Effect of Sheep Grazing, Stocking Rates and Dolomitic Limestone Application on the Floristic Composition of a Permanent Dryland Pasture, in the Montado Agroforestry System of Southern Portugal
Emanuel Carreira,
João Serrano,
Carlos J. Pinto Gomes,
Shakib Shahidian,
Luís L. Paniagua,
Alexandre Pilirito,
José Lopes Castro,
Mário Carvalho,
Alfredo F. Pereira
Affiliations
Emanuel Carreira
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
João Serrano
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
Carlos J. Pinto Gomes
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
Shakib Shahidian
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
Luís L. Paniagua
Escuela de Ingenierías Agrarias, Universidad de Extremadura, Avenida Adolfo Suárez, S/N, 06007 Badajoz, Spain
Alexandre Pilirito
Department of Animal Sciences, Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
José Lopes Castro
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
Mário Carvalho
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
Alfredo F. Pereira
MED-Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, Instituto de Investigação and CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Studies and Research Universidade de Évora, Pólo da Mitra, Ap. 94, 7006-554 Evora, Portugal
The Montado is a complex agroforestry–pastoral ecosystem due to the interactions between soil–pasture–trees–animals and climate. The typical Montado soil has an acidic pH and manganese toxicity, which affect the pasture’s productivity and pasture floristic composition (PFC). The PFC, on the other hand, can also be influenced by the type and intensity of grazing, which can lead to significant decreases in the amount of biomass produced and the biodiversity of species in the pasture. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of grazing type, by sheep, and different stocking rates on the PFC throughout the vegetative pasture cycle in areas with and without dolomitic limestone application. Thus, four treatments (P1UC to P4TC) were constituted: P1UC—without limestone application (U) and continuous grazing (CG); P2UD—U and deferred grazing (DG); P3TD—with the application of limestone (T) and DG; P4TC—T and CG. In DG plots, the placement and removal of the animals were carried out as a function of the average height of the pasture (placement—10 cm; removal—3 to 5 cm). The PFC was characterized in winter, at the peak of spring and in late spring. The PFC data were subjected to a multilevel pattern analysis (ISA). The combination of rainfall and temperature influenced the pasture growth rates and consequently the height of the pasture at different times of the year. Therefore, with the different growth rates of the pasture throughout the year, the sheep remain for different periods of time in the deferred grazing treatments. In the four treatments, 103 plant species were identified. The most representative botanical families in the four treatments were Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Poaceae. ISA identified 14 bioindicator species: eight for the winter period, three for the late spring vegetative period and three for the TC treatment.
