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Symposium “Towards Precision Agro-Ecology for Sustainable Grazing”
Livestock herbivory as tool for ecosystem management
and restoration
Vânia Proença1, Inês Ribeiro1, Tiago Domingos1, Ivo Gama2, Daniel Oliveira1,
Nuno Rodrigues2, Leonor Themudo Barata1,3
1 MARETEC, LARSyS, Instituto Superior Técnico, Univ. Lisboa; 2 Terraprima; 3 LEAF, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Univ. Lisboa
Large herbivores and ecosystem dynamics
Species richness for extant large herbivores of Europe
Navarro et al. 2015, Rewilding Euopean Landscapes
Testing the use of livestock to manage vegetation
Operational Group SILVPAST
Goal: test and develop the implementation of silvo-pastoral mosaics, supported by remote sensing tools, to assist agricultural and forestry activities in areas of black oak (Quercus pyrenaica).
Team: Farmers (land owners),NGOs, Researchers
Silvo-pastoral mosaics :
i) Pastures in open areas, with livestock
ii) Forest parcels open to livestock
iii)Forest parcels closed to grazing
Study Area – Quinta da França
Test areaCattle GPS locationsJuly 2018
Control
Test
Fence
Use of space and habitat selection by cattle
Drone
Land cover0.6m
Land cover10m
NDVI summer10m
Bare Herb Shrub Tree10-30%
Tree>30%
0-0.2 0.2-0.4 0.4-0.6 0.6-0.8
Count of cattle presences
Land cover 10m
NDVI
Electivity
Use of space and habitat selection by cattle
Bare Herb Shrub Tree (10-30%) Tree (>30%)Bare Herb Shrub Tree
(10-30%)Tree (>30%)
0
0.4
0.8
0
0.4
0.8
All pixels
Cattle
ND
VI
ND
VI
Use of space and habitat selection by cattle
- Maxent to model use of space
- Most important variables:
- Distance to water- Distance to roads- Slope- NDVI
- Least important variables:
- Land cover (%)
Response to distance to water (m)
Response to summer NDVI
0 400 800 1200 1600 2000 0
0.5
1
00.1
0.5
0.9
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8
Pro
bab
ility
of
pre
sen
ce
[distance to water not included]
2018 2019
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
Bare soil Grass Forb Shrub Tree
HeightHeight
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Effects on vegetation structure (1st year)
24 (100m2) quadrats=pixels 21 intercept points p/quadrat= 504 points
-58%-43%
-32%
• Decline of oak cover in the lower layers
2018 2019
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
Bare soil Grass Forb Shrub Tree
HeightHeight
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
Effects on vegetation structure (1st year)
24 (100m2) quadrats=pixels 21 intercept points p/quadrat= 504 points
-100%
-82%, -88%
• Decline of tall grasses in the intermediate layers
• Decline of oak cover in the lower layers
2018 2019
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
0 – 0.25m
1.3 – 2m
0.5 – 1.3m
2 – 4m
> 4m
0.25 – 0.5m
Bare soil Grass Forb Shrub Tree
HeightHeight
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
+238%
Effects on vegetation structure (1st year)
24 (100m2) quadrats=pixels 21 intercept points p/quadrat= 504 points
• Increase of forbs in the ground layer• Changes to NDVI not conclusive yet
• Decline of oak cover in the lower layers
• Decline of tall grasses in the intermediate layers
To conclude…
Use of space:Distance to waterPresence of roads/trailsVegetation complexity
Effects on vegetation structure: Possible impacts on oak regenerationSimplification of structure at lower layersLimited control of shrub cover
This work was supported by FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) through project UID/EEA/50009/2019
V.P. is supported by contract CEECIND/04469/2017 from FCT
Operational Group “GO SILVPAST” is an Operational Group financed by PDR 2020.
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