Home >> Science & Nature >> Nature

Grazing Ecosystems

A grazing ecosystem is one identifiable by its prominent herbivore-based food web. The environment can vary from Arctic tundra to African savannah in terms of climate and precipitation, but can be considered a grazing ecosystem if its ecology is regulated by the feeding habits of grazing animals.

Types
- Grazing ecosystems are broadly classified into two main types: low herbivory habitats in which a small percentage -- perhaps 10 percent -- of the net foliage production is consumed by herbivores and high herbivory habitats in which as much as 50 percent or more of the net foliage production is consumed. Low herbivory habitats usually include desert, tundra, temperate and tropical forests, and grasslands lacking large herbivores, while high herbivory habitats include vast grasslands.
Significance
- Grassland plant species and large herbivores such as bison, elk and pronghorn antelope have co-evolved for tens of millions of years. Grazing animals play an important role in determining the species composition of grazing ecosystems by which plants and which plant parts they consume.
Considerations
- Many of the grazing ecosystems of prehistory have been lost as they were converted to pasture for domesticated livestock.

Nature