A global meta‐analysis of grazing effects on soil seed banks

Livestock grazing is a major disturbance affecting plant diversity and abundance in terrestrial ecosystems. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts that moderate‐intensity grazing should produce the highest species diversity, while the Milchunas‐Sala‐Lauenroth (MSL) model posits that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Land degradation & development 2022-07, Vol.33 (11), p.1892-1900
Main Authors: Shi, Ya‐Fei, Shi, Shan‐Heng, Huang, Xiao‐Min, Jiang, Ying‐Sha, Liu, Jia, Zhao, Yang, Zhang, Zhi‐Shan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
aboveground vegetation
diversity
Grassland management
Grasslands
Grazing
Herbivores
intermediate disturbance hypothesis
Livestock
Livestock grazing
Luminous intensity
Meta-analysis
Pasture management
Plant diversity
Seed banks
Seeds
soil seed bank
Soils
Species diversity
species richness
Terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial environments
Vegetation
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Summary:Livestock grazing is a major disturbance affecting plant diversity and abundance in terrestrial ecosystems. The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts that moderate‐intensity grazing should produce the highest species diversity, while the Milchunas‐Sala‐Lauenroth (MSL) model posits that the IDH is valid only for mesic areas. However, it remains unclear how grazing affects soil seed bank and whether or not the IDH or MSL models are valid for soil seed bank communities. Here, we presented a global meta‐analysis synthesizing 483 observations: we found that grazing had a negative effect on soil seed bank abundance, but did not alter seed bank richness or the compositional similarity between the soil seed bank and the aboveground vegetation. Further refining the analysis, light‐intensity grazing was found to increase seed bank richness, while moderate‐intensity grazing had no effect, and heavy‐intensity grazing had a negative effect. Additionally, for both arid and mesic areas, soil seed bank richness declined with grazing intensity increased. Overall, grazing effects on soil seed banks differed from expectations set by studies of aboveground vegetation. Our study provides key insights for policy‐makers managing livestock grazing and grassland conservation.
ISSN:1085-3278
1099-145X
DOI:10.1002/ldr.4271