Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities
Abstract Geese are known to impact on the species composition and abundance of plant communities, with grazing pressure by flocks negatively affecting various aspects of vegetation and ecosystems. However, positive effects have also been highlighted, including grazing preventing competition among pl...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 |
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crwiley:10.1111/1440-1703.12392 2024-06-02T07:55:24+00:00 Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities Ohkawara, Kyohsuke Tajiri, Hironobu 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Ecological Research volume 38, issue 4, page 583-592 ISSN 0912-3814 1440-1703 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 2024-05-03T12:04:15Z Abstract Geese are known to impact on the species composition and abundance of plant communities, with grazing pressure by flocks negatively affecting various aspects of vegetation and ecosystems. However, positive effects have also been highlighted, including grazing preventing competition among plants and helping to maintain a high level of biodiversity. The Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii is one waterfowl that winters in the marsh lands of Japan. At the Katano‐kamoike pond, the species main wintering site in central Japan, the effects of goose grazing on the structure of marsh plant communities were investigated by using field observations and experiments. During observations of foraging behavior, A. fabalis middendorffii mainly foraged on underground parts of Zizania latifolia and Bolboschoenus fluviatilis , including rhizomes, roots, and tubers, at the marshlands of the pond. The field census showed the biomass of the underground parts was significantly reduced by A. fabalis middendorffii grazing during winter. Specifically, the biomass of rhizomes in Z. latifolia was drastically decreased. Data collected from exclosure experiments over 5 years suggested that grazing pressure regulated the overgrowth of B. fluviatilis and enhanced the abundance of Z. latifolia. Furthermore, a field census of marsh plants at the Shimofukuda reservoir, where there have been no A. fabalis middendorffii , confirmed that the absence of A. fabalis middendorffii was related to a decrease in the abundance and biodiversity of marsh plants. In the Katano‐kamoike pond, A. fabalis middendorffii may play a key role in maintaining plant diversity. Article in Journal/Newspaper Anser fabalis Wiley Online Library Ecological Research 38 4 583 592 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
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English |
description |
Abstract Geese are known to impact on the species composition and abundance of plant communities, with grazing pressure by flocks negatively affecting various aspects of vegetation and ecosystems. However, positive effects have also been highlighted, including grazing preventing competition among plants and helping to maintain a high level of biodiversity. The Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii is one waterfowl that winters in the marsh lands of Japan. At the Katano‐kamoike pond, the species main wintering site in central Japan, the effects of goose grazing on the structure of marsh plant communities were investigated by using field observations and experiments. During observations of foraging behavior, A. fabalis middendorffii mainly foraged on underground parts of Zizania latifolia and Bolboschoenus fluviatilis , including rhizomes, roots, and tubers, at the marshlands of the pond. The field census showed the biomass of the underground parts was significantly reduced by A. fabalis middendorffii grazing during winter. Specifically, the biomass of rhizomes in Z. latifolia was drastically decreased. Data collected from exclosure experiments over 5 years suggested that grazing pressure regulated the overgrowth of B. fluviatilis and enhanced the abundance of Z. latifolia. Furthermore, a field census of marsh plants at the Shimofukuda reservoir, where there have been no A. fabalis middendorffii , confirmed that the absence of A. fabalis middendorffii was related to a decrease in the abundance and biodiversity of marsh plants. In the Katano‐kamoike pond, A. fabalis middendorffii may play a key role in maintaining plant diversity. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ohkawara, Kyohsuke Tajiri, Hironobu |
spellingShingle |
Ohkawara, Kyohsuke Tajiri, Hironobu Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
author_facet |
Ohkawara, Kyohsuke Tajiri, Hironobu |
author_sort |
Ohkawara, Kyohsuke |
title |
Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
title_short |
Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
title_full |
Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
title_fullStr |
Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering Middendorf's bean goose Anser fabalis middendorffii: Its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
title_sort |
effects of grazing on underground parts of marsh plants by wintering middendorf's bean goose anser fabalis middendorffii: its role as a keystone species in plant communities |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 |
genre |
Anser fabalis |
genre_facet |
Anser fabalis |
op_source |
Ecological Research volume 38, issue 4, page 583-592 ISSN 0912-3814 1440-1703 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1111/1440-1703.12392 |
container_title |
Ecological Research |
container_volume |
38 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
583 |
op_container_end_page |
592 |
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1800748630766780416 |