Effects of herbivores on grassland plant diversity
Trends in Ecology & EvolutionPublished 1 July 1998Open access
Han Olff, Mark E. Ritchie
Citations1,521
Generate an AI Snapshot to get a quick, structured summary of this paper.
Study Snapshot
ObjectiveStudy objective
MethodsResearch methodology
PopulationPopulation studied
Sample sizeSample sizes
OutcomesStudy outcomes here
ResultsStudy results comes here
LimitationsResearch study limitations comes here
A concise AI-generated summary of the paper will appear here once you click Generate AI Snapshot.
TL;DR
The role of herbivores in controlling plant species richness is a critical issue in the conservation and management of grassland biodiversity and recent syntheses and models suggest that herbivore effects on plant diversity should vary across environmental gradients of soil fertility and precipitation.
Abstract
The role of herbivores in controlling plant species richness is a critical issue in the conservation and management of grassland biodiversity. Numerous field experiments in grassland plant communities show that herbivores often, but not always, increase plant diversity. Recent work suggests that the mechanisms of these effects involve alteration of local colonization of species from regional species pools or local extinction of species, and recent syntheses and models suggest that herbivore effects on plant diversity should vary across environmental gradients of soil fertility and precipitation.
Keywords
Agricultural and Biological SciencesEnvironmental Science
Princeton University Press eBooksThe Theory of Island Biogeography
12,712 Citations2001Robert H. MacArthur, Edward O. Wilson
Biological reviews/Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical SocietyTHE MAINTENANCE OF SPECIES‐RICHNESS IN PLANT COMMUNITIES: THE IMPORTANCE OF THE REGENERATION NICHE
4,418 Citations1977P. J. Grubb
It is shown that when an individual dies, it may or may not be replaced by an individual of the same species, which is all‐important to the argument presented.
EcologyCompetition and Biodiversity in Spatially Structured Habitats
2,826 Citations1994David Tilman
The spatial competition hypothesis seems to explain the coexistence of the numerous plant species that compete for a single limiting resource in the grasslands of Cedar Creek Natural History Area and provides a testable, alternative explanation for other high diversity communities, such as tropical forests.
Conservation BiologyDisturbance, Diversity, and Invasion: Implications for Conservation
2,400 Citations1992Richard J. Hobbs, Laura Huenneke
The natural disturbance regime is now unlikely to persist within conser- vation area since fragmentation and human intervention have usually modified physical and biotic conditionx Active management decisions must now be made on what distur- bance regime is require and this requires decisions on what species are to be encouraged or discouraged.
Choice Reviews OnlineBiological diversity: the coexistence of species on changing landscapes
1,797 Citations1995
The American NaturalistA Generalized Model of the Effects of Grazing by Large Herbivores on Grassland Community Structure
1,519 Citations1988D. G. Milchunas, Osvaldo E. Sala +1 more
It is suggested that feedback mechanisms between plants and grazing animals are well developed in grasslands with long evolutionary histories of grazing, and switching capabilities in semiarid and subhumid grassland situations are manifest in the rapid switching capabilities of plant species and modes of competition.
Ecological MonographsCross‐Scale Morphology, Geometry, and Dynamics of Ecosystems
1,477 Citations1992C. S. Holling
Community ecology and ecosystem ecology seem to have existed in different worlds, and Levin (1989) suggests that the gulf between the two is the consequence of the different historical traditions in each.
Ecological MonographsEcology of a Grazing Ecosystem: The Serengeti
1,381 Citations1985S. J. McNaughton
Great species diversity was associated with greater biomass stability through the seasons, greater resistance to grazing by a single species of ungulate in both the wet and dry seasons, and greater resilience after grazing, and specific properties of trophic web members were identified that produced greater functional stability in more diverse communities.
Trends in Ecology & EvolutionThe relative of species pools in determining plant species richness: an alternative explanation of species coexistence?
993 Citations1997Martin Zobel
The species-pool theory attempts to answer general questions about evolutionary processes and species dispersal, and information about species pools is needed for the design of experiments where the number of species in a community is manipulated.
Princeton University Press eBooksResource Competition and Community Structure. (MPB-17), Volume 17
873 Citations1982David Tilman
Annual Review of Ecology and SystematicsHerbivores and the Dynamics of Communities and Ecosystems
762 Citations1991Nancy J. Huntly
Herbivores are taxonomically and ecologically diverse, ranging in size from microscopic zooplankton to the largest of land vertebrates, and affect plant communities in many ways.
The Inadequate Environment: Nitrogen and the Abundance of Animals
682 Citations1993Thomas C. R. White
The environment of all Organisms is inadequate, and Herbivores in an Inadequate Environment, where early Instars Need More Nitrogen: Gypsy Moth on Artificial Diet and Inter-specific Competition and "Competitive Exclusion".
Annual Review of EntomologyInsect Herbivores and Plant Population Dynamics
680 Citations1989M. J. Crawley
This review concentrates on material published from 1 984 to 1987 and examines two of the best sources of evidence on the impact of insect feeding on plant population dynamics: the release of specialist insect herbivores against target weed species in classical.
