UC documents how grazing benefits habitats, ecosystems
study said managed grazing can control vegetation and maintain habitat struc- ture and ecosystem function to support a variety of species. Controlling non-native species, most- ly non-native annual plants, is the most frequent reason grazing benefits both federally listed flowering plant and animal species in California, the study found. Researchers noted that 89% of species positively affected by livestock grazing benefit from control of non-na- tive species. In addition to controlling non-native plants, the study found that grazing ben- efits some listed species by controlling vegetation, including thatch or dead plants that alter habitat. Habitat with sparse vegetation is also necessary for listed plant and animal species in coastal grasslands, including the Santa Cruz tarplant andOhlone tiger beetle, the study said. Barry andHuntsinger noted that some species benefit fromgrazing that controls vegetation associated with air pollution. The control of vegetation through grazing is also associatedwithmaintain- ing grasslands by preventing succession or invasion by brush to benefit some an- imal and plant species, the study said. For listed plants such as theWestern lily that are threatened by loss of grassland, the researchers noted the USFWS has stated that the benefits of grazing seem to outweigh the potential threat to these
plants being grazed or trampled. Within aquatic habitats, the study found that species benefiting from graz- ing, which include flowering plants, am- phibians and invertebrates, are primar- ily found in temporary or vernal pools, where livestock help maintain an ade- quate inundation period. Other benefits stated for listed species in aquatic habitats include two animal species that benefit from the presence and maintenance of stock ponds asso- ciated with livestock grazing, Barry said. Barry and Huntsinger noted that re- view of the USFWS listing documents concludes that many federally listed species in California require continued intervention to support their life cycle or maintenance of habitat, and that sharing landwith livestock grazing represents an important conservation strategy. “Species benefiting from grazing are often threatened by the loss or cessation of grazing,” Barry said. She said threats to biodiversity stem- ming frompervasive non-native species, climate change, and the disruption of es- sential ecosystem processes and distur- bance regimes arenot typically overcome simplybypreserving land, improving reg- ulatoryprotections and removing threats. “Livestock grazing is perhaps the only ongoing land use that can be feasi- bly manipulated to manage vegetation and habitats at the landscape scale,” Barry said.
Well-managed grazing can control non-native plants and maintain habi- tat and ecosystems to support a variety of species, according to University of California research. Published in the journal Sustainability, researchers said their work documents a role for livestock grazing to support the conservation of imperiled California plant and animal species. She i l a Ba r r y , UC Coope r a t i v e Extension livestock and natural resourc- es advisor for Santa Clara, Alameda, Cont ra Costa, San Mateo and San Francisco counties, said livestock grazing represents the single greatest land use in the state, occurring in every county ex- cept San Francisco, and those livestock often share lands with threatened and endangered species. Barry, who co-authored the study, noted that California has more federally listed threatened and endangered spe- cies—287 plants and animals—than any other state in the continental U.S. She said the threat to diversity comes pre- dominantly fromhabitat loss due to land use change. Housing andurbandevelop- ment, solar and wind energy facilities, cultivated agriculture and public works projects such as reservoirs, roads and
high-speed rail all result in habitat loss for some native species, many of which are threatened or endangered, she said. “Alternatively, maintaining ranching or managed grazing for beef cattle pro- duction can support the conservation of many threatened and endangered spe- cies in California,” Barry said. To better understand the relationship between livestock grazing and species conservation, Barry and UC Berkeley re- searcher Lynn Huntsinger reviewed U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listing docu- ments for threatened and endangered species in California. Those documents show that 51%, or 143, of the federally listed animal and plant species are found in habitats with grazing. Livestock grazing is a stated threat to 73%, or 104, of the species shar- ing habitat with livestock, they found— but 59%, or 85, of the species are said to be positively influenced, with consid- erable overlap between species both threatened and benefiting fromgrazing. “The fact that USFWS identifies graz- ing as both a threat and a benefit tomany species indicates that how grazing is done matters,” Barry said. Though speciesmay be harmed by ex- cessive or unmanaged grazing, the UC
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June 9, 2021 Ag Alert 21
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