Grazing by large herbivores has the potential to provide multiple ecosystem services, depending on multiple factors. Through a range of interdisciplinary methods, including literature reviews, case studies, and semi-structured interviews, I seek to assess how grazing can contribute to sustainable landscape management, as well as how sustainable practices can be incentivised.
In chapter one, I focus on the role of grazing in wildfire prevention. Through a systematic literature review, I uncover new insights into the effectiveness of large herbivores in mitigating wildfires. I find that large herbivores can reduce wildfire frequency by promoting grass-dominated landscapes and reduce fire intensity by consuming vegetation and creating landscape features that reduce fuel loads. However, the effectiveness of large herbivores depends on the type of vegetation and diet preferences of the animals, and management practices associated with livestock grazing can also influence fire ignition.
In chapter two, I investigate the relationship between grazing management and ecosystem services through a literature review, focusing on synergies and trade-offs between them. I identify management practices that are beneficial to multiple ecosystem services as well as policy mechanisms that can incentivise them.
In the third chapter, I use case studies to investigate the role of domestic animals in rewilding projects. I describe how domestic and semi-wild herbivores can contribute to rewilding projects and make them more inclusive for rural and indigenous communities.
In the fourth chapter, I aim to identify the challenges faced by land users in performing sustainable grazing management through semi-structured interviews with 88 land users from eight case studies in Europe. I gain insights into land users' determinants of behaviour towards sustainable grazing practices using the Behaviour Change Wheel framework.
Overall I suggest that grazing can be a potential solution to the challenges of the Anthropocene, but only when done in the right way. I emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach in grazing research and considering socio-ecological systems. I also highlight the potential of rewilding and semi-wild grazing systems especially in areas undergoing land abandonment. The results imply a shift in meat production and consumption and potential new pathways for human-livestock relations. Finally, agricultural policies such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) can play a crucial role in incentivizing sustainable grazing management and should be improved to support extensive grazing and extensification.:Table of Contents
i. General Introduction 6
i.i Context 7
i.i.i European grazed landscapes can provide high biodiversity and supply various ecosystem services 7
i.i.ii Challenges for European grazed systems 9
i.ii Thesis methods and outline 13
i.ii.i Literature reviews (chapters 1 & 2) 13
i.ii.ii Case studies (chapters 3 and 4) 13
i.ii.iii General approach and methodological considerations 18
i.ii.iv Research aims and questions 18
i.ii.v Thesis outline 19
i.iii Graphical abstract 21
1. Chapter One 22
1.1 Introduction 23
1.2 Literature search 25
1.3 Overall effects of herbivores on wildfire risks 26
1.3.1 Effects of herbivores on wildfire frequency 26
1.3.2 Effects of herbivores on fire intensity or severity 30
1.4 Effects of herbivores on fuel loads and fire hazard 30
1.5 Effects of vegetation characteristics on fire regimes 33
1.6 Effects of grazing-associated management on wildfires 33
1.7 Implications for management 34
1.8 Implications for policy 36
1.9 Conclusions and future challenges 37
2. Chapter Two 38
2.1 Introduction 39
2.2 Literature review: general methods 42
2.3 Results 44
2.3.1 Effects of grazing on biodiversity 44
2.3.2 Effects of grazing on climate change and its mitigation 46
2.3.3 Effects of grazing on soil quality 48
2.3.4 Effects of grazing on wildfire mitigation 49
2.3.5 Effects of grazing on cultural ecosystem services 51
2.3.6 Synergies and Trade-offs of different grazing practices and ecosystem services 52
2.3.7 Recommendations: optimizing ecosystem multifunctionality in grazed systems 55
2.4 Outlook 59
3. Chapter Three 60
3.1 Introduction 61
3.2 The Broader Theory of Rewilding and Potential Role for Livestock 64
3.2.1 Stochastic Disturbance Regimes 64
3.2.2 Trophic Complexity 65
3.2.3 Interacting Processes 66
3.3 General Case Studies 67
3.3.1 Reindeer Engineer in Swedish Lapland 67
3.3.2 Livestock Fire Brigade and Free Running Horses in the Côa Valley, Portugal 68
3.3.3 Ecotourism and Sustainable Meat at Knepp Estate, England 70
3.3.4 Oostvaardersplassen: The “Wild Experiment” 71
3.4 Conclusions 73
4. Chapter Four 77
4.1 Introduction 78
4.2 Methods 80
4.2.1 Interviews 80
4.3 Findings from interviews: Determinants of sustainable grazing decisions 81
4.3.1 Physical capability: the impact of the ‘rural exodus’ 81
4.3.2 Psychological capability: access to knowledge and understanding of administrative rules influences how land users conduct their management 82
4.3.3 Physical opportunity 83
4.3.4 Social opportunities 85
4.3.5 Motivation 85
4.4 Discussion 87
4.4.1 Intervention functions to support sustainable grazing, and associated policies 88
4.5 Conclusions and outlook 92
5. Discussion 93
5.1 Importance of the scientific, social and political context of the research 93
5.2 Societal relevance of the thesis 93
5.3 Policy relevance of grazing research 94
5.4 The value of transdisciplinary research 94
5.5 Contribution of the research 95
5.5.1 Contribution of chapter 1: large herbivores and wildfire mitigation 95
5.5.2 Contribution of chapter 2: grazing and multiple ecosystem services, trade-offs and synergies in a European context 96
5.5.3 Contribution of chapter 3: domestic livestock and rewilding 97
5.5.4 Contribution of chapter 4: drivers of decision making for sustainable grazing 98
5.5.5 Interdisciplinary approach to grazing research, grazing areas as socio-ecological systems 99
5.6 Limitations 100
5.6.1 The framework of ecosystem services 100
5.6.2 Limitations to rewilding research 101
5.6.3 The challenge of addressing different socioecological and administrative scales 101
5.6.4 Practical limitations 103
6. Outlook 104
6.1 Future research needs 104
6.2 Pathways for sustainable grazing 104
7. Conclusion 107
References 110
Summary 135
Zusammenfassung 139
Appendix 143
Appendix Chapter One 144
Appendix Chapter Two 145
Appendix Chapter Four 149
Acknowledgements 153
Author contribution statement 155
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:86874 |
| Date | 18 August 2023 |
| Creators | Rouet-Leduc, Julia |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13972, https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2021.550410, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.79cnp5hw1 |
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