期刊
PHYTOCOENOLOGIA
卷 48, 期 3, 页码 283-295出版社
GEBRUDER BORNTRAEGER
DOI: 10.1127/phyto/2018/0244
关键词
Campos region; cattle; fire; grazing; National Park; humid savanna; protected area; species diversity
资金
- University of Buenos Aires
- University of Buenos Aires [UBACyT 20020100100933]
Question: Is domestic cattle an appropriate surrogate for fire in a protected humid temperate savanna? Study area: El Palmar Grande de Colon (31 degrees 52'S, 58 degrees 17'W), Argentina. Methods: We surveyed dense Butia yatay palm savannas in two neighboring protected areas, El Palmar National Park (EPNP), under cattle exclusion since 1970 with sporadic burning; and La Aurora Wildlife Refuge (LAWR), under moderate cattle density, and not burnt since 1997. In each area, we randomly selected ten dense savanna stands, established 500 m(2) plots and undertook floristic survey in spring and summer to produce exhaustive plant-species lists. We statistically compared the two samples in terms of: local and global diversities; compositional heterogeneity among stands; mean similarity to a historical record from the area; overall species composition; and abundance and numbers of species with different growth habits and origins. Results: Differences between our samples are clear-cut. Savannas at EPNP have significantly increased local and global species richness and exhibit decreased similarities with the historical record. They have a novel understory, with significantly increased abundances and species numbers of fire-resistant grassland shrubs and fire-sensitive trees, and a groundcover with significantly increased richness of subshrub and perennial graminoid species. Savannas at LAWR have virtually no woody understory, and exhibit a groundcover dominated by an impoverished suite of perennial grasses, with significantly increased abundances and numbers of annual and of exotic species. Conclusions: Our results suggest that large-scale, long-term cattle exclusion and sporadic fires have resulted in changes in the structure and composition of the savanna vegetation leading to increased plant species diversity. Apparently, conservation of these humid savannas in protected areas requires periodic fire, while domestic cattle are a poor alternative for maintaining their plant species diversity.
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