In this study we evaluate the effect of coastal re-alignment on the utilisation of coastal grasslands by staging geese. We assessed vegetation change and utilisation by geese using repeated mapping and regular dropping counts in both the restored marsh and adjacent reference sites. All measurements were started well before the actual re-alignment. In addition, we studied the effects of livestock grazing on vegetation and geese, using exclosures. The vegetation transformed from fresh grassland into salt-marsh vegetation. A relatively large proportion of the de-embanked area became covered with secondary pioneer vegetation, and the overall cover of potential food plants for geese declined. Goose utilisation had initially dropped to low levels, both in autumn and in spring, but it recovered to a level comparable to the reference marsh after ten years. Exclosure experiments revealed that livestock grazing prevented the establishment of closed swards of grass in the poorly drained lower area of the restored marsh, and thereby negatively affected goose utilisation of these areas during spring staging. Goose grazing in the restored marsh during spring showed a positive numerical response to grass cover found during the preceding growing season. (1) The value of restored salt marsh as foraging habitat for geese initially decreased after managed re-alignment but recovered after ten years. (2) Our findings support the idea that the value of foraging habitats depends largely on the cover of forage plants and that this can be manipulated by adjusting both grazing and drainage.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "Dark-bellied Brent geese", "Barnacle geese", "Livestock grazing", "Salt-marsh restoration", "ENGLAND", "SALT-MARSH RESTORATION", "PATTERNS", "WADDEN SEA", "15. Life on land", "TERM", "VEGETATION SUCCESSION", "01 natural sciences"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-014-0333-0"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Journal%20of%20Coastal%20Conservation", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1007/s11852-014-0333-0", "name": "item", "description": "10.1007/s11852-014-0333-0", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1007/s11852-014-0333-0"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2014-07-10T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.07.001", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:15:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2006-08-31", "title": "Patch Choice Of Avian Herbivores Along A Migration Trajectory - From Temperate To Arctic", "description": "Migratory waterfowl species seem to track temporal and spatial pulses of optimal forage availability on their way from temperate wintering to arctic breeding sites. In order to unravel the relative contribution of forage quality and forage biomass to foraging choices in avian herbivores, we experimentally manipulated biomass and quality of main forage plants through fertilisation and grazing exclusion at three sites along the flyway of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. Fertilisation increased the nitrogen content of the forage and grazing exclusion increased biomass levels. Manipulated plots were offered to wild geese in a random block experimental design and goose visitation was measured through dropping counts. At all sites there was a trend towards a higher preference of plots with increased quality and average biomass above plots with an average quality and increased biomass. Generally, geese preferred plots with highest standing crop of nitrogen. The numerical response of the geese to forage changes was supported by behavioural observations at the Baltic site. We conclude that for migrating barnacle geese the bottlenecks in the standing crop of nitrogen appear to tie in the limited biomass availability at the Baltic stopover site and the limited nutrient content of food in the Arctic breeding site, restricting the potential nutrient intake on these sites. (C) 2006 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.
", "keywords": ["barnacle goose", "0106 biological sciences", "SNOW GEESE", "BRENT GEESE", "KOLOKOLKOVA BAY", "Branta leucopsis", "B-BERNICLA", "15. Life on land", "BARNACLE GEESE", "GOOSE POPULATION", "grazing experiment", "01 natural sciences", "ptant-herbivore interactions", "salt marsh", "FOOD QUALITY", "flyway", "forage quality", "FORAGING BEHAVIOR", "plant biomass", "GEESE BRANTA-LEUCOPSIS", "BODY-SIZE"], "contacts": [{"organization": "R.H. Drent, Julia Stahl, A. J. van der Graaf, G. F. (Ciska) Veen, R.M. Havinga,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2006.07.001"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Basic%20and%20Applied%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.07.001", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.07.001", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.baae.2006.07.001"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2007-07-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:15:29Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2007-02-21", "title": "Time-Scale Effects In The Interaction Between A Large And A Small Herbivore", "description": "In the short term, grazing will mainly affect plant biomass and forage quality. However, grazing can affect plant species composition by accelerating or retarding succession at longer time-scales. Few studies concerning interactions among herbivores have taken the change in plant species composition into account. In a salt-marsh system, the longterm effects of exclusion of a large herbivore (cattle) on the abundance of a small herbivore (hare) were studied. Excluding cattle grazing for 30 years resulted in large changes in vegetation composition. In general, the cover of tall-growing species increased in the absence of cattle grazing. These long-term changes negatively affected hare grazing intensity. Hares preferentially fed on Festuca rubra and negatively selected tall growing plants, such as Elymus athericus, both in cattle-grazed and long-term ungrazed areas. However, the intensity of hare grazing was not related to the cover of F rubra. The cover of tall-growing plants (E athericus, A triplex prostrata and Juncus maritimus) appeared to be the best predictor and hare grazing intensity decreased sharply with an increase of the cover of tall plants. When cover of tall plants did not increase, hare grazing intensity was not affected. The study shows that the time-scale of the experiment is of prime importance in studying interactions between herbivores. Species that do not seem to influence the abundance of one another or are competing for the same resources on a short time-scale might well be facilitating each other when looking at larger time-scales while taking plant species replacement into account. (c) 2007 Gesellschaft fur Okologie. Published by Elsevier GrnbH. All rights reserved.