The cascading impacts of livestock grazing in upland ecosystems : a 10-year experiment

Livestock grazing is a major driver of land-use change, causing significant biodiversity loss globally. Although the short-term effects of livestock grazing on individual species are well studied, a mechanistic understanding of the long-term, cascading impacts is lacking. We manipulated livestock densities using a unique, replicated upland experiment over a 10-year period and found significant effects of grazing treatment on plant and arthropod biomass; the number of Anthus pratensis breeding bird territories; the amplitude of Microtus agrestis population cycles and the activity of a top predator, Vulpes vulpes. Lower plant biomass as a result of higher stocking densities led to cascades across trophic levels, with fewer arthropods and small mammals, the latter affecting predator activity. Breeding bird territories were a function of arthropod abundance and vegetation structure heterogeneity. Our results provide a novel food-web analysis in a grazing experiment to provide a mechanistic understanding of ho...

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Ecosphere

• Publication date

  2015-03-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1890/ES14-00316.1
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• Dampening prey cycle overrides the impact of climate change on predator population dynamics: a long-term demographic study on tawny owls

  2014cited by this paper
• R: A language and environment for statistical computing.

  2014cited by this paper
• Mixed Grazing Systems Benefit both Upland Biodiversity and Livestock Production

  2014cited by this paper
• Optimizing Carbon Storage Within a Spatially Heterogeneous Upland Grassland Through Sheep Grazing Management

  2014cited by this paper
• Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects the activity of a generalist predator

  2013influential reference
• Indirect food web interactions mediated by predator–rodent dynamics: relative roles of lemmings and voles

  2013cited by this paper
• Species–fragmented area relationship

  2013cited by this paper
• Experimental evidence that livestock grazing intensity affects cyclic vole population regulation processes

  2013cited by this paper
• Phylogenetic trait-based analyses of ecological networks.

  2013cited by this paper
• Impacts of agricultural intensification and abandonment on farmland birds in Poland following EU accession

  2013cited by this paper
• Europe-Wide Dampening of Population Cycles in Keystone Herbivores

  2013influential reference
• Grazing impacts on Auchenorrhyncha diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

  2012cited by this paper
• Rapid response of a grassland ecosystem to an experimental manipulation of a keystone rodent and domestic livestock.

  2010cited by this paper
• Large herbivore grazing and invertebrates in an alpine ecosystem

  2010cited by this paper
• Impacts of differential prey dynamics on the potential recovery of endangered arctic fox populations

  2008cited by this paper
• Large scale experimental effects of three levels of sheep densities on an alpine ecosystem

  2008cited by this paper
• Management of agricultural wet grasslands for breeding waders: integrating ecological and livestock system perspectives—a review

  2008cited by this paper
• Grazing impacts on moth diversity and abundance on a Scottish upland estate

  2008cited by this paper
• Selection of foraging habitat and nestling diet by Meadow Pipits Anthus pratensis breeding on intensively grazed moorland

  2008cited by this paper
• Positive short-term effects of sheep grazing on the alpine avifauna

  2007cited by this paper
• Implications for food production, land use and rural development of the European Union’s Single Farm Payment: Indications from a survey of farmers’ intentions in Germany, Portugal and the UK

  2007cited by this paper
• The effects of livestock grazing on foliar arthropods associated with bird diet in upland grasslands of Scotland

  2007cited by this paper
• Plant trait responses to grazing – a global synthesis

  2007cited by this paper
• Climate change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Summary for Policymakers.

  2007cited by this paper
• Livestock's long shadow: environmental issues and options.

  2006cited by this paper
• To graze or not to graze? Sheep, voles, forestry and nature conservation in the British uplands

  2006influential reference
• Low intensity, mixed livestock grazing improves the breeding abundance of a common insectivorous passerine

  2006influential reference
• Are ecological compensation areas attractive hunting sites for common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) and long-eared owls (Asio otus)?

