Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Grazing Management and Provision of Ecosystem Services in Patagonian Arid Rangelands

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Ecosystem Services in Patagonia

Part of the book series: Natural and Social Sciences of Patagonia ((NSSP))

Abstract

This chapter discusses how different sheep grazing management of Patagonian arid rangelands impacts on the provision of critical ecosystem services (ES): plant primary productivity (supporting service), forage supply (provisioning service), C and N storage (regulating services), and plant diversity (biodiversity). Particularly, it is evaluated how grazing pressure (land-use intensification), strategic grazing-rests, and herbivore distribution affect these ES, analyzing the synergies and trade-offs among them. Besides, it is assessed how aridity level interacts with grazing management to determine plant attributes linked to the ES of forage supply and plant primary productivity. Moderating the stocking rate, applying strategic grazing-rests according to each ecological site characteristics (mainly the aridity level), and promoting a homogeneous herbivore distribution within each management unit are useful management technologies to maximize the provision of ES, promoting synergies among them. Assessing diverse ES responses and including them in grazing management decisions is critical to promote the sustainability of Patagonian arid rangelands and meet current and future stakeholder needs.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Aguiar MR, Román ME (2007) Restoring forage grass populations in arid Patagonian rangeland. In: Restoring natural capital: science, business, and practice. Island Press, Washington, pp 112–121

    Google Scholar 

  • Aguiar MR, Sala OE (1998) Interactions among grasses, shrubs, and herbivores in Patagonian grass-shrub steppes. Ecol Austral 8:201–210

    Google Scholar 

  • Aguiar MR, Sala OE (1999) Patch structure, dynamics and implications for the functioning of arid ecosystems. Trends Ecol Evol 14:273–277

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Aguiar MR, Paruelo JM, Sala OE, Lauenroth WK (1996) Ecosystem responses to changes in plant functional type composition: an example from the Patagonian steppe. J Veg Sci 7:381–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen CR, Angeler DG, Fontaine JJ, Garmestani AS, Hart NM, Pope KL, Twidwell D (2017) Adaptive management of rangeland systems. In: Rangeland systems. Springer, Cham, pp 373–394

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ares J (2007) Systems valuing of natural capital and investment in extensive pastoral systems: lessons from the Patagonian case. Ecol Econ 62:162–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ares J, Beeskow AM, Bertiller M, Rostagno M, Irrisarri M, Anchorena et al (1990) Structural and dynamics characteristics of overgrazed lands of northern Patagonia, Argentina. In: Managed grasslands. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 149–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Ares J, Del Valle H, Bisigato A (2003) Detection of process-related changes in plant patterns at extended spatial scales during early dryland desertification. Glob Chang Biol 9:1643–1659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey DW (2004) Management strategies for optimal grazing distribution and use of arid rangelands. J Anim Sci 82:147–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey DW, Brown JR (2011) Rotational grazing systems and livestock grazing behavior in shrub-dominated semi-arid and arid rangelands. Rangel Ecol Manag 64:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bailey DW, Mosley JC, Estell RE, Cibils AF, Horney M, Hendrickson JR et al (2019) Synthesis paper: targeted livestock grazing: prescription for healthy rangelands. Rangel Ecol Manag 72:865–877

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes MK, Norton BE, Maeno M, Malechek JC (2008) Paddock size and stocking density affect spatial heterogeneity of grazing. Rangel Ecol Manag 6:380–388

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beeskow AM, Ellisalde NO, Rostagno CM (1995) Ecosystem changes associated with grazing intensity on the Punta Ninfas rangelands of Patagonia, Argentina. J Range Manag 48:517–522

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett EM, Peterson GD, Gordon LJ (2009) Understanding relationships among multiple ecosystem services. Ecol Lett 12:1394–1404

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bertiller MB, Ares JO, Bisigato AJ (2002) Multiscale indicators of land degradation in the Patagonian Monte, Argentina. Environ Manag 30:0704–0715

