Impacts of large herbivores on terrestrial ecosystems

Current Biology, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 33(11), P. R584 - R610

Published: June 1, 2023

Language: Английский

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The late-Quaternary megafauna extinctions: Patterns, causes, ecological consequences and implications for ecosystem management in the Anthropocene

Cambridge Prisms Extinction, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 2

Published: Jan. 1, 2024

Across the last ~50,000 years (the late Quaternary) terrestrial vertebrate faunas have experienced severe losses of large species (megafauna), with most extinctions occurring in Late Pleistocene and Early to Middle Holocene. Debate on causes has been ongoing for over 200 years, intensifying from 1960s onward. Here, we outline criteria that any causal hypothesis needs account for. Importantly, this extinction event is unique relative other Cenozoic 66 million years) its strong size bias. For example, only 11 out 57 megaherbivores (body mass ≥1,000 kg) survived present. In addition mammalian megafauna, certain groups also substantial extinctions, mainly non-mammalian vertebrates smaller but megafauna-associated taxa. Further, severity dates varied among continents, severely affected all biomes, Arctic tropics. We synthesise evidence against climatic or modern human (Homo sapiens) causation, existing tenable hypotheses. Our review shows there little support major influence climate, neither global patterns nor fine-scale spatiotemporal mechanistic evidence. Conversely, increasing pressures as key driver these emerging an initial onset linked pre-sapiens hominins prior Pleistocene. Subsequently, synthesize ecosystem consequences megafauna discuss implications conservation restoration. A broad range indicates elicited profound changes structure functioning. The late-Quaternary thereby represent early, large-scale human-driven environmental transformation, constituting a progenitor Anthropocene, where humans are now player planetary Finally, conclude restoration via trophic rewilding can be expected positive effects biodiversity across Anthropocene settings.

Language: Английский

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The history and challenge of grassy biomes

Science, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 377(6606), P. 592 - 593

Published: Aug. 4, 2022

Grassy biomes are >20 million years old but undervalued and under threat today.

Language: Английский

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Out of the shadows: ecology of open ecosystems

Plant Ecology & Diversity, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 14(5-6), P. 205 - 222

Published: Nov. 2, 2021

Biomes of the world have long been assumed to be determined by climate. Major disparities, where open low biomass systems occurred in same climate zone as closed forests dismissed products deforestation. Many these ecosystems world, shown ancient origins, stable alternatives forests, and typically maintained disturbance regimes. Open include some most biodiverse regions world. They are often consumer-controlled large mammal herbivores or fire. Mosaics forest interpreted alternative states with each state positive feedbacks environmental conditions that maintain state. For example, flammable grasses fires which consume woody plants, while exclude shading them out. Understanding may therefore require radical revision familiar ecological concepts, starting hypothesis largely determines vegetation patterns. function differently from an earth system context affecting hydrological cycle, rates rock weathering, presenting a different planetary surface solar radiation reaching earth's land surface. explicit attention conservation policy management.

Language: Английский

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Grassy Ecosystems in the Anthropocene

Annual Review of Environment and Resources, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 47(1), P. 261 - 289

Published: Aug. 1, 2022

As the Anthropocene advances, there are few parts of Earth that have not been impacted by human influence. Humans had a long-sustained interaction with grassy ecosystems, but they becoming severely direct and indirect impacts as advances. Grassy ecosystems easy to clear cultivate, poorly protected, defined due legacies colonial narratives can describe them deforested, wastelands, or derived. Climate change, land conversion, erosion processes shaped for millennia cascading cumulative on ecosystem extent integrity. We examine how these changes impacting more specifically, those fall into uncertain space—a climate envelope where vegetation is at equilibrium either forest occur. It within this space climate, CO2, disturbances (fire, herbivores) interact determine presence ecosystems. Changes any components reduce integrity grassyecosystems. The loss ancient biodiverse means an array services fundamental lives than 1 billion people alongside Earth-system altered albedo, carbon, hydrological cycles.

Language: Английский

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Feedback in tropical forests of the Anthropocene

Global Change Biology, Journal Year: 2022, Volume and Issue: 28(17), P. 5041 - 5061

Published: June 30, 2022

Abstract Tropical forests are complex systems containing myriad interactions and feedbacks with their biotic abiotic environments, but as the world changes fast, future of these ecosystems becomes increasingly uncertain. In particular, global stressors may unbalance that stabilize tropical forests, allowing other to propel undesired in whole ecosystem. Here, we review scientific literature across various fields, compiling known environment, including climate, rainfall, aerosols, fire, soils, fauna, human activities. We identify 170 individual among 32 elements present a forest network, countless feedback loops emerge from different combinations interactions. illustrate our findings three cases involving urgent sustainability issues: (1) wildfires wetlands South America; (2) encroachment African savanna landscapes; (3) synergistic threats peatland Borneo. Our reveal an unexplored shape dynamics forests. The identified here can guide qualitative quantitative research on complexities societies manage nonlinear responses Anthropocene.

Language: Английский

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Late Cenozoic Faunal and Ecological Change in Africa

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 52(1), P. 379 - 407

Published: Jan. 25, 2024

Africa's fossil record of late Cenozoic mammals documents considerable ecological and evolutionary changes through time. Here, we synthesize those in the context mechanisms proposed to account for them, including bottom-up (e.g., climate change) top-down hominin impacts) processes. In doing so, (a) examine how incompleteness varied spatiotemporal scales evidence complicate efforts establish cause-effect relationships; (b) evaluate hypothesized drivers long-term change, highlighting key unknowns; (c) major taxonomic functional trends time downsizing faunal communities) considering drivers. Throughout our review, point unresolved questions highlight research avenues that have potential inform on processes shaped history what are today most diverse remaining large mammal communities Earth.▪The study African is intertwined with about context, causes, consequences evolution.▪The loss megaherbivores) rise Bovidae) over past ∼7 Myr.▪Complexities inherent made it difficult identify drove changes.▪Unanswered change functioning ecosystems represent promising future directions.

Language: Английский

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Consistent patterns of LiDAR-derived measures of savanna vegetation complexity between wet and dry seasons

Ecological Indicators, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 170, P. 113061 - 113061

Published: Jan. 1, 2025

Language: Английский

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Moisture availability versus grazing and burning as drivers of Holocene forest-grassland coexistence in Europe: A case study from open ecosystems of southeastern Romania

Quaternary Science Reviews, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 351, P. 109153 - 109153

Published: Jan. 10, 2025

Language: Английский

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Global response of fire activity to late Quaternary grazer extinctions

Science, Journal Year: 2021, Volume and Issue: 374(6571), P. 1145 - 1148

Published: Nov. 25, 2021

Fire activity varies substantially at global scales because of the influence climate, but broad spatiotemporal scales, possible effects herbivory on fire are unknown. Here, we used late Quaternary large-bodied herbivore extinctions as a exclusion experiment to examine responses grassy ecosystem paleofire (through charcoal proxies) continental differences in extinction severity. Grassy increased response extinction, with larger increases continents that suffered largest losses grazers; browser declines had no such effect. These shifts suggest can have Earth system–scale and impacts should be explicitly considered when predicting changes past future activity.

Language: Английский

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