Effects of Cattle Grazing on Diversity in Ephemeral Wetlands

Abstract:  Cattle are usually thought of as a threat to biodiversity. In regions threatened by exotic species invasion and lacking native wild grazers, however, cattle may produce the type of disturbance that helps maintain diverse communities. Across 72 vernal pools, I examined the effect of different grazing treatments (ungrazed, continuously grazed, wet-season grazed and dry-season grazed) on vernal-pool plant and aquatic faunal diversity in the Central Valley of California. After 3 years of treatment, ungrazed pools had 88% higher cover of exotic annual grasses and 47% lower relative cover of native species than pools grazed at historical levels (continuously grazed). Species richness of native plants declined by 25% and aquatic invertebrate richness was 28% lower in the ungrazed compared with the continuously grazed treatments. Release from grazing reduced pool inundation period by 50 to 80%, making it difficult for some vernal-pool endemic species to complete their life cycle. My results show that one should not assume livestock and ranching operations are necessarily damaging to native communities. In my central California study site, grazing helped maintain native plant and aquatic diversity in vernal pools.