at Google ScholarTitle data
Bösing, Britta M. ; Haarmeyer, Daniela H. ; Dengler, Jürgen ; Ganzhorn, Jörg U. ; Schmiedel, Ute:
Effects of livestock grazing and habitat characteristics on small mammal communities in the Knersvlakte, South Africa.
In: Journal of Arid Environments.
Vol. 104
(2014)
.
- pp. 124-131.
ISSN 0140-1963
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.02.011
Abstract in another language
We studied the influence of different livestock grazing intensities and habitat types on small mammals inthe Knersvlakte, South Africa. The Knersvlakte belongs to the Succulent Karoo Biome, a biodiversityhotspot. We placed a total of 22 plots in areas of two grazing intensities (moderate and intensive) andtwo major habitat types (quartz fields and loamy soils). On these plots, we carried out small-mammal livetrapping (90 traps during four nights) and estimated the cover of different vegetation layers. In total, 140small mammal individuals from ten species were caught during 7920 trap nights. All species occurred onloamy soils, but only four in quartz fields. The small-mammal community on intensively-grazed plotswas a subset of that on moderately-grazed plots. The most abundant species on loamy soils wereMacroscelides proboscideus and Rhabdomys pumilio and in quartz fields M. proboscideus and Gerbilluruspaeba. Generalised linear models revealed that habitat type had the strongest influence on abundanceand diversity of small mammals. Vegetation cover mainly had indirect influences, via the habitat type, onabundance, diversity and the body condition of small mammals. Overall, the intensities of livestockgrazing showed no effect on abundance and diversity.
Further data
| Item Type: | Article in a journal |
|---|---|
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Additional notes: | BAYCEER121463 |
| Institutions of the University: | Research Institutions > Central research institutes > Bayreuth Center of Ecology and Environmental Research- BayCEER Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences > Professor Disturbance Ecology Faculties Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences Faculties > Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Earth Sciences > Department of Earth Sciences Research Institutions Research Institutions > Central research institutes |
| Result of work at the UBT: | Yes |
| DDC Subjects: | 500 Science |
| Date Deposited: | 12 May 2015 06:11 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Aug 2023 09:46 |
| URI: | https://eref.uni-bayreuth.de/id/eprint/13323 |