Carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems: do browsing and grazing herbivores matter?

@article{Tanentzap2012CarbonSI,
  title={Carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems: do browsing and grazing herbivores matter?},
  author={Andrew J. Tanentzap and David Anthony Coomes},
  journal={Biological Reviews},
  year={2012},
  volume={87}
}
Large mammalian herbivores manifest a strong top-down control on ecosystems that can transform entire landscapes, but their impacts have not been reviewed in the context of terrestrial carbon storage. [] Key Method We calculate the difference in carbon stocks resulting from herbivore exclusion using the results of 108 studies from 52 vegetation types. Our estimates suggest that herbivores can reduce terrestrial above- and below-ground carbon stocks across vegetation types but reductions in carbon stocks may…
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145 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
6
Background Citations
47
Methods Citations
2

145 Citations

Citation Type

Citation Type

Large Mammalian Herbivores and the Paradox of Soil Carbon in Grazing Ecosystems: Role of Microbial Decomposers and Their Enzymes
TLDR
Grazer-mediated shifts in how microbes deploy enzymes emerge as a plausible mechanism that affects soil-C and may be important to maintain soil- C sequestration in drylands which support large mammalian herbivores.
Distinct impacts of different mammalian herbivore assemblages on arctic tundra CO2 exchange during the peak of the growing season
TLDR
It is concluded that herbivores can have large effects on ecosystem C cycling due to shifts in plant aboveground biomass and community composition, and was suppressed by herbivory.
No Detectable Broad-Scale Effect of Livestock Grazing on Soil Blue-Carbon Stock in Salt Marshes
Grassland carbon capturing and storage (CCS) is thought to benefit from regulation of grazing. The impact is likely to depend on livestock density. Yet, few studies have tested this principle or…
Herbivores suppress soil microbes to influence carbon sequestration in the grazing ecosystem of the Trans-Himalaya
Can large herbivores enhance ecosystem carbon persistence?
Nutrient availability controls the impact of mammalian herbivores on soil carbon and nitrogen pools in grasslands
TLDR
It is shown that the impact of herbivore exclusion on soil C and N pools depends on fertilization, and local‐scale herbivory, and its interaction with nutrient enrichment and climate, needs to be incorporated within global‐scale models to better predict land–atmosphere interactions under future climate change.
Synthesizing the effects of large, wild herbivore exclusion on ecosystem function
TLDR
A synthesis of exclosure experiments to investigate herbivore impacts on ecosystem functions highlighted strong variability in direction, magnitude, and modifiers of these effects, which reflects real ecological variability across complex systems.
Grasses continue to trump trees at soil carbon sequestration following herbivore exclusion in a semi-arid African savanna.
TLDR
A continued high contribution of C4 grasses to soil C sequestration is attributed to the reduced offtake of grass biomass with herbivore exclusion together with the facilitative influence of open sparse woody canopies on grass cover and productivity in this semi-arid system.
Long-term changes in northern large-herbivore communities reveal differential rewilding rates in space and time
TLDR
There was strong geographic variation in herbivore community change, with milder lowland regions becoming more dominated by wild species, but colder mountain and northern regions remaining dominated by livestock, and the findings call for integrated management of wild and domestic herbivores.
Herbivore Impacts on Carbon Cycling in Boreal Forests.
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