Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations
Livestock summer grazing in mountains and forests in Norway is generally considered beneficial to biodiversity. In this study we investigated if this is the case for cattle in boreal production forest. We collected biodiversity data on field layer vegetation, floral resources and flower-visiting ins...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3151003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 |
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fthsinnlandet:oai:brage.inn.no:11250/3151003 2024-09-30T14:22:04+00:00 Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations Spedener, Melanie Valaker, Jenny Helbert, Juliette Schubert, Veronika Mathisen, Karen Marie Henriksen, Marie Vestergaard Nielsen, Anders Austrheim, Gunnar Zimmermann, Barbara Norway 2024 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3151003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 eng eng Forest Ecology and Management. 2024, 572, 122258. urn:issn:0378-1127 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3151003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 cristin:2293705 Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no 0378-1127/© 2024 The Authors. 572 Forest Ecology and Management 122258 Bos taurus Alces alces forest grazing boreal forest pollinators floral resources VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 Peer reviewed Journal article 2024 fthsinnlandet https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 2024-09-16T23:30:12Z Livestock summer grazing in mountains and forests in Norway is generally considered beneficial to biodiversity. In this study we investigated if this is the case for cattle in boreal production forest. We collected biodiversity data on field layer vegetation, floral resources and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations that were planted 2–10 years ago. We picked young spruce plantations inside and outside well-established cattle grazing areas. On each plantation, we sampled fenced and unfenced plots (20 * 20 m each). This study design allowed us to investigate long-term effects of cattle grazing as well as short-term effects of excluding cervids only and short-term effects of excluding cervids and cattle. Long-term cattle grazing reduced the abundance of woody plants and reduced the abundance of flowers. Excluding cervids for two summers led to reduced height of woody plants (shrubs and heather) and to increased flower abundance. In contrast, excluding cervids and cattle for two summers led to increased height of graminoids, herbs and woody plants, to higher abundance of graminoids, higher flower abundance and higher abundance of flower-visiting insects. In conclusion, cattle affected the studied system in different ways and to a larger extent than native cervids. Our study shows that we must be careful when inferring results from cattle grazing studies on grasslands to forest ecosystems. As this study documents a negative effect of cattle on floral resources and flower-visiting insects, and we currently are facing a global pollination crisis, a careful consideration of the current practice of cattle grazing in boreal forest might be needed. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Høgskolen i Innlandet: Brage INN Norway Forest Ecology and Management 572 122258 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Høgskolen i Innlandet: Brage INN |
op_collection_id |
fthsinnlandet |
language |
English |
topic |
Bos taurus Alces alces forest grazing boreal forest pollinators floral resources VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 |
spellingShingle |
Bos taurus Alces alces forest grazing boreal forest pollinators floral resources VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 Spedener, Melanie Valaker, Jenny Helbert, Juliette Schubert, Veronika Mathisen, Karen Marie Henriksen, Marie Vestergaard Nielsen, Anders Austrheim, Gunnar Zimmermann, Barbara Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
topic_facet |
Bos taurus Alces alces forest grazing boreal forest pollinators floral resources VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Zoologiske og botaniske fag: 480::Økologi: 488 |
description |
Livestock summer grazing in mountains and forests in Norway is generally considered beneficial to biodiversity. In this study we investigated if this is the case for cattle in boreal production forest. We collected biodiversity data on field layer vegetation, floral resources and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations that were planted 2–10 years ago. We picked young spruce plantations inside and outside well-established cattle grazing areas. On each plantation, we sampled fenced and unfenced plots (20 * 20 m each). This study design allowed us to investigate long-term effects of cattle grazing as well as short-term effects of excluding cervids only and short-term effects of excluding cervids and cattle. Long-term cattle grazing reduced the abundance of woody plants and reduced the abundance of flowers. Excluding cervids for two summers led to reduced height of woody plants (shrubs and heather) and to increased flower abundance. In contrast, excluding cervids and cattle for two summers led to increased height of graminoids, herbs and woody plants, to higher abundance of graminoids, higher flower abundance and higher abundance of flower-visiting insects. In conclusion, cattle affected the studied system in different ways and to a larger extent than native cervids. Our study shows that we must be careful when inferring results from cattle grazing studies on grasslands to forest ecosystems. As this study documents a negative effect of cattle on floral resources and flower-visiting insects, and we currently are facing a global pollination crisis, a careful consideration of the current practice of cattle grazing in boreal forest might be needed. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Spedener, Melanie Valaker, Jenny Helbert, Juliette Schubert, Veronika Mathisen, Karen Marie Henriksen, Marie Vestergaard Nielsen, Anders Austrheim, Gunnar Zimmermann, Barbara |
author_facet |
Spedener, Melanie Valaker, Jenny Helbert, Juliette Schubert, Veronika Mathisen, Karen Marie Henriksen, Marie Vestergaard Nielsen, Anders Austrheim, Gunnar Zimmermann, Barbara |
author_sort |
Spedener, Melanie |
title |
Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
title_short |
Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
title_full |
Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
title_fullStr |
Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
title_sort |
effects of cattle and cervids on plants and flower-visiting insects in young spruce plantations |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3151003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 |
op_coverage |
Norway |
geographic |
Norway |
geographic_facet |
Norway |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
572 Forest Ecology and Management 122258 |
op_relation |
Forest Ecology and Management. 2024, 572, 122258. urn:issn:0378-1127 https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3151003 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 cristin:2293705 |
op_rights |
Navngivelse 4.0 Internasjonal http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.no 0378-1127/© 2024 The Authors. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122258 |
container_title |
Forest Ecology and Management |
container_volume |
572 |
container_start_page |
122258 |
_version_ |
1811632895998033920 |