Effects of Domestic and Wild Ungulate Management on Young Oak Size and Architecture

Aida López-Sánchez, Sonia Roig, Rodolfo Dirzo and Ramón Perea
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Aida López-Sánchez: Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Sonia Roig: Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Rodolfo Dirzo: Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Ramón Perea: Departamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 14, 1-14

Abstract: Scattered oaks in traditional silvopastoral systems (i.e., “dehesas”) provide important ecological services. However, livestock intensification applied to these systems over the last century has affected the architecture of young oak plants. This unsuitable rangeland management practice jeopardizes the long-term system sustainability. Here we examine the alterations in architecture of regenerating oak plants in Mediterranean dehesas under three representative management regimes: (1) traditional management with extensive sheep grazing; (2) commercially driven management with extensive cattle grazing, and (3) native deer grazing at moderate stocking rates (<0.11 livestock units × ha −1 ). Plant architecture was considerably altered in cattle-grazed “dehesas”, finding a 50% reduction in plant height–diameter ratios, compared to sheep-grazed dehesas where plants with higher height–diameter ratios predominated. Young oak plants, however, showed less altered architecture and less probability of damage on shoot apex (0.20-fold difference) in areas with deer grazing at moderate stocking rates. In addition, those young oak plants with multi-stemmed individual architecture were more stunted (lower values of crown height–diameter ratio) in areas with livestock grazing than wildlife areas (0.78-fold difference). Shrub presence, under all management schemes, helped to increase in plant height, except when shrubs were located under tree canopies. Conversely, plants without shrub protection showed stunted architecture with well-developed basal diameters but short stature. Appropriate sustainable practices should include cattle stocking rate reduction, traditional sheep grazing promotion, nurse shrub preservation and fencing stunted individuals along with pruning basal sprouts. Our study indicates that management may have important consequences on dehesa regeneration via alterations of plant architecture and therefore on system sustainability.

Keywords: height-diameter ratio; plant architecture; Quercus ilex; livestock grazing (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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