The Inadequate Environment
589 Citations1993Thomas C. R. White
Ecological MonographsSerengeti Grassland Ecology: The Role of Composite Environmental Factors and Contingency in Community Organization
522 Citations1983S. J. McNaughton
Canopy interception data from 105 grassland stands in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya were used to evaluate community organization within an ecosystem defined by the annual movements of large herds of nomadic ungulates.
EcologyHERBIVORE EFFECTS ON PLANT AND NITROGEN DYNAMICS IN OAK SAVANNA
508 Citations1998Mark E. Ritchie, David Tilman +1 more
The hypothesis that herbivores indirectly decelerate N cycling by decreasing the abundance of plant species with nitrogen-rich tissues is supported, however, other factors, such as disturbance from fire, may mediate herbivore effects on long-term changes in N and C pools.
Journal of Vegetation ScienceEffects of grazing, competition, disturbance and fire on species composition and diversity in grassland communities
490 Citations1992A. Joy Belsky
Protection from grazing and physical disturbance had greater impacts on species cover and diversity than removal of dominant species or fire in short-, mid-, and tall-grasslands in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
Journal of Applied EcologyExperimental Studies on the Dispersal of Plants and Animals on Sheep in Calcareous Grasslands
471 Citations1996Sabine F. Fischer, Peter Poschlod +1 more
It is likely that transhumant sheep farming is irreplaceable in the restoration of grasslands threatened by fallow and woody successional stages and conservation management of rare and endangered species should consider the importance of sheep for maintaining the species richness of calcareous grasslands.
Journal of Applied EcologySerengeti II: Dynamics, Management and Conservation of an Ecosystem.
444 Citations1996James C. Deutsch, A. R. E. Sinclair +1 more
Drawing on data from long-term studies, the contributors examine the processes that have produced the Serengeti's biological diversity, with its species-species and species-environment interactions.
Journal of EcologyVegetation Succession and Herbivory in a Salt Marsh: Changes Induced by Sea Level Rise and Silt Deposition Along an Elevational Gradient
304 Citations1997Han Olff, Jan de Leeuw +3 more
It is proposed that declining forage quality (due to changing vegetation composition during succession) is a better explanation for this pattern than the classic explanation of predator control of herbivores at high levels of primary productivity.
Plant EcologyA hierarchical consideration of causes and mechanisms of succession
289 Citations1987Steward T. A. Pickett, Scott L. Collins +1 more
Journal of EcologyPresidential Address: A Positive Distrust in Simplicity - Lessons From Plant Defences and From Competition Among Plants and Among Animals
283 Citations1992P. J. Grubb
It is argued that previous hypotheses intended to explain the development of anti-herbivore defences are inadequate, and a new «scarcity-accessibility» hypothesis is proposed instead, and the new hypothesis accounts for completely opposite kinds of plants being armed.
OikosThe Effects of Herbivory and Granivory on Terrestrial Plant Succession
275 Citations1993Diane W. Davidson
A literature survey of experimental and observational tests of the effects of above-ground, native herbivores on terrestrial plant succession reveals a more complex pattern than anticipated from earlier reviews on this subject.
OikosVertebrate Herbivores and Northern Plant Communities: Reciprocal Influences and Responses
266 Citations1994R. L. Jefferies, D. R. Klein +1 more
Overall, herbivores do not appear to influence plant species assemblages in the different communities in the long term or alter the trajectory of plant succession at the landscape level, but they may have considerable short-term effects on vegetation, particularly at fine spatial scales (1-20 m).
A hierarchical consideration of causes and mechanisms of succession
237 Citations1987Steward T. A. Pickett, Scott L. Collins +1 more
OikosDifferential Effects of Above- and Below-Ground Insect Herbivory during Early Plant Succession
217 Citations1989V. K. Brown, Alan C. Gange
The different responses of life-history groupings and individual species to the two types of herbivory have a considerable effect on the pattern of early succession, relevant to the creation of species-rich communities of potential conservation value.
Biodiversity and Function of Grazing Ecosystems
207 Citations1994S. J. McNaughton
The biodiversity of communities is due to niche diversification of the co-occurring species and such diversification will lead to greater community productivity due to more effective resource exploitation.
Plant EcologyDisturbance effects on plant community diversity: spatial scales and dominance hierarchies
190 Citations1991Enrique J. Chaneton, José M. Facelli
American ZoologistGeneralist Herbivore Foraging and Its Role in Competitive Interactions
182 Citations1986Gary E. Belovsky
The results indicate that a mechanistic approach can provide considerable insights into herbivore community structure and the foraging constraints underlying the entire analysis may be body size dependent, providing a more general view.
Ecological ApplicationsHerbivore‐Induced Species Replacement in Grasslands: Is it Driven by Herbivory Tolerance or Avoidance?
