Effects of the Cessation of Grazing on the Grasslands and Grassy Woodlands of the Central Plateau, Tasmania

Abstract

The response of grassy vegetation to exclusion from grazing was found to be related to a major productivity gradient in the central highlands of Tasmania. All sites showed a trend toward increased structural complexity, a decrease in bare ground and a decrease in species richness when grazing was excluded. However, the effect was much more pronounced at sites of high productivity. These findings support the theory that species richness is a function of both disturbance and the rate of competitive exclusion (site quality), and support suggestions that stock grazing is inappropriate above 1000 m on the Central Plateau.