Dead vegetation essential in Australia’s arid ecosystems

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2C6.4771525 2 2 6.4771525 2 12s4.4771525 10 10 10 10-4.4771525 10-10S17.5228475 2 12 2z"> </path> </svg> </button> </form> </div> <div class="content"> <main class="main rows-gap margin-top-1 margin-bottom-1"> <nav aria-label="breadcrumbs" class="rank-math-breadcrumb"><p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos</a><span class="separator"> » </span><a href="/nature/">Nature</a></p></nav> <section class="article-container cols-4 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 padding-bottom-4"> <article class="col col-span-3 post-233409 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-nature category-animals category-australia category-news category-plants tag-arid-ecology tag-australia tag-biomass tag-desert-ecology tag-ecosystems tag-herbivores tag-south-australia"> <header class="rows rows-gap"> <h1 class="entry-title row">Overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in Australia’s arid ecosystems</h1> <div class="row primary-image has-featured-image " data-featured-image="Brown-food-web-header-1200.jpg"> <img width="1200" height="675" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9IiUyRndwLWNvbnRlbnQlMkZ1cGxvYWRzJTJGMjAyMyUyRjAyJTJGQnJvd24tZm9vZC13ZWItaGVhZGVyLTEyMDAuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjEyMDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=" data-spai="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="A lizard on red dirt" decoding="async" loading="eager" fetchpriority="high" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img width="1200" height="675" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brown-food-web-header-1200.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" class="feature-image wp caption" alt="A lizard on red dirt" decoding="async" loading="eager" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brown-food-web-header-1200.jpg 1200w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brown-food-web-header-1200-600x338.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brown-food-web-header-1200-768x432.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Brown-food-web-header-1200-300x169.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" /></noscript> <div class="caption feature">Rhynchoedura in arid Australia. Credit: Professor Mike Letnic</div> </div> </header> <div class="entry-content cols-6 md-cols-1 cols-gap-1 margin-top-1"> <div class="content-left-sidebar cols-1 col"> <section class="contributors md-cols-1 rows-gap"> <div class="row post-date"> <span class="published-date">February 2, 2023</span> </div> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/imma-perfetto/" class="author row md-hide"> <img src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA3MzAgNzMwIiB3aWR0aD0iNzMwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjczMCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjIlMkYxMSUyRmltbWEuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjczMCIgZGF0YS1oPSI3MzAiIGRhdGEtYmlwPSIiPjwvc3ZnPg==" data-spai="1" alt="Imma Perfetto" width="200" /><noscript data-spai="1"><img src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/imma.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Imma Perfetto" width="200" /></noscript> <div class="bio"> <h3>Imma Perfetto</h3> <p>Cosmos science journalist</p> </div> </a> <div id="author-name" class="hide"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/imma-perfetto/" class="bio"> By Imma Perfetto </a> </div> <div class="favourite__wrapper row cols"> <button class="showDialog simplefavorite-button" aria-label="Favourite button"> </button> </div> </section> </div> <div class="primary-content cols-1 col-span-5 col"> <div class="flexible-content "> <div class="copy"> <p>In what appears to be science turning on its head, researchers have been looking at the value of dead plant material in the arid zone. Normally they’d be looking at preserving living matter in that harsh environment.</p> <p>But <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10021-022-00810-4#:~:text=Our%20study%20provides%20evidence%20that,vertebrates%20that%20feed%20on%20termites." target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">new research</a> by scientists at the University of New South Wales Sydney has found that overgrazing by herbivores, like kangaroos and goats, can disrupt the desert food webs between dead plant material, termites, and the animals that rely on them as their main food source.</p> <p>From field work in the arid region of South Australia, the researchers have found that excessive grazing can reduce the amount of dead vegetation cover, with cascading effects on the small vertebrates – like lizards, desert frogs, and dunnarts.</p> <p>“We found that less dead biomass due to overgrazing herbivores can lead to a reduction in termites,” says Baptiste Wijas, a PhD student at UNSW Sydney and lead author of the study.