  2005cited by this paper
• Sheep grazing and rodent populations: evidence of negative interactions from a landscape scale experiment

  2005cited by this paper
• The influence of livestock management on habitat quality for farmland birds

  2005cited by this paper
• Ecosystems and human well-being: current state and trends

  2005cited by this paper
• Consistency of plant species and trait responses to grazing along a productivity gradient: a multi‐site analysis

  2004cited by this paper
• Large-scale spatial dynamics of vole populations in Finland revealed by the breeding success of vole-eating avian predators

  2004cited by this paper
• Effects of grazing management on upland bird populations: disentangling habitat structure and arthropod food supply

  2003cited by this paper
• Mixed-Effects Models in S and S-PLUS

  2001influential reference
• Quantifying biodiversity: procedures and pitfalls in the measurement and comparison of species richness

  2001influential reference
• The management of lowland neutral grasslands in Britain: effects of agricultural practices on birds and their food resources

  2001influential reference
• Cyclic dynamics in field vole populations and generalist predation

  2000cited by this paper
• The effects of elk and cattle foraging on the vegetation, birds, and small mammals of the Bridge Creek Wildlife Area, Oregon

  2000cited by this paper
• Changes in sheep numbers in Britain: implications for bird populations

  1999cited by this paper
• Ungulate effects on the functional species composition of plant communities; herbivore selectivity and plant tolerance

  1998cited by this paper
• Livestock Grazing: Animal and Plant Biodiversity of Shortgrass Steppe and the Relationship to Ecosystem Function

  1998cited by this paper
• Rodent cycles in relation to biomass and productivity of ground vegetation and predation in the Palearctic.

  1996cited by this paper
• Ecological Costs of Livestock Grazing in Western North America

  1994cited by this paper
• Specialist predators, generalist predators, and the microtine rodent cycle.

  1991cited by this paper
• A Generalized Model of the Effects of Grazing by Large Herbivores on Grassland Community Structure

  1988cited by this paper
• Ecology of a Grazing Ecosystem: The Serengeti

  1985cited by this paper
• Responses of birds, rodents, and vegetation to livestock exclosure in a semidesert grassland site.

  1984cited by this paper
• Exploitation Ecosystems in Gradients of Primary Productivity

  1981cited by this paper
• An Improved Backpack Motor Fan for Suction Sampling of Insect Populations

  1961cited by this paper

• The impacts of grazing pressure by large herbivores on short-tailed field vole (Microtus agrestis) population cycles: results from a long-term upland experiment

  2026cites this paper
• How Can Grazing Mitigate Wildfires? A Review of Fuel Management, Ecological Trade-Offs, and Adaptive Frameworks

  2026cites this paper
• Four Decades of Common Vole (Microtus arvalis Pallas 1778) Population Outbreaks in NW Spain: Transition from Environmentally Harmful Practices to Sustainable Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

  2026cites this paper
• Effect of grazing intensity on understory vegetation in a Village Land Forest Reserve in Northern Tanzania.

  2025cites this paper
• Sheep dung input enhances arthropod biomass and a threatened insectivorous bird: Experimental management for conservation

  2025cites this paper
• The Temporal and Spatial Responses of Large and Medium Mammals to Anthropogenic Disturbances in Montane Southwest China

  2025cites this paper
• The influence of grazing intensity and wetland availability on breeding shorebird populations in a Eurasian steppe

  2025cites this paper
• Selection for Overhead Concealment Improves Nest Survival of a Ground Nesting Bird in Argentinian Rangelands

  2024influential citation
• The interplay between defaunation and phylogenetic diversity affects leaf damage by natural enemies in tropical plants

  2024cites this paper
• Habitat protection and removal of encroaching shrubs support the recovery of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning

  2024cites this paper
• The Effect of Grazing on Central Anatolian Steppe Vegetation: A Modeling Approach Using Functional Traits

  2024cites this paper
• Impact of Human Activities and Climate Change on Grassland Productivity in Xilingol League

  2024cites this paper
• Predicting the Drivers of Bothrops Snakebite Incidence Across Brazil: A Spatial Analysis.

  2024cites this paper
• A comparison of the welfare of free-ranging native pony herds on common land with those used for conservation grazing in the UK

  2024cites this paper
• Effects of livestock on arthropod biodiversity in Iberian holm oak savannas revealed by metabarcoding.