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biancari L, Aguiar MR, Cipriotti PA (2020) Grazing impact on structure and dynamics of bare soil areas in a Patagonian grass-shrub steppe. J Arid Environ 179:104197

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisigato AJ, Bertiller MB (1997) Grazing effects on patchy dryland vegetation in northern Patagonia. J Arid Environ 36:639–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisigato AJ, Bertiller MB, Ares JO, Pazos GE (2005) Effect of grazing on plant patterns in arid ecosystems of Patagonian Monte. Ecography 28:561–572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briske DD (2017) Rangeland systems: processes, management and challenges. Springer Nature, Cham, p 661

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Briske DD, Derner JD, Brown JR, Fuhlendorf SD, Teague WR, Havstad KM et al (2008) Rotational grazing on rangelands: reconciliation of perception and experimental evidence. Rangel Ecol Manag 61:3–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Briske DD, Coppock DL, Illius AW, Fuhlendorf SD (2020) Strategies for global rangeland stewardship: assessment through the lens of the equilibrium–non-equilibrium debate. J Appl Ecol 57:1056–1067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buono G, Oesterheld M, Nakamatsu V, Paruelo JM (2010) Spatial and temporal variation of primary production of Patagonian wet meadows. J Arid Environ 74:1257–1261

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cesa A, Paruelo JM (2011) Changes in vegetation structure induced by domestic grazing in Patagonia (Southern Argentina). J Arid Environ 75:1129–1135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai A (2013) Increasing drought under global warming in observations and models. Nat Clim Chang 3:52–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Del Valle HF, Elissalde NO, Gagliardini DA, Milovich J (1998) Status of desertification in the Patagonian region: assessment and mapping from satellite imagery. Arid Land Res Manag 12:95–121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derner JD, Hunt L, Euclides Filho K, Ritten J, Capper J, Han G (2017) Livestock production systems. In: Rangeland systems. Springer, Cham, pp 347–372

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Distel R (2013) Manejo del pastoreo en pastizales de zonas áridas y semiáridas. Revista Argentina de Producción Animal 33:53–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Easdale MH, Aguiar MR (2012) Regional forage production assessment in arid and semi-arid rangelands–a step towards social–ecological analysis. J Arid Environ 83:35–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Easdale MH, Umaña F, Raffo F, Fariña C, Bruzzone O (2019) Evaluación de pastizales patagónicos con imágenes de satélites y de vehículos aéreos no tripulados. Ecol Austral 29:306–314

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flombaum P, Sala OE (2007) A non-destructive and rapid method to estimate biomass and aboveground net primary production in arid environments. J Arid Environ 69:352–358

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhlendorf SD, Engle DM (2001) Restoring heterogeneity on rangelands: ecosystem management based on evolutionary grazing patterns: we propose a paradigm that enhances heterogeneity instead of homogeneity to promote biological diversity and wildlife habitat on rangelands grazed by livestock. Bioscience 51:625–632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fynn RW (2012) Functional resource heterogeneity increases livestock and rangeland productivity. Rangel Ecol Manag 65:319–329

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golluscio RA, Deregibus VA, Paruelo JM (1998a) Sustainability and range management in the Patagonian steppes. Ecol Austral 8:265–284

    Google Scholar 

  • Golluscio RA, Paruelo JM, Mercau JL, Deregibus VA (1998b) Urea supplementation effects on the utilization of low-quality forage and lamb production in Patagonian rangelands. Grass Forage Sci 53:47–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golluscio RA, Pérez JA, Paruelo JM, Ghersa CM (2005) Spatial heterogeneity at different grain sizes in grazed versus ungrazed sites of the Patagonian steppe. Ecoscience 12:103–109

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golluscio RA, Austin AT, Martínez GCG, Gonzalez-Polo M, Sala OE, Jackson RB (2009) Sheep grazing decreases organic carbon and nitrogen pools in the Patagonian steppe: combination of direct and indirect effects. Ecosystems 12:686–697

