Protection from livestock fails to deter shrub proliferation in a desert landscape with a history of heavy grazing

Ecological Applications

Volumn 21, Issue 5, 2011, Pages 1629-1642

  Browning, Dawn M ^a   Archer, Steven R ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA   (United States)

Author keywords

Arid rangelands; Land cover change; Land use legacy; Livestock grazing; Mesquite; Prosopis velutina; Shrub encroachment; Shrub proliferation; Sonoran Desert; Woody biomass

Indexed keywords

RAIN;

ARID REGION; BIOCLIMATOLOGY; DESERTIFICATION; FIRE MANAGEMENT; GRASS; HERBICIDE; LAND COVER; LAND MANAGEMENT; LAND USE CHANGE; LEGUME; LIVESTOCK FARMING; PHYTOMASS; PROTECTED AREA; RANGELAND; REPLACEMENT; SHRUB; WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT;

ANIMAL; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; ARTICLE; CATTLE; DESERT CLIMATE; ECOSYSTEM; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; PHYSIOLOGY; POPULATION DENSITY; PROSOPIS; TIME; UNITED STATES;

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; ANIMALS; ARIZONA; CATTLE; DESERT CLIMATE; ECOSYSTEM; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; POPULATION DENSITY; PROSOPIS; RAIN; TIME FACTORS;

ARIZONA; SONORAN DESERT; UNITED STATES;

POACEAE; PROSOPIS; PROSOPIS VELUTINA;

