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Figure 3 | Ecological Processes

Figure 3

From: Using strategically applied grazing to manage invasive alien plants in novel grasslands

Figure 3

Alternative or a continuum of restoration goals that may help to gradually shift a degraded site, dominated by an invasive plant species, towards a more desirable state with increased species diversity and improved ecosystem functioning. If a grazed pasture has not lost its original ecosystem functioning, then excluding grazing and removing/killing the IAP may be the best option. If, however, the system has changed to a novel state then direct or indirect manipulation of grazing pressure is a better option. If a grassland community is highly degraded, the main goal may be reclamation. a) At the reclamation stage, the main aim will be to return some form of functioning back to the degraded site. This may be accomplished using either direct or indirect strategies depending on the plasticity of the IAP, economic and social constraints and the phenology of the IAP in comparison to the natives. Evidence that this early stage is working is the return or increase in the abundance of some early seral native species to the site. b) Rehabilitation is where management strategies should aim to maintain key ecosystem functions, while also focusing on encouraging the return of more native diversity to the site. When using direct manipulation of grazing, if the IAP has a different phenology than some of the native species present, then grazing can be applied at a time when the IAP is most susceptible, thereby manipulating competition among species within the community. c) Restoration goals are the hardest to achieve from a management perspective because restoration involves shifting the species diversity from a set of early colonising native species to a system characterised by late seral species. This may not be possible with continued grazing at the site. Instead, what might be needed is a new grazing regime of lower intensity or the application of an alternative disturbance regime, possibly one that resembles more the historical disturbance regime.

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