Friday, August 12, 2011: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
12A, Austin Convention Center
Organizer:
Brady W. Allred
Co-organizer:
Stephanie L. Eby
Moderator:
Brady W. Allred
Fire and grazing are two important disturbances that affect a large proportion of ecosystems. These disturbances play a critical role in the establishment and maintenance of native grasslands, savannas, and woodlands. While commonly examined separately, the ecological interactions between the two are vital and have a defining role across complex landscapes. The goals of this session are to establish a discussion of the science and management of fire-grazing interactions, recognizing their importance and prevalence, and discussing how fire and grazing must be implemented to provide more effective conservation and stewardship. Ecologists and land managers will present their research and experiences to collectively synthesize fire-grazing interactions. These interactions are global ecological processes that occur in all fire prone systems, ranging from Australia to Africa to North America. The mechanisms and effects of fire-grazing interactions range from broad scale animal behavior to finer scale plant community structure and invertebrate populations, ultimately defining the important role that the interaction has within the system. To better understand this process, and to implement effective conservation and stewardship practices, it is important to recognize generalities that span continents. By doing so, we can accumulate knowledge that will improve our land management, helping us to conserve biodiversity and other important ecological processes and functions while maintaining agricultural and social objectives. This session will synthesize fire-grazing interactions from around the world by integrating a variety of locations and perspectives.
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