EID: 79960348378     PISSN: 10510761     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1890/10-0542.1     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Archer, S. 1989. Have Southern Texas savannas been converted to woodlands in recent history? American Naturalist 134:545-561. (Pubitemid 20424238)
2. Archer, S. 1994. Woody plant encroachment into southwestern grasslands and savannas: rates, patterns, and proximate causes. Pages 13-68 in M. Vavra, W. Laycock, and R. Pieper, editors. Ecological implications of livestock herbivory in the West. Society for Range Management, Denver, Colorado, USA.
3. Archer, S. 1995. Tree-grass dynamics in a Prosopis-thornscrub savanna parkland: reconstructing the past and predicting the future. Ecoscience 2:83-99. (Pubitemid 26449140)
4. Archer, S. R. 2009. Rangeland conservation and shrub encroachment: new perspectives on an old problem. Pages 53-97 in J. du Toit, R. Kock, and J. Deutsch, editors. Wild rangelands: conserving wildlife while maintaining livestock in semi-arid ecosystems. Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, UK.
5. Archer, S K. Davies, T. Fulbright, K. McDaniel, B. Wilcox, and K. Predick. In press. Brush management as a rangeland conservation tool: a critical evaluation. In D. Briske, editor. Conservation benefits of rangeland practices: assessment, recommendations, and knowledge gaps. Allen Press, Lawrence, Kansas, USA.
6. Ash, A. J J. G. McIvor, J. J. Mott, and M. H. Andrew. 1997. Building grass castles: integrating ecology and management of Australia's tropical tallgrass rangelands. Rangeland Journal 19:123-144.
7. Asner, G., and S. Archer. 2010. Livestock and the global carbon cycle. Pages 69-82 in H. Steinfeld, H. Mooney, F. Schneider, and L. Neville, editors. Livestock in a changing landscape: drivers, consequences, and responses. Island Press, Washington, D. C., USA.
8. Asner, G. P S. Archer, R. F. Hughes, R. J. Ansley, and C. A. Wessman. 2003. Net changes in regional woody vegetation cover and carbon storage in Texas drylands, 1937-1999. Global Change Biology 9:1-20.
9. Asner, G. P S. R. Levick, T. Kennedy-Bowdoin, D. E. Knapp, R. Emerson, J. Jacobson, M. S. Colgan, and R. E. Martin. 2009. Large-scale impacts of herbivores on the structural diversity of African savannas. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 106:4947-4952.
10. Bahre, C. J. 1991. A legacy of change: historic human impact on vegetation in the Arizona borderlands. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
11. Barger, N. N S. Archer, J. Campbell, C. Huang, J. Morton, and A. Knapp. In press. Woody plant encroachment and the North American carbon budget. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences.
12. Bock, C. E J. H. Bock, and H. M. Smith. 1993. Proposal for a system of federal livestock exclosures on public rangelands in the western United States. Conservation Biology 7:731-733.
13. Bovey, R. W. 2001. Woody plants and woody plant management: ecology, safety, and environmental impact. Marcel Dekker, New York, New York, USA.
14. Breckenfeld, D. J., and D. Robinett. 2003. Soil and ecological sites of the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Pages 157-165 in M. P. McClaran, P. F. Ffolliott, and C. B. Edminster, editors. Santa Rita Experimental Range: 100 years (1903 to 2003) of accomplishments and contributions. Conference Proceedings, 30 October-1 November 2003, Tucson, Arizona. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, USA.
15. Brown, A. L. 1950. Shrub invasion of a southern Arizona desert grassland. Journal of Range Management 3:172-177.
16. Brown, J. R., and S. Archer. 1988. Woody plant seed dispersal and gap formation in a North American sub-tropical savanna woodland: the role of domestic herbivores. Vegetatio 73:73-80. (Pubitemid 19317411)
17. Browning, D. M S. R. Archer, G. P. Asner, M. P. McClaran, and C. A. Wessman. 2008. Woody plants in grasslands: postencroachment dynamics. Ecological Applications 18:928-944.
18. Browning, D. M S. R. Archer, and A. T. Byrne. 2009. Field validation of 1930s aerial photography: How much are we missing? Journal of Arid Environments 73:844-853.
19. Cable, D. R. 1976. Twenty years of changes in grass production following mesquite control and reseeding. Journal of Range Management 29:286-289.