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Havstad KM, Peters DP, Skaggs R, Brown J, Bestelmeyer B, Fredrickson E et al (2007) Ecological services to and from rangelands of the United States. Ecol Econ 64:261–268

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hickman KR, Hartnett DC, Cochran RC, Owensby CE (2004) Grazing management effects on plant species diversity in tallgrass prairie. J Range Manag 57:58–65

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holechek JL (1988) An approach for setting the stocking rate. Rangelands 10:10–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Huang J, Yu H, Guan X, Wang G, Guo R (2016) Accelerated dryland expansion under climate change. Nat Clim Chang 6:166–171

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hunt LP, Petty S, Cowley R, Fisher A, Ash AJ, MacDonald N (2007) Factors affecting the management of cattle grazing distribution in northern Australia: preliminary observations on the effect of paddock size and water points. Rangel J 29:169–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Irisarri JGN, Oesterheld M, Paruelo JM, Texeira MA (2012) Patterns and controls of above-ground net primary production in meadows of Patagonia. A remote sensing approach. J Veg Sci 23:114–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp AK, Beier C, Briske DD, Classen AT, Luo Y, Reichstein M et al (2008) Consequences of more extreme precipitation regimes for terrestrial ecosystems. Bioscience 58:811–821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kröpfl AI, Cecchi GA, Villasuso NM, Distel RA (2013) Degradation and recovery processes in semi-arid patchy rangelands of northern Patagonia, Argentina. Land Degrad Dev 24:393–399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laca EA (2009) New approaches and tools for grazing management. Rangel Ecol Manag 62:407–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lauenroth WK (1998) Guanacos, spiny shrubs and the evolutionary history of grazing in the Patagonian steppe. Ecol Austral 8:211–215

    Google Scholar 

  • León RJC, Aguiar MR (1985) El deterioro por uso pasturil en estepas herbáceas patagónicas. Phytocoenologia 13:181–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • León RJC, Bran D, Collantes M, Paruelo JM, Soriano A (1998) Grandes unidades de vegetación de la Patagonia extra andina. Ecol Austral 8:125–144

    Google Scholar 

  • Maestre FT, Quero JL, Gotelli NJ, Escudero A, Ochoa V, Delgado-Baquerizo M et al (2012) Plant species richness and ecosystem multifunctionality in global drylands. Science 335(6065):214–218

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Maestre FT, Eldridge DJ, Soliveres S, Kéfi S, Delgado-Baquerizo M, Bowker MA et al (2016) Structure and functioning of dryland ecosystems in a changing world. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 47:215–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Massara V, Buono G (2020) Métodos de Evaluación de Pastizales en Patagonia Sur. INTA ediciones, p 288

    Google Scholar 

  • McDonald SE, Lawrence R, Kendall L, Rader R (2019) Ecological, biophysical and production effects of incorporating rest into grazing regimes: a global meta-analysis. J Appl Ecol 56:2723–2731

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton SJ (1979) Grazing as an optimization process: grass-ungulate relationships in the Serengeti. Am Nat 113:691–703

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton SJ (1983) Compensatory plant growth as a response to herbivory. Oikos 40:329–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNaughton SJ, Oesterheld M, Frank DA, Williams KJ (1989) Ecosystem-level patterns of primary productivity and herbivory in terrestrial habitats. Nature 341:142–144

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Meffe G, Nielsen L, Knight RL, Schenborn D (2012) Ecosystem management: adaptive, community-based conservation. Island Press, Washington, pp 313

    Google Scholar 

  • Milchunas DG, Sala OE, Lauenroth W (1988) A generalized model of the effects of grazing by large herbivores on grassland community structure. Am Nat 132:87–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Ecosystems and human well-being: synthesis. Island Press, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller B, Frank K, Wissel C (2007) Relevance of rest periods in non-equilibrium rangeland systems–a modelling analysis. Agric Syst 92:295–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdoch W, Ranganathan J, Polasky S, Regetz J (2010) Using return on investment to maximize conservation effectiveness in Argentine grasslands. PNAS 107:20855–20862

