DOI: 10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q37
title: Taxonomic and functional vegetation response to no-grazing, seasonal grazing and year-round grazing

description: Grazing by domestic herbivores is applied across Europe to combat the loss
 of light-dependent, species-rich communities due to encroachment by
 competitive woody and herbaceous plants. However, the billions of euros
 spent annually by the EU on grazing subsidies have failed to halt the loss
 of species in open habitats. We hypothesized that typical
 agri-environmental seasonal grazing fails to simulate the ecological
 effects of now-extirpated, large, wild herbivores, which coevolved with
 these species-rich communities. We conducted a survey of 30
 semi-natural sites where grazing was either absent, seasonal, or
 year-round, across a spectrum of abiotic conditions. We recorded plant
 species diversity and cover and used plant traits to assess taxonomic and
 functional responses. Year-round grazing increased plant species
 richness and forb cover compared to seasonal or no grazing.
 Correspondingly, dormant-season (winter) grazing pressure affected species
 richness and forb cover more strongly compared to growing-season (summer)
 grazing pressure. Functional richness was similar across management types,
 likely due to higher plant trait similarity in year-round grazed sites.
 Our results support that grazing weakens interspecific competition among
 plants, while dormant-season grazing appears to allow diverse forb
 communities to replace species-poor grass dominance. Synthesis and
 applications: Our results indicate that typical, seasonal grazing may be
 counterproductive, in terms of promoting plant diversity. We found the
 most effective management strategy for conserving species-rich forb
 communities to be year-round grazing. Species losses linger on and are
 especially high for European species that depend on open and semi-open,
 forb-rich habitats such as grasslands, wetlands, and woodlands. To halt
 this trend, we advocate a shift in conservation strategies towards natural
 grazing and a greater focus on the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms
 behind the relationship between large herbivores and plants, not least the
 balance between grasses and forbs.
description: # Taxonomic and functional vegetation response to no-grazing, seasonal
 grazing and year-round grazing Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q37](10.5061/dryad.ns1rn8q37) ## Description of the
 data and file structure We conducted a survey of 30 semi-natural sites
 where grazing was either absent, seasonal, or year-round, across a
 spectrum of abiotic conditions. We recorded plant species diversity and
 cover and used plant traits to assess taxonomic and functional responses.
 ### Files and variables #### File: data\_dryad2.xlsx **Description:** Two
 sheets in one excel file: **Abundance_data_backup** * **test_field**:
 Unique identifier for each triplet. * **test_field name**: Unique
 identifier for each site * **data**: date. * **plot**: Unique identifier
 for each plot. Plots denoted with a * are subjectively placed *
 **Management**: S = seasonal grazing from may-october. Y = year-round
 grazing. U = no-grazing * **Species anme**: Scientific name of recorded
 plant species. * **Braun_Blanquet_Cover**: Cover estimate using the
 Braun-Blanquet scale. **Site_data_backup** * **test_field**: Unique
 identifier for each triplet. * **test_field name**: Unique identifier for
 each site * **plot**: Unique identifier for each plot. Plots denoted with
 a * are subjectively placed * **management**: Grazing status categorized
 as absent, seasonal, or year-round. * **height 1 to 4**: vegetation height
 on the 4 sides of the innermost 1m2 plot * **Cover estimates in m2 and
 percent of 5 meter radius plot for the following vegetation and soil
 elements** * **trees and bushes under 1 meter** * **trees and bushes over
 1 meter** * **trees and bushes total summarised cover** * **dwarf shrubs**
 * **herbs = forbs** * **grasses** * **half grasses** = non-Poaceae
 graminoids * **mosses** * **lichens** * **water** * **bare soil** *
 **proxy_mean**: mean proxy score for the site * **Habitat**: Habitat type
 according to Danish Nature Protection Habitat Classificaiton in Clause 3 -
 **d_summer 22 to 2**: plot disturbance according to following
 classification: 1. No disturbance 2. Uncertain or sporadic disturbance 3.
 Extensive agricultural activities (e.g., grazing, haymaking) 4. Intensive
 agriculture (e.g., high stocking rates, brush cutting) 5. Complete removal
 of vegetation (e.g., tilling, burning) * **d_spring 23 to 15**: plot
 disturbance according to same classification - **Hist_Dist_1**: Weighted
 disturbance history score from the 2002-2022 photo series. -
 **Hist_Dist_2**: Weighted disturbance history score from the 2015-2023
 photo series. - **P_54**: Binary variable indicating whether the plot was
 plowed in 1954 (1 = plowed, 0 = not plowed). - **Binary yes = 1 no = 0
 values for whether the plot has been exposed to haymaking, cutting,
 clearing or burning** - **period 1 and 2:** indicates whether there was
 grazing in summer (period 1) and winter (period 2) - **grazer species 1 is
 the first herbivore species** - **number of adults and juveniles (under 1
 year of age) present of grazer species 1** - **race: race of herbivore
 species** - **grazing start and end:** indicates start and end month of
 period 1 and 2 - **feeding amount FE and destination**: indicates whether
 animals were supplementarily fed, with how much and where -
 **continuity**: how many years the present management has been going on -
 **size ha**: size of the total area with or without grazing **There are no
 missing values in the dataset. Null indicates "not relevant or
 no".** ## Code/software No special software needed.