</p> <p>“Fewer termites, the principal decomposers in these environments, could ultimately result in a reduction in the number of lizards and small mammals in arid ecosystems, as many of these small vertebrates feed on termites.”</p> <p>These latest findings, which have been published in <em>Ecosystems</em>, could have significant implications for the conservation and management of arid ecosystems in Australia.</p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i0p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Read more: <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/saving-australias-native-mammals-from-invasive-predators/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Saving Australia’s native mammals from invasive predators.</a></em></h4> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>Unlike green food webs, which begin with the consumption of living, photosynthesising vegetation by herbivores, so-called ‘brown food webs’ are based on the consumption of dead or decaying vegetation by detritivores – organisms such as termites or earthworms that consume decomposing plant and animal parts.</p> <p>“A lot of research in arid ecosystems has focused on the green food webs that follow ‘boom periods’ prompted by large rainfall events,” says Mike Letnic, Professor in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at UNSW Sydney and senior author of the study.</p> <p>“These ‘boom periods’ see spectacular growth and blooming of desert plants and increases in the populations of many animal species that feed on the growth, such as herbivores and rodents. Drier periods are a lot less exciting and consequently have attracted less attention.”</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="568" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCA4NTAgNTY4IiB3aWR0aD0iODUwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjU2OCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjMlMkYwMiUyRmN0ZW5vdHVzXzg1MC5qcGciIGRhdGEtdz0iODUwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjU2OCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="A small lizard with green and white stripes in arid south australia" class="wp-image-233443" title="overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in australia’s arid ecosystems 1"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" width="850" height="568" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ctenotus_850.jpg" data-spai-egr="1" alt="A small lizard with green and white stripes in arid south australia" class="wp-image-233443" srcset="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ctenotus_850.jpg 850w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ctenotus_850-600x401.jpg 600w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ctenotus_850-768x513.jpg 768w, https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ctenotus_850-300x200.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 850px) 100vw, 850px" title="overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in australia’s arid ecosystems 1"></noscript><figcaption><em>Ctenotus </em>in Boolcoomatta. Credit: Baptiste Wijas</figcaption></figure> <p>The team did the research on Boolcoomatta Station Reserve in South Australia, a conservation reserve managed by Bush Heritage Australia. The Adnyamathanha and Wiljakali peoples are the Traditional Owners of Boolcoomatta.</p> <p>The area is predominantly used for sheep grazing and, as it’s inside the dingo fence in SA, the dingo is functionally extinct there. As a result, these top predators have almost no influence on the populations of free-ranging prey species, like kangaroos and feral goats.</p> <a href="https://link.cosmosmagazine.com/OP59" class="newsletter-cta" data-device="mobile"> <img decoding="async" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAzMDAgMjUwIiB3aWR0aD0iMzAwIiBoZWlnaHQ9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS11PSIlMkZ3cC1jb250ZW50JTJGdXBsb2FkcyUyRjIwMjQlMkYwMyUyRldlZWtseS1DYXRjaHVwLTMwMHgyNTAtMS5wbmciIGRhdGEtdz0iMzAwIiBkYXRhLWg9IjI1MCIgZGF0YS1iaXA9IiI+PC9zdmc+" data-spai="1" alt="Newsletter" title="overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in australia’s arid ecosystems 2"><noscript data-spai="1"><img decoding="async" src="https://cdn.shortpixel.ai/spai/q_lossy+ret_img+to_auto/cosmosmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Weekly-Catchup-300x250-1.png" data-spai-egr="1" alt="Newsletter" title="overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in australia’s arid ecosystems 2"></noscript> </a><div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i1p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“Kangaroos occur in large numbers across much of arid Australia because populations of their principal predator, the dingo, have been suppressed. The creation of artificial water points to supply water to livestock and inadvertently to kangaroos have also helped kangaroos to survive through dry periods,” says Letnic.