20. Drewa, P. B., and K. M. Havstad. 2001. Effects of fire, grazing, and the presence of shrubs on Chihuahuan desert grasslands. Journal of Arid Environments 48:429-443. (Pubitemid 32748001)
21. Enquist, B. J J. H. Brown, and G. B. West. 1998. Allometric scaling of plant energetics and population density. Nature 395:163-165. (Pubitemid 28425653)
22. Enquist, C. A. F., and D. F. Gori. 2008. Application of an expert system approach for assessing grassland status in the U. S.-Mexico borderlands: implications for conservation and management. Natural Areas Journal 28:414-428.
23. ESRI. 2004. ArcMap. Version 9.0. Environmental Science Research Institute, Redlands, California, USA.
24. Fensham, R. J. 1998. The influence of cattle grazing on tree mortality after drought in savanna woodland in north Queensland. Australian Journal of Ecology 23:405-407.
25. Foster, D F. Swanson, J. Aber, I. Burke, N. Brokaw, D. Tilman, and A. Knapp. 2003. The importance of land-use legacies to ecology and conservation. Bioscience 53:77-88. (Pubitemid 36093436)
26. Fredrickson, E. L R. E. Estell, A. Laliberte, and D. M. Anderson. 2006. Mesquite recruitment in the Chihuahuan Desert: historic and prehistoric patterns with long-term impacts. Journal of Arid Environments 65:285-295. (Pubitemid 43143406)
27. Fredrickson, E K. M. Havstad, and R. Estell. 1998. Perspectives on desertification: south-western United States. Journal of Arid Environments 39:191-207. (Pubitemid 28338538)
28. Fuhlendorf, S. D S. R. Archer, F. E. Smeins, D. M. Engle, and C. A. Taylor. 2008. The combined influence of grazing, fire and herbaceous productivity on tree-grass interactions. Pages 219-236 in O. W. Van Auken, editor. Western North American Juniperus communities. A dynamic vegetation type. Springer, New York, New York, USA.
29. Gibbens, R. P R. F. Beck, R. P. McNeely, and C. H. Herbel. 1992. Recent rates of mesquite establishment on the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Journal of Range Management 45:585-588. (Pubitemid 23400511)
30. Glendening, G. E. 1952. Some quantitative data on the increase of mesquite and cactus on a desert grassland range in southern Arizona. Ecology 33:319-328.
31. Griffiths, D. 1904. Range investigations in southern Arizona. USDA, Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C USA.
32. Hamilton, W. T A. McGinty, D. N. Ueckert, C. W. Hanselka, and M. R. Lee. 2004. Brush management: past, present, and future. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas, USA.
33. Heaton, C. B X. B. Wu, and R. J. Ansley. 2003. Herbicide effects on vegetation spatial patterns in mesquite savanna. Journal of Range Management 56:627-633. (Pubitemid 37470526)
34. Heitschmidt, R. K K. D. Klement, and M. R. Haferkamp. 2005. Interactive effects of drought and grazing on northern Great Plains rangelands. Rangeland Ecology and Management 58:11-19. (Pubitemid 41026909)
35. Holecheck, J. L R. D. Pieper, and C. H. Herbel. 2003. Range management: principles and practices. Prentice-Hall, London, UK.
36. House, J. I S. Archer, D. D. Breshears, R. J. Scholes, and NCEAS Tree-Grass Interactions Participants. 2003. Conundrums in mixed woody-herbaceous plant systems. Journal of Biogeography 30:1763-1777. (Pubitemid 37399760)
37. Hurtt, G. C S. W. Pacala, and P. R. Moorcroft. 2002. Projecting the future of the U. S. carbon sink. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 99:1389-1394.
38. Jurena, P. N., and S. Archer. 2003. Woody plant establishment and spatial heterogeneity in grasslands. Ecology 84:907-919. (Pubitemid 36893021)
39. Knapp, A. K J. M. Briggs, S. L. Collins, S. R. Archer, M. S. Bret-Harte, B. E. Ewers, D. P. Peters, D. R. Young, G. R. Shaver, E. Pendall, and M. B. Cleary. 2008. Shrub encroachment in North American grasslands: shifts in growth form dominance rapidly alters control of ecosystem carbon inputs. Global Change Biology 14:615-623. (Pubitemid 351228531)
40. Laliberte, A. S A. Rango, K. M. Havstad, J. F. Paris, R. F. Beck, R. McNeely, and A. L. Gonzalez. 2004. Objectoriented image analysis for mapping shrub encroachment from 1937 to 2003 in southern New Mexico. Remote Sensing of Environment 93:198-210. (Pubitemid 39234720)
41. Lambin, E. F H. Geist, J. F. Reynolds, and D. M. Stafford Smith. 2007. Integrated human-environment approaches of land degradation in drylands. Pages 331-339 in R. Costanza, L. J. Graumlich, and W. Steffen, editors. Sustainability or collapse? An integrated history and future of people on earth. MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