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "Lepus europaeus", "productivity", "SUCCESSION", "COMPETITION", "brown hares", "barnacle geese", "HARES LEPUS-EUROPAEUS", "BARNACLE GEESE", "01 natural sciences", "facilitation", "SALT-MARSH", "MANAGEMENT", "BROWN HARES", "tall plants", "2. Zero hunger", "exclosures", "15. Life on land", "FACILITATION", "succession", "communities", "salt marsh", "hares lepus-europaeus", "salt-marsh", "13. Climate action", "mountain hares", "MOUNTAIN HARES", "COMMUNITIES", "competition", "management"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Basic%20and%20Applied%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.baae.2006.08.008"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2008-03-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.021", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:15:43Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-08-20", "title": "Effects Of Long-Term Grazing On Sediment Deposition And Salt-Marsh Accretion Rates", "description": "Many studies have attempted to predict whether coastal marshes will be able to keep up with future acceleration of sea-level rise by estimating marsh accretion rates. However, there are few studies focussing on the long-term effects of herbivores on vegetation structure and subsequent effects on marsh accretion. Deposition of fine-grained, mineral sediment during tidal inundations, together with organic matter accumulation from the local vegetation, positively affects accretion rates of marsh surfaces. Tall vegetation can enhance sediment deposition by reducing current flow and wave action. Herbivores shorten vegetation height and this could potentially reduce sediment deposition. This study estimated the effects of herbivores on 1) vegetation height, 2) sediment deposition and 3) resulting marsh accretion after long-term (at least 16 years) herbivore exclusion of both small (i.e. hare and goose) and large grazers (i.e. cattle) for marshes of different ages. Our results firstly showed that both small and large herbivores can have a major impact on vegetation height. Secondly, grazing processes did not affect sediment deposition. Finally, trampling by large grazers affected marsh accretion rates by compacting the soil. In many European marshes, grazing is used as a tool in nature management as well as for agricultural purposes. Thus, we propose that soil compaction by large grazers should be taken in account when estimating the ability of coastal systems to cope with an accelerating sea-level rise. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
", "keywords": ["marsh succession", "0106 biological sciences", "Surface elevation change", "Sea-level rise", "FLOW", "Sedimentation rate", "SEA-LEVEL RISE", "SURFACE ELEVATION", "01 natural sciences", "BROWN HARES", "Herbivory", "14. Life underwater", "Marsh succession", "Biology", "Global change", "VEGETATION SUCCESSION", "global change", "COASTAL WETLANDS", "0105 earth and related environmental sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "sedimentation rate", "herbivory", "GEESE", "sea-level rise", "15. Life on land", "PRODUCTIVITY GRADIENT", "surface elevation change", "NORTH-SEA", "13. Climate action", "TIDAL MARSH"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.021"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Estuarine%2C%20Coastal%20and%20Shelf%20Science", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.021", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.021", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.08.021"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-11-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1023/a:1009727804007", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:17:17Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2002-12-22", "description": "Micropatterns induced by sheep grazing, were studied in three consecutive years in a Festuca rubra-dominated salt marsh in a grazing trial with five different stocking rates (0, 1.5, 3, 4.5 and 10 sheep ha(-1)). The micropatterns were formed by a mosaic of short and tall F. rubra stands on a scale of square decimeters. Permanent transects of 2 m x 10 m were used to study the stability of these patterns, and to analyze interactions between the vegetation, the marsh elevation and the sheep. Micropatterns occurred only in the lightly to moderately grazed paddocks (1.5-4.5 sheep ha(-1)) with the highest spatial diversity in the 3 sheep ha(-1) transect. When grazing was excluded, micropatterns did not develop; nor did they develop in the traditionally and most intensively grazed paddock (10 sheep ha(-1)). Detailed observations in one year showed that crude-protein content did not differ between green leaves from the short and tall stands, whereas in vitro digestibility was slightly higher in the short stands. In the same year, tiller density and length of full-grown leaves increased substantially in both stands from May to September. At the same time, sheep preference shifted from tall to short stands, which suggests an interplay between intake rate and digestibility in the sheep selectivity.