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Nuñez MN, Solman SA, Cabré MF (2009) Regional climate change experiments over southern South America. II: climate change scenarios in the late twenty-first century. Clim Dyn 32:1081–1095

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR (2017) Presión de pastoreo y selectividad en estepas áridas y semi-áridas: retroalimentación planta-herbívoro a distintos niveles (PhD thesis). University of Buenos Aires, pp 188

    Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Aguiar MR (2016) Continuous moderate grazing management promotes biomass production in Patagonian arid rangelands. J Arid Environ 125:73–79

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Aguiar MR (2018) Paddock size mediates the heterogeneity of grazing impacts on vegetation. Rangel Ecol Manag 71:470–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Aguiar MR (2019) Grasses and grazers in arid rangelands: impact of sheep management on forage and non-forage grass populations. J Environ Manag 235:42–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Aguiar MR, Semmartin M (2015) Are there any trade-offs between forage provision and the ecosystem service of C and N storage in arid rangelands? Ecol Eng 77:26–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Boyero L, Aguiar MR (2018) Regional productivity mediates the effects of grazing disturbance on plant cover and patch-size distribution in arid and semi-arid communities. Oikos 127:1205–1215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Amengual G, Boyero L, Aguiar MR (2020a) Aridity exacerbates grazing-induced rangeland degradation: a population approach for dominant grasses. J Appl Ecol 57:1999–2009

    Google Scholar 

  • Oñatibia GR, Golluscio RA, Texeira M, Paruelo JM (2020b) Controls of forage selective defoliation by sheep in arid rangelands. Ecosphere 11(11):e03285

    Google Scholar 

  • Ormaechea SG, Peri PL (2015) Landscape heterogeneity influences on sheep habits under extensive grazing management in Southern Patagonia. Livest Res Rural Dev 27(6):105

    Google Scholar 

  • Ormaechea SG, Peri PL, Cipriotti PA, Distel RA (2019) El cuadro de pastoreo en los sistemas extensivos de Patagonia Sur. Percepción y manejo de la heterogeneidad. Ecol Austral 29:174–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palacio RG, Bisigato AJ, Bouza PJ (2014) Soil erosion in three grazed plant communities in northeastern Patagonia. Land Degrad Dev 25:594–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paruelo JM, Golluscio RA, Guerschman JP, Cesa A, Jouve VV, Garbulsky MF (2004) Regional scale relationships between ecosystem structure and functioning: the case of the Patagonian steppes. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 13:385–395

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paruelo JM, Pütz S, Weber G, Bertiller M, Golluscio RA, Aguiar MR, Wiegand T (2008) Long-term dynamics of a semiarid grass steppe under stochastic climate and different grazing regimes: a simulation analysis. J Arid Environ 72:2211–2231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perelman SB, León RJC, Bussacca JP (1997) Floristic changes related to grazing intensity in a Patagonian shrub steppe. Ecography 20:400–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereyra DA, Bucci SJ, Arias NS, Ciano N, Cristiano PM, Goldstein G, Scholz FG (2017) Grazing increases evapotranspiration without the cost of lowering soil water storages in arid ecosystems. Ecohydrology 10:e1850

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petz K, Alkemade R, Bakkenes M, Schulp CJ, van der Velde M, Leemans R (2014) Mapping and modelling trade-offs and synergies between grazing intensity and ecosystem services in rangelands using global-scale datasets and models. Glob Environ Chang 29:223–234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piazza MV (2016) Impacto de los herbívoros domésticos sobre el reciclado de C y N: cambios mediados por la vegetación y el ambiente. (PhD thesis). University of Buenos Aires, pp169

