Productivity of grazed and restored Mediterranean rangelands of Lagadas County in northern Greece
Livestock grazing is an old practice in the Mediterranean Basin, while continuous overgrazing increases the risk to land degradation. Several management actions are applied in the Mediterranean rangelands in order to reduce this risk. Five such actions were evaluated in Lagadas County (Northern Greece), for their impact on primary standing productivity. They involved overgrazed, moderately grazed and control areas, as well as partially and fully reforested areas with rangeland pines. Measurements included soil characteristics and plant biomass. Samples were taken from areas where each action was implemented in order to estimate soil texture and organic matter content. For plant biomass (herbs and shrubs), three transects of 50m each were established in each of the five actions and 10 quadrats were taken in each transect. The double sampling technique of visual weight estimation calibrated by harvesting was applied. For the tree biomass, two representative plots, (0.1 ha each), were selected in the three actions that had trees, i.e. the control area, and the partial and full reforestation areas. Allometric equations related to the diameter at breast height, the average tree height and the form factor were applied for the tree biomass estimation. The results showed that actions promoting grazing tended to result in shallower soil and less organic matter content than the other. Shrub biomass was highest in the overgrazed area, while herbaceous biomass was highest in the moderately grazed area. The reforestation actions resulted in the highest pine biomass, while the highest oak biomass was recorded in the control area.
Differences in plant communities and soil properties in grazed versus mown lands around Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia
A Carex duriuscula-Stipa krglovii community and a Serratula centauroides-Stipa grandis community were classified, based on Braun-Blanquet methodology, in grazed versus mown areas, respectively. In the 0~10cm soil layer, soil compaction and water content were significantly different in the grazed and mown sites; at 11~30cm, soil temperature was significantly higher at grazed sites than at mown sites. The species dominating on grazed sites were more closely related to compacted soil, higher soil temperature and lower water content, whereas the species dominating on mown sites were more closely related to the opposite environmental conditions.
Investigation on Soil and Vegetation Characteristics in relation to Distance from Critical Areas in the Central Alborz’s Grasslands (Iran)
The continuous heavy livestock grazing may cause excessive destruction of rangeland ecosystems. Thus, monitoring of qualitative and quantitative changes on the soil and vegetation characteristics is essential in these sites in order to to improve rangeland management practices. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of high livestock density on vegetation cover and soil properties in central Alborz’s grasslands in Iran. Grazing gradient method (systematic changes in vegetation cover with distance from stock ponds and around villages as two of critical areas) has been used to determine the characteristics of soil and vegetation.. Factors such as vegetation cover, litter, plant diversity, bare soil, rock and gravel were measured. The results showed that vegetation cover was significantly correlated with distance from the village but not with the distance from the watering pointss. Litter and plant diversity was significantly correlated with the distance from critical points noticeably so that these factors had higher values at longer distances. Although, the grit was not significantly correlated with any critical area, it increased at longer distances from villages. Regarding that, in order to improve ranges condition (with emphasis on critical areas) proper management should be practiced including change of grazing pattern and bed ground livestock in Iran’s grasslands.
Characteristics of grazed and restored Mediterranean landscapes of Northern Greece
Rangelands are a dominant land use type in the Mediterranean basin countries occupying more than 50% of the Mediterranean zone and forming pastoral landscapes of various types. These landscapes usually include severely degraded lands due to overgrazing. The most common restoration actions for such lands are grazing management regulation and pine reforestation. In the Lagadas county of northern Greece five (5) different grazed and restored landscapes were identified: a moderately grazed shrubland, an overgrazed shrubland, an abandoned shrubland, a rangeland partially reforested with pines and a rangeland fully reforested with pines. All these landscapes were evaluated for two main characteristics, namely the landscape structure and value. Landscape structure was evaluated with the use of landscape metrics (size, edge and shape metrics), while landscape value was based on analysis of specific qualitative criteria. Results showed that the moderately grazed shrubland and the overgrazed shrubland sustained the most fragmented – heterogenic and geometric structure compared with the other landscapes. For the landscape value, the moderately grazed and the abandoned rangeland sustained high-valued landscapes that require retension while the partially and fully reforested rangelands as well as the overgrazed ones sustained low-valued landscapes that need modification. It was concluded that moderate grazing had the best influence on the structure and value of Mediterranean pastoral landscapes.
The spatial distribution of rangeland vegetation depending on distance to settlement in highland rangelands of Turkey
The aim of this study was to assess the effects of distance from settlements on spatial pattern of rangeland vegetation in semi-arid highlands of Bayburt and Erzurum provinces, Eastern Anatolia Region, in Turkey. The vegetation was sampled using the line intercept method, and environmental variable data were collected from both locations. All data were proceeded to ordination analysis using CANOCO, in order to test relations between species composition and environmental variables. There were strong correlation between species composition and environmental variables. The results indicate that distance from permanent settlement and environmental variables are important factors affecting spatial distribution of species. As getting further from permanent settlement the environmental conditions becomes more favorable and species composition improves with respect to desirable status.
