space (landscape factors). At high productivity, species richness is expected to be driven in opposing directions by abundance (More Individuals Hypothesis – MIH) and competition. While studies investigating the impacts of spatial variation in productivity on community structure are common, the impacts of temporal variability on productivity are poorly understood.
We tested how well rainfall predicted the activity, species numbers and assemblage composition of ants and if responses were moderated by landscape position. We also asked whether the number of species (richness per sampling unit and estimated species richness) responded directly to rainfall or was moderated by ant activity or competition from dominant ants.
Over a 22‐year period, when annual rainfall fluctuated between 79 mm and 570 mm, we sampled ants using pitfall traps in paired dune and swale habitats in the Simpson Desert, Australia. We used climate records over this period to model changes in ant assemblages.
Activity of dominant ants responded primarily to long‐term rainfall, increasing exponentially, while subordinate ants responded to short‐term weather and time. Consistent with the MIH, the number of ant species was best predicted by activity, particularly that of subordinate ants. Activity of dominant ants had a declining positive effect on numbers of species. Landscape position strongly predicted species composition, while long‐term rainfall determined composition at genus level but not species level. Over time, species composition fluctuated, but several genera consistently increased in activity.
Productivity moderators such as long‐term rainfall and landscape position are key drivers of ant activity and composition in the study ecosystem, acting indirectly on numbers of species. Numbers of species were explained largely by ant activity, making a strong case for the MIH, but not competition. Longer periods of low rainfall may indirectly reduce species richness in desert ecosystems. However, a trend to increasing richness over time may indicate that conservation management can ameliorate this impact.
... We assumed that degrading impacts are excluded or less intense in protected areas. We consider these assumptions are reasonable given the extensive studies that have examined the impacts of specific land uses activities on land degradation 45,46 . ...
Here we sought a biologically meaningful, climate variable that captures water-energy availability and is suitable for high resolution (250 m × 250 m) modelling of the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation intercepted by the sunlit canopy (F V ) derived from a 10-year (July 2000 - June 2010) time series of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite imagery for Australia. The long-term mean annual evaporation deficit, and mean annual water availability indices all yielded strong linear relationships with mean F V ([Formula: see text], %). We hypothesised whether some of the scatter about the relationships was related to land-use changes that have disrupted the vegetation-climate-soil equilibrium. Using continental-scale spatial data layers of protected area status and vegetation condition classes we repeated our analyses with restricted datasets. [Formula: see text] of intact native vegetation within protected areas was greater than all modified vegetation classes. There was a consistent decline in the slopes of the regression relationships with increasing intensity of woody vegetation clearing and livestock grazing. Where native vegetation has been transformed by land use there was a 25% reduction in predicted [Formula: see text].
... In response to spatiotemporal variations in forage availability in the arid and semiarid environments, pastoralists constantly adjust herding strategies and move livestock to different locations to ensure sufficient forage uptake (Niamir-Fuller 1999). However, the complexity of spatiotemporal use of rangelands by pastoralists and their livestock tend to be oversimplified in existing conceptual models, which predict grazing pressure to be highly concentrated around settlements or water sources as piospheres (Lange 1969, Frank et al. 2012 or distributed ideally and freely throughout the landscape (Moritz et al. 2014). The lack of inter-seasonal, intensive and continuous monitoring of livestock mobility and behavior limits our understanding of pastoral resource-use patterns and poorly informs policy-making, particularly, with regard to the advisability of sedentarization programs (Fratkin andRoth 2005, Fan et al. 2014). ...
Characterizing cattle behavior is crucial to inferring fine-scale resource selection patterns and improving rangeland management. However, our understanding of cattle behavior and resource selection on the extensive African rangelands suffers from a lack of quantitative, continuous and inter-seasonal monitoring of cattle movement. Based on integration of GPS-tracking and field observations, this study links cattle behavioral types with statistical parameters of movement, analyzes spatiotemporal dynamics of behavior and predicts resource selection patterns in Borana Zone of southern Ethiopia. We find that different cattle behavioral types were associated with distinct ranges of movement velocity. Distribution of identified cattle behavior varied substantially within the day and along the distance gradient from camp locations. Vegetation greenness, topography, study site, herding strategy and season were dominant factors influencing foraging areas selection by cattle. Research findings suggested that extensive herding through camp relocation can promote forage uptake while reducing energy spent on traveling. Future modeling of cattle resource selection needs to be based on longer-term GPS-tracking data and incorporate additional social, environmental, institutional and cultural factors to better interpret the complexity associated with cattle behavior in extensive grazing systems.
