File(s) under permanent embargo
Tasmanian lentic wetland lawns are maintained by grazing rather than inundation
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-17, 03:20 authored by Roberts, Cynthia, James KirkpatrickJames Kirkpatrick, Peter McQuillanPeter McQuillanVertebrate grazers have been shown to be a critical element in maintaining lawns, although lawns can also form in places without such herbivores. In Tasmania lawns are widespread in lentic wetlands. We used environmental observations and exclosure experiments at two altitudinally contrasting lentic wetland lawns, and waterlogging experiments, to test the hypotheses that their structure is maintained (i) periodic inundation; and (ii) grazing.Waterlogging experiments and field observations demonstrated that the two main invading shrubs were indifferent to immersion for several months and that the distribution of the lawns was independent of inundation period, results inconsistent with the first hypothesis. The exclosure experiments showed that both woody and non-woody plants became taller in the lawns when marsupial grazers and rabbits were excluded. It therefore seems that the lawn structure is maintained by grazing and that alternative structural states result from exclusion of grazing pressure in less than 2 years.
History
Publication title
Austral Ecology: a journal of ecology in the Southern HemisphereVolume
36Pagination
303-309ISSN
1442-9985Department/School
School of Geography, Planning and Spatial SciencesPublisher
Wiley-BlackwellPlace of publication
AustraliaRights statement
Copyright 2010 Ecological Society of AustraliaRepository Status
- Restricted