Rewilding of large herbivore communities in high elevation Puna: geographic segregation and no evidence of positive effe
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Rewilding of large herbivore communities in high elevation Puna: geographic segregation and no evidence of positive effects on peatland productivity Carlos J. Navarro 1
&
Andrea E. Izquierdo 1 & Ezequiel Aráoz 1 & Javier Foguet 1 & H. Ricardo Grau 1
Received: 10 April 2019 / Accepted: 5 September 2020 # Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract During the past decades, the Argentine Puna (a subtropical high elevation desert of c. 14 million hectares) has been going through a process of “rewilding” of large herbivore communities. In response to rural population outmigration and resulting livestock reduction accompanied by protection measures, large wild herbivores such as vicuñas increased. To explore the ecological consequences of this transition, we analysed the spatial patterns of wild herbivores and livestock in relation to human settlements, and we estimated the changes in vegetation productivity of peatlands, using NDVI derived from MODIS satellite images between 2001 and 2012. Peatlands are key ecosystems in high elevation deserts; they regulate water and carbon fluxes and provide most forage for livestock and wildlife. A field survey of 50 peatlands revealed that travel time from human settlements was positively correlated with the wild herbivore abundance, and negatively correlated with livestock abundance (especially sheep and goats). Thus, it is a good indicator of livestock use. At the regional scale, after controlling for the physical and climatic variables of the 8134 peatlands, accessibility from human settlements explained less than 0.1% of mean and interannual NDVI variability. These results provide no evidence of livestock-induced degradation. Furthermore, likely due to rainfall increase, peatlands showed an overall positive NDVI trend between 2001 and 2012, but isolated peatlands showed comparatively more negative NDVI trends during the same period, possibly associated with increased wildlife herbivory. Similar rewilding processes could occur in many mountain regions undergoing decreasing human population and marginal land uses. Our study suggests that traditional management could contribute to the productivity, stability, and resilience of peatlands.
Communicated by Wolfgang Cramer Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-020-01704-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Carlos J. Navarro [email protected] Andrea E. Izquierdo [email protected] Ezequiel Aráoz [email protected] Javier Foguet [email protected] H. Ricardo Grau [email protected] 1
Instituto de Ecología Regional, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Tecnológicas (CONICET), CC34 CP4107 Yerba Buena, Tucumán, Argentina
Keywords Herbivory . Land use change . Rewilding . Peatlands . Primary productivity . Puna
Introduction Rewilding is a process in which ecosystem restoration occurs through the reintroduction or recovery of native sp
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