42. Liu, F X. B. Wu, E. Bai, T. W. Boutton, and S. R. Archer. 2010. Spatial scaling of ecosystem C and N in a subtropical savanna landscape. Global Change Biology 16:2213-2223.
43. Madany, M. H., and N. E. West. 1983. Livestock grazing fire regime interactions within montane forests of Zion National Park, Utah. Ecology 64:661-667. (Pubitemid 15270603)
44. Martin, C. S., and D. E. Ward, 1966. Using aerial applications: two annual sprays control mesquite. Progressive Agriculture in Arizona 18:20-21.
45. Mashiri, F. E M. P. McClaran, and J. S. Fehmi. 2008. Short-and long-term vegetation change related to grazing systems, precipitation, and mesquite cover. Rangeland Ecology and Management 61:368-379.
46. McClaran, M. P. 2003. A century of vegetation change on the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Pages 16-33 in M. P. McClaran, P. F. Ffolliott, and C. B. Edminster, editors. Santa Rita Experimental Range: 100 years (1903 to 2003) of accomplishments and contributions. Conference Proceedings, 30 October-1 November 2003, Tucson, Arizona. USDA, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, USA.
47. McClaran, M. P J. Moore-Kucera, D. A. Martens, J. v. Haren, and S. E. Marsh. 2008. Soil carbon and nitrogen in relation to shrub size and death in a semi-arid grassland. Geoderma 145:60-68.
48. McPherson, G. R. 1995. The role of fire in desert grasslands. Pages 130-151 in M. P. McClaran and T. R. V. Devender, editors. The desert grassland. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
49. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. 2005. Ecosystems and human well-being: desertification synthesis. World Resources Institute, Washington, D. C., USA.
50. Neff, J. C A. P. Ballantyne, G. L. Farmer, N. M. Mahowald, J. L. Conroy, C. C. Landry, J. T. Overpeck, T. H. Painter, C. R. Lawrence, and R. L. Reynolds. 2008. Increasing aeolian dust deposition in the western United States linked to human activity. Nature Geoscience 1:189-195.
51. Nosetto, M. D E. G. Jobbagy, and J. M. Paruelo. 2006. Carbon sequestration in semi-arid rangelands: comparison of Pinus ponderosa plantations and grazing exclusion in NW Patagonia. Journal of Arid Environments 67:142-156. (Pubitemid 44250894)
52. O'Connor, T. G. 1995. Acacia karroo invasion of grassland: environmental and biotic effects influencing seedling emergence and establishment. Oecologia 103:214-223. (Pubitemid 26447990)
53. Okin, G. S P. D'Odorico, and S. R. Archer. 2009a. Impact of feedbacks on Chihuahuan desert grasslands: transience and metastability. Journal of Geophysical Research-Biogeosciences 114:G01004.
54. Okin, G. S A. J. Parsons, J. Wainwright, J. E. Herrick, B. T. Bestelmeyer, D. C. Peters, and E. L. Fredrickson. 2009b. Do changes in connectivity explain desertification? BioScience 59:237-244.
55. Peters, D. P. C B. T. Bestelmeyer, J. E. Herrick, E. L. Fredrickson, H. C. Monger, and K. M. Havstad. 2006. Disentangling complex landscapes: New insights into arid and semiarid system dynamics. BioScience 56:491-501. (Pubitemid 43830945)
56. Rango, A L. Huenneke, M. Buonopane, J. E. Herrick, and K. M. Havstad. 2005. Using historic data to assess effectiveness of shrub removal in southern New Mexico. Journal of Arid Environments 62:75-91. (Pubitemid 40406333)
57. Reynolds, H. G., and G. E. Glendening. 1949. Merriam kangaroo rat a factor in mesquite propagation on southern Arizona range lands. Journal of Range Management 2:193-197.
58. Reynolds, J. F P. R. Kemp, K. Ogle, and R. J. Fernandez. 2004. Modifying the "pulse-reserve" paradigm for deserts of North America: precipitation pulses, soil water, and plant responses. Oecologia 141:194-210. (Pubitemid 39379402)
59. Ruyle, G. B. 2003. Rangeland livestock production: Developing the concept of sustainability on the Santa Rita Experimental Range. Pages 34-47 in M. P. McClaran, P. F. Ffolliott, and C. B. Edminster, editors. Santa Rita Experimental Range: 100 years (1903 to 2003) of accomplishments and contributions. Conference Proceedings, 30 October-1 November 2003, Tucson, Arizona. USDA, Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station, Ogden, Utah, USA.
60. Sankaran, M., et al. 2005. Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature 438:846-849. (Pubitemid 41753065)