</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <h4 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Read more: <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/kangaroo-island-dunnart-feral-cat/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Feral cats a major threat to the critically endangered Kangaroo Island dunnart.</a></em></h4> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>The researchers compared the cover of living and dead vegetation, and the abundance of termites and of their predators, inside exclosures from which kangaroos were excluded and in plots where they were not.</p> <p>They found that there was more cover of living <em>and</em> dead vegetation inside the exclosures where kangaroos were excluded because they eat the plants before they can mature, dry out and become food for detritivores.</p> <p>“Our findings are one of the first to show in arid ecosystems that where herbivores were excluded, there was greater biomass of dead grass. In turn there were more termites and predators of termites inside the exclosures,” says Wijas.</p> <div class="in-content-area related-box-wrapper content-third content-right margin-bottom-1"> <div class="gradient-title">Read More</div> <ul class="related-box article-listing"> <li class="cols"> <div class="article article-post"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/saving-australias-native-mammals-from-invasive-predators/" class="thumbnail ar-16-9" aria-label="Article link"> <span data-spai-bg-on="1" class="image" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZpZXdCb3g9IjAgMCAxMjAwIDY3NSIgd2lkdGg9IjEyMDAiIGhlaWdodD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLXU9Imh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGY29zbW9zbWFnYXppbmUuY29tJTJGd3AtY29udGVudCUyRnVwbG9hZHMlMkYyMDIyJTJGMDElMkZHZXR0eUltYWdlcy0xMjY0MzI3MDI2MTEuanBnIiBkYXRhLXc9IjEyMDAiIGRhdGEtaD0iNjc1IiBkYXRhLWJpcD0iIj48L3N2Zz4=)"></span> </a> <div class="article-content has-very-light-grey-background-color"> <a href="/nature/animals/"> <span class="category nature-color"> Animals </span> </a> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/animals/saving-australias-native-mammals-from-invasive-predators/"> <h3>Saving Australia’s native mammals from invasive predators</h3> </a> </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> <p>These small vertebrates play an important role in desert food webs by being prey for larger animals, such as larger marsupials, birds of prey, snakes and goannas. </p> <div class="advert ad-in-content ad-mobile auh-250"><div id="adn-00000000001fc2ca-i2p0" style="display: none"></div></div> <p>“The research has important implications for the conservation of biodiversity in arid Australia because it sheds new light on how grazing can affect the functioning of arid ecosystems,” says Letnic.</p> <p>“Conservation managers can use this information to make informed decisions on how to manage herbivore populations and look for early signs of habitat disruption that is critical for conserving other species.”</p> <p>Dr Katherine Tuft, Chief Executive of Arid Recovery – an independent, not-for-profit wildlife reserve in South Australia’s arid north – told <em>Cosmos</em>: “The brown food web of dead plants, termites and their prey revealed in this study is a surprisingly important part of arid ecosystems.</p> <p>“Importantly, it demonstrates how much deserts lose in productivity when irruptive herbivores like kangaroos aren’t regulated by predation pressure.”</p> <iframe src=https://omny.fm/shows/huh-science-explained/playlists/podcast/embed? style=cover&autoplay=0&list=0 allow="clipboard-write" height="180" frameborder="0" title="Huh? Science Explained"></iframe>  <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" width='1' height='1' style="opacity:0; height:1px!important; width:1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" aria-label="Syndication Tracker" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=233409&title=Overgrazing+could+have+significant+impacts+on+the+dead+vegetation+that+plays+an+essential+role+in+Australia%E2%80%99s+arid+ecosystems" loading="lazy">  <div class="share-syndicate-wrapper margin-top-1"> <div id="cosmos-link-back">  <p>Originally published by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com" style="font-style:italic;">Cosmos</a> as <a title="Overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in Australia’s arid ecosystems" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/nature/overgrazing-vegetation-arid-ecosystems/" id="cosmos-post-url">Overgrazing could have significant impacts on the dead vegetation that plays an essential role in Australia’s 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Dead vegetation essential in Australia’s arid ecosystems