Large herbivores are linked to higher herbaceous plant diversity and functional redundancy across spatial scales

作者：Jonas Trepel, Joe Atkinson, Elizabeth le Roux, Andrew J. Abraham, Margerie Aucamp, Michelle Greve, Marilize Greyling, Jesse M. Kalwij, Steven Khosa, Lukas Lindenthal, Caroline Makofane, Londiwe Mokoena, Anna Maria Oosthuizen, Bent Johann Rech, Erick Lundgren, Jens‐Christian Svenning, Robert Buitenwerf · 发表于：Journal of Animal Ecology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1111/1365-2656.70181 · 被引用次数：4 · 研究领域：Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies、Species Distribution and Climate Change、Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

Large herbivores can strongly influence plant communities. However, these effects are highly variable, potentially depending on the herbivore regime, that is, herbivore diversity and density. However, the role of the herbivore regime has been challenging to evaluate across spatial scales due to widespread defaunation and a lack of data on herbivore communities and their densities. Here, we investigated the effects of large herbivores along a gradient of trophic complexity (low to high herbivore diversity) and herbivory intensity (estimated from herbivore biomass and visitation frequency) on plant taxonomic and functional diversity at different scales (plot [n = 250], site [n = 50] and landscape [n = 10]) in 10 reserves in the savanna biome in South Africa. We found higher total plant species richness, driven by higher herbaceous (but not woody) plant species richness, in areas with higher herbivory intensity across multiple scales. While herbivores had no significant relationship with plant functional richness, we observed higher functional redundancy at all scales in areas more frequently visited by herbivores. Overall, herbivore-vegetation relationships were largely consistent across scales, and the strongest effects emerged at the largest scale. Our results show a positive relationship between large herbivores and both herbaceous plant species richness and plant functional redundancy, the latter suggesting higher vegetation resilience (the capacity of ecosystems to quickly...