Legacy Effects of Different Land-Use Histories Interact with Current Grazing Patterns to Determine Grazing Lawn Soil Properties

摘要: Pastoralism and agriculture have affected rangeland ecosystems over the past millennia, including many that are currently protected as reserves. However, legacy of these land-use practices on current ecosystem functioning remains unclear. We studied effects former human land use soil physical chemical properties in a South African savanna. did this by comparing grazing lawns (patches short grass maintained positive feedback between intensity forage quality) with surrounding less grazed bunch grasslands within three different history contexts: (i) Abandoned bomas: permanent stone enclosures where livestock were kept overnight, dung urine accumulated for several years or decades. (ii) Old fields: areas vegetation was cleared, tilled, cultivated, but received little no fertilization. (iii) Natural grasslands: not cultivated before establishment reserve wildlife thereafter. Former rather than texture main determinant lawn location. Moreover, also varied among histories. In all lawns, nutrient concentrations higher adjacent abandoned bomas contained times more phosphorus, twice much nitrogen carbon old fields natural grassland lawns. addition to use, influenced nutrients: Concentrations potassium, calcium, magnesium, total nitrogen, clayey soils sandy soils, whereas C:N ratio, pH change texture. Our study confirms previous findings effect savanna heterogeneity, highlights how may vary historic practices.