  2024cites this paper
• The effects of plant invasion, floral resources and soil characteristics on ground-nesting bees

  2024cites this paper
• From functional diversity to human well-being: A conceptual framework for agroecosystem sustainability

  2023cites this paper
• Habitat and other environmental correlates of the decline of breeding Whinchats Saxicola rubetra in the UK since the mid-1990s

  2023cites this paper
• Grazing and boundaries favour weedy plants with functional traits beneficial for pollinators

  2023cites this paper
• Cryptogamic Biomass in Pannonic Acidic Sand Steppes Subject to Changing Land-Use

  2023cites this paper
• Early life conditions influence fledging success and subsequent local recruitment rates in a declining migratory songbird, the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra

  2023cites this paper
• Moderate sheep grazing increases arthropod biomass and habitat use by steppe birds

  2023cites this paper
• The Role of Olive Groves in the Conservation of Mediterranean Orchids

  2023cites this paper
• Vegetation Structure and Invertebrate Food Availability for Birds in Intensively Used Arable Fields: Evaluation of Three Widespread Crops

  2023cites this paper
• Effects of livestock grazing on biodiversity: a meta-analysis on three trophic levels

  2022cites this paper
• High resolution ancient sedimentary DNA shows that alpine plant diversity is associated with human land use and climate change

  2022cites this paper
• Animal board invited review: Grassland-based livestock farming and biodiversity

  2022cites this paper
• Suitable grazing during the regrowth period promotes plant diversity in winter pastures in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau

  2022cites this paper
• Grazers and fires: Their role in shaping the structure and functioning of the Río de la Plata Grasslands

  2022cites this paper
• Use of a novel camera trapping approach to measure small mammal responses to peatland restoration

  2021cites this paper
• Mammalian herbivores restrict the altitudinal range limits of alpine plants.

  2021cites this paper
• Friend and foe? The effects of grassland management on global patterns of spider diversity

  2021cites this paper
• Ecological restoration policy should pay more attention to the high productivity grasslands

  2021cites this paper
• The Influence of Fine-Scale Grazing Heterogeneity on Dung Beetle Assemblages: What Trait Analysis Teaches Us

  2021cites this paper
• Climate change drives NDVI variations at multiple spatiotemporal levels rather than human disturbance in Northwest China

  2021cites this paper
• Wetlands support higher breeding wader densities than farmed habitats within a nature-rich farming system

  2021cites this paper
• Increased grazing drives homogenisation but reduced grazing increases turnover in upland habitat mosaics

  2021cites this paper
• No evidence that declining Whinchat Saxicola rubetra are currently limited by the availability of apparently suitable breeding habitat within the UK uplands

  2021cites this paper
• No evidence that declining Whinchat Saxicola rubetra are currently limited by the availability of apparently suitable breeding habitat within the UK uplands

  2021cites this paper
• Use of a novel camera trapping approach to measure small mammal responses to peatland restoration

  2021cites this paper
• Long-term ecological research in southern Brazil grasslands: Effects of grazing exclusion and deferred grazing on plant and arthropod communities

  2020cites this paper
• Frugivory underpins the nitrogen cycle

  2020cites this paper
• Native woodland establishment improves soil hydrological functioning in UK upland pastoral catchments

  2020cites this paper
• Seasonal habitat use and activity patterns of blood pheasant Ithaginis cruentusbe in the presence of free-ranging livestock

  2020cites this paper
• Current Distribution of the California Vole (Microtus californicus) in Baja California, Mexico

  2020cites this paper
• Fluctuations in field vole abundance indirectly influence red grouse productivity via a shared predator guild

  2020cites this paper
• A functional assessment of the impact of changing grazing management of upland grassland mosaics

  2020cites this paper
• Livestock grazing impacts components of the breeding productivity of a common upland insectivorous passerine: Results from a long‐term experiment

  2020cites this paper
• Livestock species and grazing rotational patterns modulate grassland bird assemblages in Mediterranean drylands

  2020cites this paper
• Benefits and costs of native reforestation for breeding songbirds in temperate uplands