181 Citations1995Val Jo Anderson, David D. Briske
Herbivore-induced modifications of competitive interactions are most like- ly to drive species replacement in grasslands characterized by high and consistent resource availability and why condition and trend analysis was developed and initially implemented in the true and mixed prairie associations of North America and why it is widely used by rangeland managers.
EcologyHerbivore Pressure on Goldenrods (Solidago Altissima): Its Variation and Cumulative Effects
175 Citations1996Richard B. Root
The experiment demonstrated that goldenrods order their response to herbivory so as to favor maintenance of established individuals over seed production; both the proportion of stems that bloomed and the size of individual inflorescences were reduced during years when herbivore loads were too low to produce a measurable impact on the length and density of stems.
EcologyPatterns of Herbivory Along a Prouductivity Gradient: An Empirical and Theoretical Investigation
174 Citations1996Johan van de Koppel, Jef Huisman +2 more
A plant-herbivore model where grazing becomes less efficient in dense vegetation is examined, and the behavior of this model along a gradient of primary productivity does not predict "top-down" control in productive environments.
EcologyCompetition and Nitrogen Loss from Plants in Grassland Ecosystems
141 Citations1992Frank Berendse, W. Th. Elberse +1 more
It was concluded that differences in nitrogen loss resulting from clipping have an important impact upon the competitive balance between plant species under nutrient—poor conditions.
Functional EcologyThe Dependence of Herbivory on Growth Rate in Natural Plant Communities
139 Citations1994Just Cebrián, Carlos M. Duarte
The results suggest that the tendency of fast-growing plants to support lower biomass of photosynthetic tissues than slow-growing ones can be accounted for by the tendencies of herbivore control of plant biomass and production to increase with increasing plant growth rate.
Animal BehaviourPredation risk and distance to cover affect foraging behaviour in Namib Desert gerbils
133 Citations1993Jessica J. Hughes, David Ward
EcologyEffects of Urine Deposition on Small‐Scale Patch Structure in Prairie Vegetation
130 Citations1995Ernest M. Steinauer, Scott L. Collins
Urine treatment significantly affected community composition at all but the 2-yr burn site, and the clipping of graminoids at the annual burn site reduced both diversity and graminoid abundance while forb abundance was not affected.
Journal of Vegetation ScienceThe effects of grazing on local colonisation and extinction during early succession
106 Citations1991C. W. D. Gibson, V. K. Brown
Grazing for longer periods further enhanced colonisation rates, but also increased extinction rates, which produced diversity patterns consistent with a ‘hump-backed model’, except that no grazing treatment was heavy enough to decrease diversity.
Journal of MammalogyEffects of Subterranean Mammalian Herbivores on Vegetation
104 Citations1994Nancy J. Huntly, O. J. Reichman
Better understanding of the rules that govern diet selection and burrow size, dynamics, and geometry are needed to predict effects of these animals under specific environmental conditions.
Biological Journal of the Linnean SocietyThe potential role of large herbivores in nature conservation and extensive land use in Europe
99 Citations1995Sip E. van Wieren
Attention is given to pasture-woodlands in southern Europe, which often have a relatively high biological diversity and share some key features with natural ecosystems: very low nutrient input, extensive grazing with large herbivores and the presence of natural tree cover.
OikosEffects of Scale and Disturbance on Rates of Immigration and Extinction of Species in Prairies
98 Citations1992Susan M. Glenn, Scott L. Collins
Relationships between local annual immigration and extinction rates of plant species and total species richness were determined from long-term data in permanent plots in tallgrass and shortgrass prairies in Kansas.
OecologiaStability in a multi-species assemblage of large herbivores in East Africa
91 Citations1990H.H.T. Prins, Iain Douglas‐Hamilton
The carrying capacity of the system has to be viewed on the level of all species combined and not on that of the individual species, supported by the result that size of the stability index showed that the system of herbivore species was stable.
OikosThe Effect of Grazing on the Outcome of Competition between Plant Species with Different Nutrient Requirements
84 Citations1985Frank Berendse
Exemple de la competition interspecifique d'associations de landes a Erica tetralis et Molinia des Pays-Bas.
VegetatioPlant responses to selective grazing by bison: interactions between light, herbivory and water stress
81 Citations1994J. T. Fahnestock, Alan K. Knapp
It is demonstrated that bison herbivory indirectly enhanced water availability and productivity of forbs growing in grazed patches and over short-term dry periods characteristic of the tallgrass prairie environment.
EcologyBeetle Folivory Increases Resource Availability and Alters Plant Invasion in Monocultures of Goldenrod
61 Citations1994Donna Brown
The impact of herbivores upon plant communities may be effected through increased availability of important plant resources through altering the ambient availability of resources required by plants.
OikosTheory for Coexistence of Species Differing in Regeneration Properties
51 Citations1979Torbjörn Fagerström, Göran I. Ågren +2 more
Much of existing competition theory, based on the assumption of global interaction, is less well suited for the understanding of mechanisms behind maintained species richness in many kinds of communities.