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Multi-scale feedbacks between tree regeneration traits and herbivore behavior explain the structure of pasture-woodland mosaics

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Abstract

Context

The pasture-woodlands of Central Europe are low-intensity grazing systems in which the structural richness of dynamic forest-grassland mosaics is causal for their high biodiversity. Distinct mosaic patterns in Picea abies- and Fagus sylvatica-dominated pasture-woodlands in the Swiss Jura Mountains suggest a strong influence of tree species regeneration ecology on landscape structural properties. At the landscape scale, however, cause-effect relationships are complicated by habitat selectivity of livestock.

Objectives

We asked which tree species regeneration traits and what kind of feedbacks among local-scale vegetation dynamics and landscape-scale herbivore behavior are causal for the contrasted landscape structural characteristics of Picea- and Fagus-dominated pasture-woodlands.

Methods

We performed simulation experiments of mosaic pattern formation in both pasture-woodland types. The regeneration traits, namely dispersal distance, resistance to browsing and tolerance to shade, and the rules for habitat selection of cattle were modified and the corresponding shifts in landscape structure were analyzed.

Results

Dispersal distance showed a significant, but only local, effect promoting forest fringe formation. Saplings’ resistance to browsing mainly determined overall tree cover, but did not influence landscape structure. At the landscape scale, both shade tolerance of saplings and selective habitat use by cattle were responsible for forest-grassland segregation: high shade tolerance triggered segregation, whereas non-selective habitat use hindered it.

Conclusions

Existing local-scale theory on pasture-woodland dynamics is complemented by an herbivore-vegetation feedback among spatial scales. In low-intensity pastures, where large herbivores are preferentially “grazers” and trees form dense canopies, an intrinsic trend towards forest-grassland segregation at the expense of forest-grassland ecotones is predicted.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the CCES (Competence Centre Environment and Sustainability of the ETH Domain, Switzerland) as part of the MOUNTLAND project and by the Swiss Enlargement Contribution in the framework of the Romanian-Swiss Research Program as part of the WindLand-project (project code: IZERZO 142168/1 and 22 RO-CH/RSRP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne EPFL, School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering ENAC, Laboratory of Ecological Systems ECOS, Station 2, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Alexander Peringer, Alexandre Buttler & François Gillet

  2. WSL Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research, Site Lausanne, Station 2, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland

    Alexander Peringer & Alexandre Buttler

  3. Institute of Landscape and Vegetation Ecology, University of Kassel, Gottschalkstr. 26a, 34127, Kassel, Germany

    Kiowa A. Schulze & Gert Rosenthal

  4. Institute of Research of University of Bucharest (ICUB), Splaiul Independentei nr. 91-95, 050095, Bucharest, Romania

    Ileana Stupariu & Mihai-Sorin Stupariu

  5. Transdisciplinary Research Centre Landscape-Territory-Information Systems (CeLTIS), Splaiul Independentei nr. 91-95, 050095, Bucharest, Romania

    Ileana Stupariu & Mihai-Sorin Stupariu

  6. Department of Regional Geography and Environment, Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest, Bd. N. Balcescu, 010041, Bucharest, Romania

    Ileana Stupariu

  7. Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Bucharest, Academiei Str. 14, 010041, Bucharest, Romania

    Mihai-Sorin Stupariu

  8. Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR CNRS 6249 Chrono-Environnement, 16 route de Gray, 25030, Besançon Cedex, France

    François Gillet

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  1. Alexander Peringer
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Correspondence to Alexander Peringer.

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Peringer, A., Schulze, K.A., Stupariu, I. et al. Multi-scale feedbacks between tree regeneration traits and herbivore behavior explain the structure of pasture-woodland mosaics. Landscape Ecol 31, 913–927 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-015-0308-z

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