61. Sankaran, M J. Ratnam, and N. Hanan. 2008. Woody cover in African savannas: the role of resources, fire and herbivory. Global Ecology and Biogeography 17:236-245. (Pubitemid 351228546)
62. SAS Institute. 2004. Statistical analysis software. Version 9.1. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA.
63. Savage, M., and T. W. Swetnam. 1990. Early 19th-century fire decline following sheep pasturing in a Navajo ponderosa pine forest. Ecology 71:2374-2378.
64. Sayre, N. 2002. Ranching, endangered species, and urbanization in the southwest. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
65. Scholes, R. J., and S. R. Archer. 1997. Tree-grass interactions in savannas. Annual Review Ecology and Systematics 28:517-544. (Pubitemid 28012302)
66. Schwinning, S O. E. Sala, M. E. Loik, and J. R. Ehleringer. 2004. Thresholds, memory, and seasonality: understanding pulse dynamics in arid/semi-arid ecosystems. Oecologia 141:191-193. (Pubitemid 39379401)
67. Scifres, C. J. 1980. Brush management: principles and practices for Texas and the Southwest. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Texas, USA.
68. Skarpe, C. 1992. Dynamics of savanna ecosystems. Journal of Vegetation Science 3:293-300.
69. Smeins, F. E., and L. B. Merrill. 1988. Long-term change in semi-arid grassland. Pages 101-114 in B. B. Amos and F. R. Gehlback, editors. Edwards Plateau vegetation. Baylor University Press, Waco, Texas, USA.
70. SOCCR [State of the Carbon Cycle Report]. 2007. The North American carbon budget and implications for the global carbon cycle. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina, USA.
71. Sousa, W. P. 1984. The role of disturbance in natural communities. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 15:353-391.
72. Staver, C. A W. J. Bond, W. D. Stock, S. J. v. Rensburg, and M. S. Waldram. 2009. Browsing and fire interact to suppress tree density in an African savanna. Ecological Applications 19:1909-1919.
73. Throop, H. L., and S. Archer. 2007. Interrelationships among shrub encroachment, land management and leaf litter decomposition in a semi-desert grassland. Ecological Applications 17:1809-1823. (Pubitemid 351323498)
74. Throop, H. L., and S. R. Archer. 2008. Shrub (Prosopis velutina) encroachment in a semidesert grassland: spatialtemporal changes in soil organic carbon and nitrogen pools. Global Change Biology 14:2420-2431.
75. Tiedemann, A. R., and J. O. Klemmedson. 1986. Long-term effects of mesquite removal on soil characteristics: I. Nutrients and bulk density. Soil Science Society of America Journal 50:472-475.
76. Tschirley, F. H., and S. C. Martin. 1960. Germination and longevity of velvet mesquite seed in soil. Journal of Range Management 13:94-97.
77. Walker, B. H. 1993. Rangeland ecology: understanding and managing change. Ambio 22:80-87.
78. Watson, I. W D. G. Burnside, and A. M. Holm. 1996. Eventdriven or continuous: which is the better model for managers? The Rangelands Journal 18:351-369.
79. Watson, I. W M. Westoby, and A. M. Holm. 1997a. Continuous and episodic components of demographic change in arid zone shrubs: models of two Eremophila species from western Australia compared with published data on other species. Journal of Ecology 85:833-846. (Pubitemid 28000553)
80. Watson, I. W M. Westoby, and A. M. Holm. 1997b. Demography of two shrub species from an arid grazed ecosystem in Western Australia 1983-93. Journal of Ecology 85:815-832. (Pubitemid 28000552)
81. Weltzin, J. F S. Archer, and R. K. Heitschmidt. 1997. Smallmammal regulation of vegetation structure in a temperate Savanna. Ecology 78:751-763.
82. Wessman, C. A S. Archer, L. C. Johnson, and G. P. Asner. 2004. Woodland expansion in U. S. grasslands: Assessing land-cover change and biogeochemical impacts. Pages 185-208 in G. Gutman, A. C. Janetos, C. O. Justice, E. F. Moran, J. F. Mustard, R. R. Rindfuss, D. Skole, B. L. Turner II, and M. A. Cochrane, editors. Land change science: observing, monitoring and understanding trajectories of change on the Earth's surface. Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
83. Wooton, E. O. 1916. Carrying capacity of grazing ranges in southern Arizona. USDA, Washington, D. C USA.
84. Yanoff, S., and E. Muldavin. 2008. Grassland-shrubland transformation and grazing: A century-scale view of a northern Chihuahuan Desert grassland. Journal of Arid Environments 72:1594-1605.