(Article)
a Department of Zoology, University of Cordoba, Rabanales Campus Ed. Darwin, Córdoba, Spain
b Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3), Córdoba, Spain
c Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Technische Universität München, Munich,
b Department of Botany, Ecology and Plant Physiology, University of Córdoba, Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3), Córdoba, Spain
c Center of Allergy & Environment (ZAUM), Helmholtz Zentrum München, Technische Universität München, Munich,
Abstract
Increases in the deposition of nitrogen affect biodiversity and the composition of natural vegetation. A significant amount of this nitrogen may originate not only from intensive agricultural and livestock farming, but also from wild ungulates whose abundance and area of distribution are currently increasing in the Iberian Peninsula. In this study we have estimated the abundance of two species of wild ungulates (red deer and wild boar) and the amount of nitrogen contained in their droppings and in the grass. We have also recorded the herbaceous community. The results show that the density of these ungulates is positively correlated to an increase in the grass nitrogen, which adversely affects the percentage of leguminosae in pastures. These results suggest that high densities of ungulates may be affecting plant communities by increasing the amount of nitrogen as a result the deposition of droppings. The current system of big game management should therefore be reviewed to make it compatible with the conservation of plant communities and small herbivore species that may be negatively affected by changes in pasture quality and quantity. © 2015, Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.
Author keywords
Faecal nitrogen; Leguminosae; Nitrogen plant; Pasture quality; Red deer; Wild boar
Indexed keywords
GEOBASE Subject Index: abundance; biodiversity; farming system; grass; grassland; herbivore; intensive agriculture; legume; livestock farming; nitrogen; plant community; population density; population distribution; ungulate; wild population
Regional Index: Iberian Peninsula
Species Index: Cervus elaphus; Fabaceae; Sus scrofa; Ungulata
