Analysis of ecosystem services provided by grassland-based livestock systems
2014
Duru, M | Theau, J P | Martin, G
Characterizing ecosystem services (ES) and their underlying drivers remains a challenge. Issues are related to scale, knowledge and outcomes that are stakeholder-dependent. We characterise plant functional diversity at different scales (field, farm). Then, we analyse its response to environmental and management fac- tors, and its effects on ES. Based on five previously established grass functional types (GFTs), three indicators were defined; among them the percentage of GFT having a fast (FastGFT) growth strategy. The approach was applied on eight farms having three grassland uses (LMU: cutting, grazing by cows and heifers), but differing in their orientation and management. FastGFT responded positively to N fertiliser application and negatively to field elevation (n equal to 169). Herbage production at field (n equal to 60) and LMU (n equal to 24) levels was positively correlated to FastGFT, while it is negatively correlated with soil C content and species richness. Within farm grassland diver- sity for FastGFT allows matching animal feed requirement to available quality of resources, and contributes to create a landscape mosaic. A framework is proposed for evaluating trade-offs between services.
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