  2020cites this paper
• Nest-site selection and breeding success of two neotropical austral migrant birds in a semiarid forest: A comparison of sites with and without livestock

  2020cites this paper
• Grazing impacts on ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) abundance and diversity on a semi-natural grassland

  2020cites this paper
• Vegetation composition and structure are important predictors of oviposition site selection in an alpine butterfly, the Mountain Ringlet Erebia epiphron

  2020cites this paper
• Diverse Swards and Mixed-Grazing of Cattle and Sheep for Improved Productivity

  2020cites this paper
• Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

  2020cites this paper
• Grazing as a conservation management tool: Responses of voles to grazer species and densities

  2019cites this paper
• Long-Term Effects of Sheep Grazing in Various Densities on Marsh Properties and Vegetation Dynamics in Two Different Salt-Marsh Zones

  2019cites this paper
• KING OF THE HILL? HOW BIOTIC INTERACTIONS AFFECT BIOGEOGRAPHICAL PATTERN AND SPECIES RESPONSES TO CLIMATE CHANGE

  2019cites this paper
• Long‐term impacts of changed grazing regimes on the vegetation of heterogeneous upland grasslands

  2019cites this paper
• Snow cover phenology is the main driver of foraging habitat selection for a high-alpine passerine during breeding: implications for species persistence in the face of climate change

  2019cites this paper
• Recognising the potential role of native ponies in conservation management

  2019cites this paper
• Socio-economic and biodiversity impacts of driven grouse moors in Scotland: Part 1: Socio-economic impacts of driven grouse moors in Scotland

  2018cites this paper
• Vegetation type and grazing intensity jointly shape grazing effects on grassland biodiversity

  2018cites this paper
• Predicting user numbers of an urban fringe Pennine moorland using time and weather variables

  2018cites this paper
• The response of Orthoptera to grazing on flood defense embankments in Europe

  2018cites this paper
• Livestock grazing affects vernal pool specialists more than habitat generalists in montane vernal pools

  2018cites this paper
• Efecto del pastoreo sobre una comunidad de roedores nocturnos en pastizales del Valle de Perote, Veracruz

  2018influential citation
• Understanding plant–arthropod interactions in multitrophic communities to improve conservation biological control: useful traits and metrics

  2018cites this paper
• Respostas dos besouros (INSECTA: COLEOPTERA) a pressões pastoris em campos naturais no sul do Brasil

  2018influential citation
• Aves remores:responses of migratory birds to climate change and habitat alteration

  2017cites this paper
• Changes in upland bird abundances show associations with moorland management

  2017influential citation
• Assessing the Ecological Impacts of Extensive Sheep Grazing in Iceland

  2017cites this paper
• Mammal‐induced trophic cascades in invertebrate food webs are modulated by grazing intensity in subalpine grassland

  2017cites this paper
• Rotation grazing as a conservation management tool: Vegetation changes after six years of application in a salt marsh ecosystem

  2017cites this paper
• Large-scale impacts of multiple co-occurring invaders on monkey puzzle forest regeneration, native seed predators and their ecological interactions

  2016cites this paper
• Livestock Use has Mixed Effects on Slender Orcutt Grass in Northeastern California Vernal Pools ☆,☆☆,★

  2016cites this paper
• Identifying key environmental factors affecting primary productivity and ecosystem services in the uplands

  2016influential citation
• Effects of grazing management on biodiversity across trophic levels-The importance of livestock species and stocking density in salt marshes

  2016cites this paper
• The influence of wildlife water developments and vegetation on rodent abundance in the Great Basin Desert

  2016cites this paper
• Effects of livestock farming on birds of rural areas in Europe

  2016influential citation
• Sheep grazing in the North Atlantic region: A long-term perspective on environmental sustainability

  2016cites this paper
• Long-term Effects of Shifts in Grazing Pressure on Alpine Plant Species along an Elevational Gradient

  2015cites this paper
• Successive sheep grazing reduces population density of Brandt’s voles in steppe grassland by altering food resources: a large manipulative experiment

  2015cites this paper
• Long-term effects of sheep grazing in various densities on marsh properties and 1 vegetation dynamics in two different salt-marsh zones 2

  year unknowncites this paper