气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Navigating uncertainty: Managing herbivore communities enhances Savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change

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DOI	10.1111/1365-2664.14573
	Navigating uncertainty: Managing herbivore communities enhances Savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change
	Irob, Katja; Blaum, Niels; Tietjen, Britta
发表日期	2024
ISSN	0021-8901
EISSN	1365-2664
起始页码	61
结束页码	3
卷号	61 期号:3
英文摘要	Savannas are characterized by water scarcity and degradation, making them highly vulnerable to increased uncertainties in water availability resulting from climate change. This poses a significant threat to ecosystem services and rural livelihoods that depend on them. In addition, the lack of consensus among climate models on precipitation change makes it difficult for land managers to plan for the future. Therefore, Savanna rangeland management needs to develop strategies that can sustain Savanna resilience and avoid tipping points under an uncertain future climate. Our study aims to analyse the impacts of climate change and rangeland management on degradation in Savanna ecosystems of southern Africa, providing insights for the management of semi-arid Savannas under uncertain conditions worldwide. To achieve this, we simulated the effects of projected changes in temperature and precipitation, as predicted by 10 global climate models, on water resources and vegetation (cover, functional diversity, tipping points (transition from grass-dominated to shrub-dominated vegetation)). We simulated three different rangeland management options (herbivore communities dominated by grazers, by browser and by mixed feeders), each with low and high animal densities, using the ecohydrological model EcoHyD. Our results identified intensive grazing as the primary contributor to the increased risk of degradation in response to changing climatic conditions across all climate change scenarios. This degradation encompassed a reduction in available water for plant growth within the context of predicted climate change. It also entails a decline in the overall vegetation cover, the loss of functionally important plant species and the inefficient utilization of available water resources, leading to earlier tipping points. Synthesis and applications. Our findings underscore that, in the face of climate uncertainty, farmers' most effective strategy for securing their livelihoods and ecosystem stability is to integrate browsers and apply management of mixed herbivore communities. This management approach not only significantly delays or averts tipping points but also maintained greater plant functional diversity, fostering a more robust and resilient ecosystem that acts as a vital buffer against adverse climatic conditions. Our findings underscore that, in the face of climate uncertainty, farmers' most effective strategy for securing their livelihoods and ecosystem stability is to integrate browsers and apply management of mixed herbivore communities. This management approach not only significantly delays or averts tipping points but also maintained greater plant functional diversity, fostering a more robust and resilient ecosystem that acts as a vital buffer against adverse climatic conditions.image
英文关键词	climate change; ecohydrological modelling; management strategies; resilience; Savanna ecosystems; tipping points; wildlife
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Biodiversity & Conservation ; Environmental Sciences & Ecology
WOS类目	Biodiversity Conservation ; Ecology
WOS记录号	WOS:001153430500001
来源期刊	JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/308006
作者单位	Free University of Berlin; University of Potsdam
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Irob, Katja,Blaum, Niels,Tietjen, Britta. Navigating uncertainty: Managing herbivore communities enhances Savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change[J],2024,61(3).
APA	Irob, Katja,Blaum, Niels,&Tietjen, Britta.(2024).Navigating uncertainty: Managing herbivore communities enhances Savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change.JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY,61(3).
MLA	Irob, Katja,et al."Navigating uncertainty: Managing herbivore communities enhances Savanna ecosystem resilience under climate change".JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY 61.3(2024).