    Google Scholar 

  • Posse G, Anchorena J, Collantes MB (2000) Spatial micro-patterns in the steppe of Tierra del Fuego induced by sheep grazing. J Veg Sci 11:43–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rasch S, Heckelei T, Oomen RJ (2016) Reorganizing resource use in a communal livestock production socio-ecological system in South Africa. Land Use Policy 52:221–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JF, Smith DMS, Lambin EF, Turner BL, Mortimore M, Batterbury SP et al (2007) Global desertification: building a science for dryland development. Science 316:847–851

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rodríguez JP, Beard TD Jr, Bennett EM, Cumming GS, Cork SJ, Agard J et al (2006) Trade-offs across space, time, and ecosystem services. Ecol Soc 11:28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sala OE, Paruelo JM (1997) Ecosystem services in grasslands. Nature’s services: societal dependence on natural ecosystems. Island Press, Covelo, pp 237–251

    Google Scholar 

  • Sala OE, Yahdjian L, Havstad K, Aguiar MR (2017) Rangeland ecosystem services: Nature’s supply and humans’ demand. In: Rangeland Systems. Springer, Cham, pp 467–489

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson JS, Beutler C, Brown JR, Burke I, Chapman T, Conant RT et al (2020) Cattle, conservation, and carbon in the western Great Plains. J Soil Water Conserv 75:5A–12A

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Soriano A (1956) Aspectos ecológicos y pasturiles de la vegetación patagónica relacionados con su estado y capacidad de recuperación. Revista de Investigaciones Agrícolas 10:349–372

    Google Scholar 

  • Soriano A, Movia CP (1986) Erosión y desertización en la Patagonia. Interciencia 11:77–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Fu B, Kemp D, Zhao W, Liu G, Han G et al (2020) Reconsidering the efficiency of grazing exclusion using fences on the Tibetan Plateau. Sci Bull 65:1405–1414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teague R, Provenza F, Kreuter U, Steffens T, Barnes M (2013) Multi-paddock grazing on rangelands: why the perceptual dichotomy between research results and rancher experience? J Environ Manag 128:699–717

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Texeira M, Paruelo JM (2006) Demography, population dynamics and sustainability of the Patagonian sheep flocks. Agric Syst 87:123–146

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thornton PK (2010) Livestock production: recent trends, future prospects. Philos Trans R Soc, B 365:2853–2867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verón SR, Paruelo JM (2010) Desertification alters the response of vegetation to changes in precipitation. J Appl Ecol 47:1233–1241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Verón SR, Paruelo JM, Oesterheld M (2011) Grazing-induced losses of biodiversity affect the transpiration of an arid ecosystem. Oecologia 165:501–510

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace LL, McNaughton SJ, Coughenour MB (1984) Compensatory photosynthetic responses of three African graminoids to different fertilization, watering and clipping regimes. Bot Gaz 145:151–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yahdjian L, Sala OE, Havstad KM (2015) Rangeland ecosystem services: shifting focus from supply to reconciling supply and demand. Front Ecol Environ 13:44–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, Liu Z, Wu J (2020) Grassland ecosystem services: a systematic review of research advances and future directions. Landsc Ecol 35:793–814

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. CONICET-Universidad de Buenos Aires, Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Gastón R. Oñatibia

  2. Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente, Cátedra de Ecología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Gastón R. Oñatibia

Authors
  1. Gastón R. Oñatibia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gastón R. Oñatibia .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Agricultural Technology Institute, Río Gallegos, Argentina

    Pablo L. Peri

  2. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina

    Guillermo Martínez Pastur

  3. Instituto de Economía, Universidad Austral de Chile, Centro de Investigación: Dinámica de Ecosistemas Marinos de Altas Latitudes, Instituto Milenio en Socio-Ecología Costera, Valdívia, Chile

    Laura Nahuelhual

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Oñatibia, G.R. (2021). Grazing Management and Provision of Ecosystem Services in Patagonian Arid Rangelands. In: Peri, P.L., Martínez Pastur, G., Nahuelhual, L. (eds) Ecosystem Services in Patagonia. Natural and Social Sciences of Patagonia. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69166-0_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation