Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Yacine Kouba, Saifi Merdas, Tewfik Mostephaoui, Badreddine Saadali, Haroun Chenchouni
Summary: In arid steppes, short-term grazing exclusion during severe drought conditions leads to the appearance of increasers, colonizers, and native indicator plant species. It also increases the size of the regional species pool and improves both incidence-based and abundance-based alpha-diversity. Additionally, grazing exclusion decreases abundance-based beta-diversity at local scale but increases it at landscape scale, while incidence-based beta-diversity significantly decreases at landscape scale.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Santiago Toledo, Pablo L. Peri, Sonia B. Fontenla
Summary: This study investigates the association of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in Patagonian semiarid rangelands and finds that soil properties, climatic conditions, and grazing intensities affect AM colonization. Moderate grazing helps maintain higher AM colonization, benefiting aboveground production and herbivores, while high-intensity grazing may have negative impacts on the ecosystem.
RANGELAND ECOLOGY & MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maria V. Vega-Cofre, Wendy Williams, Young Song, Susanne Schmidt, Paul G. Dennis
Summary: Biocrusts play important roles in rangeland ecosystems. This study investigated the impacts of cattle grazing and fire management on the diversity and composition of biocrust and associated soil bacterial communities. The results showed that grazing had significant effects on bacterial community composition, particularly in one soil type, while fire management did not have significant impacts on bacterial communities. The findings suggest that livestock presence increases the proportional representation of cyanobacteria in biocrust and associated soil microbiomes, and fire management does not strongly affect these communities from a taxonomic perspective.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Amale Macheroum, Haroun Chenchouni
Summary: This study assessed the effects of overgrazing on the physicochemical characteristics and soil fertility of steppe rangelands in Algeria. The findings showed that the degradation of steppe vegetation due to overgrazing did not significantly affect soil physicochemical parameters.
FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chris D. Hasselerharm, Esty Yanco, Jeannine S. McManus, Bool H. Smuts, Daniel Ramp
Summary: By using remote tracking methods to detect vegetation and environmental changes on rangeland farms in South Africa, it was found that wildlife-friendly farming practices had higher vegetation productivity, stronger response to rainfall, and greater vegetation cover and grass cover compared to rotational grazing practices. This study highlights the potential benefits of adopting wildlife-friendly farming practices in rangeland ecosystems.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Anvar Sanaei, Emma J. Sayer, Zuoqiang Yuan, Hugo Saiz, Manuel Delgado-Baquerizo, Majid Sadeghinia, Parvaneh Ashouri, Sahar Ghafari, Hasan Kaboli, Mansoureh Kargar, Eric W. Seabloom, Arshad Ali
Summary: Plant diversity supports ecosystem functions, including carbon sequestration, but it is influenced by factors such as grazing and environmental conditions. We assessed how grazing intensity modifies the relationship between plant diversity and carbon stocks across different environments. Our study found that above-ground carbon stocks increased with plant diversity, with the strongest relationship observed for forbs. Soil carbon stocks were influenced by soil fertility, aridity, grazing, and topography. High grazing intensity led to declines in carbon stocks and modified the relationship between plant diversity and carbon stocks. Potential losses in plant diversity under grazing intensification could reduce carbon storage in rangelands. The mechanisms underlying rangeland BEF relationships require further research.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Mouldi Gamoun, Mounir Louhaichi
Summary: Natural rangelands in Tunisia's Tataouine province have a diverse botanical composition with 40% of species being palatable and over 13% being used in traditional and modern medicine.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Luiz C. Pinheiro Machado Filho, Hizumi L. S. Seo, Ruan R. Daros, Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo, Adenor V. Wendling, Luiz C. Pinheiro Machado
Summary: Voisin Rational Grazing (VRG) is a regenerative livestock farming system that focuses on enhancing animal productivity and farm profitability, while also having a positive environmental impact. It provides ecosystem services such as negative net carbon emission, reduced soil erosion, and increased biodiversity. The main challenges of VRG lie in the social constraints and the need for a paradigm shift in farming practices.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Maral Bashirzadeh, Richard P. Shefferson, Hamid Ejtehadi, Mohammad Farzam
Summary: Nurse plants have a crucial role in plant biodiversity in drylands. Different nurse plant life forms have varying impacts on plant diversity, with these impacts potentially associated with climatic conditions.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Yan-gui Su, Jie Liu, Yuan-ming Zhang, Gang Huang
Summary: Plant diversity, soil bacterial diversity, biocrust development, and SMF show geographic patterns along an aridity gradient in northern China, with biocrust development influencing soil functions related to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles.
Overall, this study highlights the different effects and pathways of biocrusts on SMF in arid and semi-arid regions, providing insights into how biocrust development promotes soil multifunctionality and enhancing our understanding of the biodiversity-SMF relationship in varying aridity conditions.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Mahdieh S. Hosseyni Moghaddam, Naser Safaie, Leho Tedersoo, Niloufar Hagh-Doust
Summary: Soil pH and electric conductivity were found to determine the fungal endophyte communities in plants in dry and saline soils in the desert. Host species was identified as the main factor shaping the endophyte composition, with soil type additionally affecting endophytes of both above- and below-ground organs. Our study suggests the potential use of these endophytes in crop production under salinity/drought stress and as biocontrol agents.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zdravko Baruch, Greg Guerin, Irene Martin-Fores, Samantha Munroe, Ben Sparrow, Andrew J. Lowe
Summary: Monitoring shifts in vegetation composition over time is essential for tracking biodiversity changes and for designing ecosystem management strategies. The study used time-series data to quantify the extent and rate of vegetation composition changes in Australian Major Vegetation Groups (MVGs) and recommend appropriate sampling frequency. The research found that herbaceous communities showed a higher rate of species turnover compared to woody-dominated communities.
Article
Forestry
Abebe Damtew, Emiru Birhane, Christian Messier, Alain Paquette, Bart Muys
Summary: Restoring degraded dryland requires a diverse mixture of trees and shrubs. Shading and species diversity can improve seedling survival and vitality. Shaded conditions led to higher seedling survival, vitality, and chlorophyll content, while increasing species richness improved seedling vitality in non-shaded conditions.
FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
(2024)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Ask Lykke Herrik, Niels Mogensen, Jens-Christian Svenning, Robert Buitenwerf
Summary: African wildlife populations are declining rapidly, and more areas for wildlife are needed to stop further declines and restore ecosystems. Community-based conservation with wildlife-livestock coexistence in African rangelands presents a major opportunity, but the efficacy of conservation efforts in mixed land-use areas is still uncertain.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Briana Swette, Eric F. Lambin
Summary: Livestock grazing on natural rangeland vegetation is a significant land use with implications for livelihoods, food security, and the environment. Changes in grazing practices on public lands since 1940 in the High Divide region were primarily driven by factors such as range condition evaluations, carrying capacity estimates, legal requirements, ranch economics, and amenity migration. Institutional management is crucial in balancing competing values and demands for privately-used rangelands.
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE-HUMAN AND POLICY DIMENSIONS
(2021)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Moreno Di Marco, Michelle L. Baker, Peter Daszak, Paul De Barro, Evan A. Eskew, Cecile M. Godde, Tom D. Harwood, Mario Herrero, Andrew J. Hoskins, Erica Johnson, William B. Karesh, Catherine Machalaba, Javier Navarro Garcia, Dean Paini, Rebecca Pirzl, Mark Stafford Smith, Carlos Zambrana-Torrelio, Simon Ferrier
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2020)
Editorial Material
Ecology
Junze Zhang, Bojie Fu, Mark Stafford-Smith, Shuai Wang, Wenwu Zhao
Summary: Monoculture plantations are not effectively restoring biodiversity. To improve forest restoration policies, more innovative incentive policies are needed to focus on enhancing biodiversity rather than just increasing forest area.
NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Mark Stafford-Smith, Graciela Metternicht
Summary: In recent years, there have been increasing calls to govern global land resources as a common asset for the benefit of sustainable development goals, with a specific focus on drylands which cover nearly half of the world's land area. The key elements for global drylands governance include the need for a polycentric system with nested goal setting, transparent monitoring, and graduated sanctions, which should be tailored to the unique attributes of drylands while empowering local communities. The current global governance framework for drylands, represented by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, provides some support but falls short in certain areas that require attention.
CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
(2021)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Bojie Fu, Mark Stafford-Smith, Yanfen Wang, Binfang Wu, Xiubo Yu, Nan Lv, Dennis S. Ojima, Yihe Lv, Chao Fu, Yu Liu, Shuli Niu, Yangjian Zhang, Hongwei Zeng, Yuexian Liu, Yanxu Liu, Xiaoming Feng, Lu Zhang, Yongping Wei, Zhihong Xu, Fadong Li, Xiaoyong Cui, Salif Diop, Xi Chen
Summary: The article discusses the current research status of drylands globally and identifies four key themes, each with three research priorities, to facilitate actionable interdisciplinary research and achieve Sustainable Development Goals in drylands. It also proposes a new Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme to address the needs of practitioners and policymakers in drylands.
CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
E. A. Moallemi, F. J. de Haan, M. Hadjikakou, S. Khatami, S. Malekpour, A. Smajgl, M. Stafford Smith, A. Voinov, R. Bandari, P. Lamichhane, K. K. Miller, E. Nicholson, W. Novalia, E. G. Ritchie, A. M. Rojas, M. A. Shaikh, K. Szetey, B. A. Bryan
Summary: This article discusses the importance of collaborative efforts among stakeholders in achieving global sustainability goals through transformation in a transdisciplinary environment. It highlights the significance of participatory modeling in facilitating environmental and societal change, as well as the process of selecting suitable methods for co-creation. The authors propose a unified framework to guide collaborators on how to work together and evaluate the suitability of participatory modeling methods, aiming to advance the development of sustainability pathways.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ian P. Prosser, Francis H. S. Chiew, Mark Stafford Smith
Summary: The study focuses on water management policy in the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, evaluating the operation of the policy through a synthesis of research data and literature. Limitations and inequities that could arise in the context of climate change are identified, and solutions proposed to be implemented during the formal review in the future.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Mark Stafford-Smith, David Rissik, Roger Street, Brenda Lin, Veronica Doerr, Robert Webb, Lesley Andrew, Russell M. Wise
Summary: As the world recognizes the need to adapt to climate change, various adaptation planning and risk assessment guides have been developed. However, the implementation of adaptation actions seems challenging and users often feel overwhelmed. This study reviews 39 guides and identifies six core steps in the adaptation cycle, suggesting that guidance should be provided on different modes of applying the adaptation cycle in practice. The authors define three archetypal modes of adaptation cycle - Scan, Portfolio, and Project - to simplify the journey to action for practitioners considering climate adaptation for the first time.
CLIMATE RISK MANAGEMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Patricia F. Pinho, Moara T. Canova, Peter M. Toledo, Adrian Gonzalez, David M. Lapola, Jean P. Ometto, Mark Stafford Smith
Summary: Inequalities in benefits from ecosystem services pose a challenge to achieving sustainability goals, especially in tropical countries. This study investigates the perceptions of local peoples' regarding ecosystem services and their impact on human well-being in the context of climate change in the Atlantic Forest region of Brazil. The findings reveal that climate change negatively affects both material and non-material dimensions of human well-being, and that the contribution of specific ecosystem services varies depending on the region and service type. These insights highlight the importance of considering local knowledge and fine-scale observations in policy decisions to support climate resilience for traditional communities and small farmers.
REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Environmental Sciences
Russell M. Wise, Tim Capon, Brenda B. Lin, Mark Stafford-Smith
NATURE CLIMATE CHANGE
(2022)
Editorial Material
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nan Lu, Bojie Fu, Mark Stafford-Smith, Fernando T. Maestre, Linhai Cheng
Article
Ecology
Ryan R. J. McAllister, Heleen Kruger, Nyree Stenekes, Robert Garrard
ECOLOGY AND SOCIETY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
B. J. Traill, Mark Stafford-Smith
Article
Environmental Studies
Rachel S. Friedman, Angela M. Guerrero, Ryan R. J. McAllister, Jonathan R. Rhodes, Truly Santika, Sugeng Budiharta, Tito Indrawan, Joseph A. Hutabarat, Ahmad Kusworo, Herry Yogaswara, Erik Meijaard, Freya A. V. St John, Matthew J. Struebig, Kerrie A. Wilson
Review
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Paul Shrivastava, Mark Stafford Smith, Karen O'Brien, Laszlo Zsolnai
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Albert Norstrom, Christopher Cvitanovic, Marie F. Lof, Simon West, Carina Wyborn, Patricia Balvanera, Angela T. Bednarek, Elena M. Bennett, Reinette Biggs, Ariane de Bremond, Bruce M. Campbell, Josep G. Canadell, Stephen R. Carpenter, Carl Folke, Elizabeth A. Fulton, Owen Gaffney, Stefan Gelcich, Jean-Baptiste Jouffray, Melissa Leach, Martin Le Tissier, Berta Martin-Lopez, Elena Louder, Marie-France Loutre, Alison M. Meadow, Harini Nagendra, Davnah Payne, Garry D. Peterson, Belinda Reyers, Robert Scholes, Chinwe Ifejika Speranza, Marja Spierenburg, Mark Stafford-Smith, Maria Tengo, Sandra van der Hel, Ingrid van Putten, Henrik Osterblom
NATURE SUSTAINABILITY
(2020)