Description
The effects of small herbivores on plant diversity remain unclear so far, due to lack of long-term small herbivore exclosures. However, small herbivores are usually abundant or dominant in some grasslands, for instance, salt marshes. A long-term field experiment (22 years) involving small herbivore exclusion(hares and geese), at five locations (differed substantially in nitrogen accumulation and grazing pressure), along a successional gradient in a salt marsh system showed that small herbivores sustained plant diversity over time, especially at locations where grazing pressure was high. This is due to that grazing decreased temporal species turnover, and slowed down succession by suppressing the establishment and expansion of the light competitive, late succession plant species, especially where nitrogen accumulation was low. However, the effect of herbivore exclusion on suppression of late succession species only became apparent after 14 years. Meanwhile, grazing decreased dominance of plant community over time, which otherwise would decrease plant diversity. Our results suggested that small herbivores can have a big influence on plant diversity in salt marsh over time, and that these effects particularly become clear after long-term exclusion experiments. Conservation and management of grasslands should also take small herbivores into account.| Period | 13-Feb-2018 |
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| Event title | Netherlands Annual Ecology Meeting 2018 |
| Event type | Conference |
| Conference number | 11 |
| Organiser | Netherlands Ecological Research Network (NERN) |
| Location | Lunteren, NetherlandsShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | National |