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Sustainability
Article . 2022 . Peer-reviewed
License: CC BY
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Sustainability
Article . 2022
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Grazing Land Productivity, Floral Diversity, and Management in a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Landscape

Authors: Georgios Psyllos; Ioannis Hadjigeorgiou; Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos; Thanasis Kizos;

Grazing Land Productivity, Floral Diversity, and Management in a Semi-Arid Mediterranean Landscape

Abstract

Most grazing lands in Mediterranean ecosystems that support extensive sheep farming systems are characterized by unfavorable edapho-climatic conditions, especially in semi-arid areas. Often, though, their use is far from sustainable, causing erosion and ecosystem degradation impacts. In this paper, we explore the use, productivity, and flora diversity of typical Mediterranean grazing lands in four farms at the Agra locality in the western part of Lesvos Island, Greece. For a period of two consecutive growing seasons (September to June), we recorded herbage biomass on 16 plots of grazing lands with three measurements per season of land cover and plant productivity (biomass) inside small exclosures (cages) protected from grazing. We recorded the species richness of herbaceous plant communities within and outside the cages at the end of every growing season, the period of maximum growth of herbaceous species. We also chemically analyzed the biomass for crude protein at the end of each season. Results show sizable productivity differences among pasture plots as well as seasons and an overall medium to high degree of productivity and species richness considering the relatively intensive grazing, with little differences over the different cages and the degree of grazing intensity. These results suggest that the “history” of the fields is important, as grazing lands that had been used for arable crops in the past, as well as those leveled and in favorable locations, were the most productive and diverse ones, while shallower soils and inclined grazing lands showed signs of overuse and degradation. Overall, though, these ecosystems showed a high degree of resilience despite their intensive use.

Keywords

grazing lands; semi-arid Mediterranean; floral diversity; biomass measurements; Lesvos Island, semi-arid Mediterranean, biomass measurements, Environmental effects of industries and plants, Lesvos Island, TJ807-830, TD194-195, Renewable energy sources, Environmental sciences, grazing lands, GE1-350, floral diversity

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    This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
    7
    popularity
    This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
    influence
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    impulse
    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
    Top 10%
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citations
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
7
Top 10%
Average
Top 10%
gold