Seven years after establishment of the grazing trial, the 10 sheep ha(-1) transect still showed a smooth relief typical of the starting point of the other transects. These transects developed a more hummocky topography, with the highest spatial diversity occurring on the 1.5 sheep ha(-1) transect. Marsh elevations were on average up to 3 cm lower in the short than in the tall stands, which indicates that the somewhat lower-elevated patches were grazed more intensively than the higher-elevated patches.
In most cases, micropatterns changed from one year to the other, probably due to weather fluctuations. The incidence of tall stands was influenced by the rainfall balance. If the incidences of both the short and the tall stands were around 50%, however, the micropatterns showed a clear correlation with the marsh elevation. The rainfall balance seemed therefore a decisive factor for a possible correspondence between micropatterns in two consecutive years. Elevation differences were so subtle that greater than average sedimentation during a winter season could change the elevation pattern. Hence both rainfall balance and winter sedimentation counteracted the stability of the micropatterns. During our three-year study period, micropatterns were only stable in one out of six possible paired comparisons. This low micropattern stability contrasts with other studies in inland environments, which shows that in more dynamic environments, abiotic processes are likely to overrule summer grazing in determining vegetation patterns.
", "keywords": ["2. Zero hunger", "Festuca rubra", "GRASSLAND", "GEESE", "CATTLE", "grazing pattern", "AFFECTING DIET SELECTION", "micropattern", "15. Life on land", "BIOMASS", "GRASSES", "salt marsh", "herbivore selectivity", "PATCH CHOICE", "sheep grazing", "EARLY ESTABLISHMENT", "COMMUNITIES", "GERMINATION"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009727804007"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Plant%20Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1023/a:1009727804007", "name": "item", "description": "10.1023/a:1009727804007", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1023/a:1009727804007"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "1997-09-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1890/07-1601.1", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-07-26T16:19:45Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2008-08-06", "title": "Habitat Type Determines Herbivory Controls Over Co2 Fluxes In A Warmer Arctic", "description": "High-latitude ecosystems store large amounts of carbon (C); however, the C storage of these ecosystems is under threat from both climate warming and increased levels of herbivory. In this study we examined the combined role of herbivores and climate warming as drivers of CO2 fluxes in two typical high-latitude habitats (mesic heath and wet meadow). We hypothesized that both herbivory and climate warming would reduce the C sink strength of Arctic tundra through their combined effects on plant biomass and gross ecosystem photosynthesis and on decomposition rates and the abiotic environment. To test this hypothesis we employed experimental warming (via International Tundra Experiment [ITEX] chambers) and grazing (via captive Barnacle Geese) in a three-year factorial field experiment. Ecosystem CO2 fluxes (net ecosystem exchange of CO2, ecosystem respiration, and gross ecosystem photosynthesis) were measured in all treatments at varying intensity over the three growing seasons to capture the impact of the treatments on a range of temporal scales (diurnal, seasonal, and interannual). Grazing and warming treatments had markedly different effects on CO2 fluxes in the two tundra habitats. Grazing caused a strong reduction in CO2 assimilation in the wet meadow, while warming reduced CO2 efflux from the mesic heath. Treatment effects on net ecosystem exchange largely derived from the modification of gross ecosystem photosynthesis rather than ecosystem respiration. In this study we have demonstrated that on the habitat scale, grazing by geese is a strong driver of net ecosystem exchange of CO2, with the potential to reduce the CO2 sink strength of Arctic ecosystems. Our results highlight that the large reduction in plant biomass due to goose grazing in the Arctic noted in several studies can alter the C balance of wet tundra ecosystems. We conclude that herbivory will modulate direct climate warming responses of Arctic tundra with implications for the ecosystem C balance; however, the magnitude and direction of the response will be habitat-specific.", "keywords": ["Greenhouse Effect", "0106 biological sciences", "Barnacle Goose", "herbivory", "Arctic Regions", "Temperature", "Branta leucopsis", "Feeding Behavior", "Carbon Dioxide", "Plants", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "Random Allocation", "Arctic", "climate change", "vegetation", "13. Climate action", "Geese", "Animals", "carbon fluxes", "Ecosystem"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Sjogersten, Sofie, Van der Wal, Rene, Woodin, Sarah J.,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1890/07-1601.1"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Ecology", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1890/07-1601.1", "name": "item", "description": "10.1890/07-1601.1", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1890/07-1601.1"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2008-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Geese&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Geese&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Geese&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=Geese&offset=7", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 7, "numberReturned": 7, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-07-27T07:53:21.444367Z"}