2024/12/13 by J’Hrenara Rios, Meya Saenz Zagar, Jang, Rachel +1
#coastal prairie #detritivores #functional feeding group #rotational grazing #terrestrial invertebrates
paper · doi:10.21973/n32h37
Livestock grazing is ubiquitous on terrestrial land with numerous methodological approaches with impacts on a variety of ecological levels such as vegetation, soil, and terrestrial invertebrates. While studies have observed these differences in many ecosystems, one understudied area would be the coastal prairie. To further investigate this environment, we conducted a paired study between grazed meadows and ungrazed exclosures, measuring above-ground biomass, soil compaction, and terrestrial invertebrate communities. Pitfall traps were installed to understand the abundance, richness, and functional feeding group of terrestrial invertebrates in both sites. Our results showed less above-ground biomass in grazed sites and greater soil compaction in grazed sites. There was no difference in terrestrial invertebrate species richness, but less total abundance in grazed sites. We found a greater proportion of detritivores in ungrazed sites which was driven by the Armadillidae population. We suggest that due to the seasonality of our study, not all functional groups were present. Therefore, future studies could explore how different plant life stages could affect functional feeding group proportions throughout a temporal scale.