BACKGROUND AND AIMS Grazing is a complex process involving the simultaneous occurrence of both trampling and defoliation. Clonal plants are a common feature of heavily grazed ecosystems where large herbivores inflict the simultaneous pressures of trampling and defoliation on the vegetation. We test the hypothesis that physiological integration (resource sharing between interconnected ramets) ma...

Long-term human trampling on coastal dune vegetation was analysed using eight 100 × 100m study areas ranging in trampling intensity JJ'om little or no past trampling pressure to severe trampling pressure. All trampling levels significantly reduced species diversity. Total vegetation cover was significantly reduced only in areas with severe and heavy trampling pressure. Where long-term moderate ...

In semiarid drylands water shortage and trampling by large herbivores are two factors limiting plant growth and distribution. Trampling can strongly affect plant performance, but little is known about responses of morphological and mechanical traits of woody plants to trampling and their possible interaction with water availability. Seedlings of four shrubs (Caragana intermedia, Cynanchum komar...

The negative effects of disturbances on the long-term persistence of populations may be more severe in marginal populations, i.e. those occurring at the boundaries of geographical and ecological distribution ranges. Human trampling is an important source of anthropogenic disturbance for intertidal assemblages. Effects of human trampling on intertidal rocky shore assemblages dominated by Ascophy...

Mammalian herbivores have important top-down effects on ecological processes and landscapes by generating vegetation changes through grazing and trampling. For free-ranging herbivores on large landscapes, trampling is an important ecological factor. However, whereas grazing is widely studied, low-intensity trampling is rarely studied and quantified. The cold-adapted northern tundra reindeer (Ra...

The purpose of this study is to experimentally determine the differences between four grazing treatments on the trampling of nests. Additionally, we examine to what extent the trampling probability of nests is higher close to a source of fresh water. We compare the trampling of artificial nests in five different grazing treatments in an experimental design. We use buried clay pigeon targets as ...

Increased tourist activity in coastal regions demands management strategies to reduce impacts on rocky shores. The highly populated coastal areas in southeastern Brazil are an example of degradation caused by development of industry and tourism. Among different shore impacts, trampling has been intensively studied, and may represent a significant source of stress for intertidal fauna. A randomi...

1. We studied the differences in root strength of species with contrasting root structural types (the grass Paspalum dilatatum and the dicot Lotus glaber ), and their relationship with tolerance to simulated cattle trampling under flooding conditions. 2. Root strength was analysed through measurement of the pressure required to cause root collapse. The responses of aerenchyma and plant mass to ...

Vegetation trampling resulting from recreation can adversely impact natural habitats, leading to the loss of vegetation and the degradation of plant communities. A considerable primary literature exists on this topic, therefore it is important to assess whether this accumulated evidence can be used to reach general conclusions concerning vegetation vulnerability to inform conservation managemen...

In situ trampling occurred under experimental conditions to quantify the differences in the responses to anthropogenic trampling in four dominant species of Hawaiian corals, Porites compressa, Porites lobata, Montipora capitata, and Pocillopora meandrina. Trampling was simulated daily for a period of nine days at which time further breakage was minimal. Forty treatment colonies produced 559 fra...