Grazing pressure

[1] Grazing pressure is the demand for feed from herbivores and detritivores within an environment compared to the amount available for consumption.

Grazing pressure due to livestock can be regulated and controlled more easily compared to that from native and feral animals.

While the goats were found in the pastures a majority of the time, their grazing patterns still affected local wildlife and shrub growth.

In northwestern Europe, the rising goose population has caused an increase in grazing pressure on agricultural lands.

The composition of plant and animal species can be affected by grazing pressure in some environments, in others, the environmental characteristics of the site, including weather and climate, may be more important.

[6] Some studies suggest grazing may be beneficial in nutrient-rich conditions and harmful in habitats poor in nutrients.

The same research has found that in the dryer, desert ecosystem grazing pressure did not affect species richness significantly.

In a study performed by Saccone et al., when experimenting with biodiversity in the Fennoscandia tundra, they found that there was an increase in species richness associated with decrease of shrub cover.

[9] Many aquatic herbivores graze on phytoplankton: algae that float on the surface of the ocean or are suspended in the water column.

As a result of the grazing pressure, algae has to divert their energy away from growth and put into repair and the production of chemical defenses against the herbivores.

While grazing pressure is more commonly thought in larger herbivores such as cattle, geese, and goats, it is also found within bacterium and on a more microbial level.

Leaf-litter colonizing bacteria are a type of bacterium that have been studied regarding grazing pressure on a smaller scale.

When a mix of tidal exposure and camel grazing pressure were placed on the habitat, there was a decrease in primary production, which in turn affected sulfate-cycling.

Some farmers have created kangaroo-proof fences with swing or trap gates that allows cattle and sheep in but keeps other animals out.

In other areas of the world, such as Europe, where rising goose levels are becoming a problem for local agricultural pastures, other ideas have been contemplated.

It was proposed that by managing nature reserves in the area, this might help decrease the negative effect of grazing pressure on farmland.