@article {Holdo2009DiseaseMediated,
	title = {A Disease-Mediated Trophic Cascade in the Serengeti and its Implications for Ecosystem C},
	journal = {PLoS Biol},
	volume = {7},
	number = {9},
	year = {2009},
	month = {September},
	pages = {e1000210+},
	publisher = {Public Library of Science},
	abstract = {Tree cover is a fundamental structural characteristic and driver of ecosystem processes in terrestrial ecosystems, and trees are a major global carbon (C) sink. Fire and herbivores have been hypothesized to play dominant roles in regulating trees in African savannas, but the evidence for this is conflicting. Moving up a trophic scale, the factors that regulate fire occurrence and herbivores, such as disease and predation, are poorly understood for any given ecosystem. We used a Bayesian state-space model to show that the wildebeest population irruption that followed disease (rinderpest) eradication in the Serengeti ecosystem of East Africa led to a widespread reduction in the extent of fire and an ongoing recovery of the tree population. This supports the hypothesis that disease has played a key role in the regulation of this ecosystem. We then link our state-space model with theoretical and empirical results quantifying the effects of grazing and fire on soil carbon to predict that this cascade may have led to important shifts in the size of pools of C stored in soil and biomass. Our results suggest that the dynamics of herbivores and fire are tightly coupled at landscape scales, that fire exerts clear top-down effects on tree density, and that disease outbreaks in dominant herbivores can lead to complex trophic cascades in savanna ecosystems. We propose that the long-term status of the Serengeti and other intensely grazed savannas as sources or sinks for C may be fundamentally linked to the control of disease outbreaks and poaching.},
	keywords = {climate-change, co2, fire, grazing, vegetation},
	doi = {10.1371/journal.pbio.1000210},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000210},
	author = {Holdo, Ricardo M. and Sinclair, Anthony R. E. and Dobson, Andrew P. and Metzger, Kristine L. and Bolker, Benjamin M. and Ritchie, Mark E. and Holt, Robert D.}
}
@article {Lindsay2009Livestock,
	title = {Livestock grazing exclusion and microhabitat variation affect invertebrates and litter decomposition rates in woodland remnants},
	journal = {Forest Ecology and Management},
	volume = {258},
	number = {2},
	year = {2009},
	month = {June},
	pages = {178{\textendash}187},
	abstract = {Most of the remaining grassy woodland in south-eastern Australia exists as remnants on private land in agricultural landscapes. These have been subjected to various forms of disturbance including exotic plant invasion and livestock grazing. Little is known about the invertebrate communities in these remnants, which could contribute greatly to the diversity and function of these ecosystems. We need to know what invertebrates are present and how they respond to different types of land management, such as livestock grazing, in order to conserve them. We aimed to determine firstly if the invertebrate community was more diverse and abundant and leaf litter decomposition rates faster in woodlands with livestock excluded. Secondly, we asked how important microhabitat variation is for the invertebrate community and decomposition rates, and finally if grazing exclusion influences these microhabitat variables and alters the vegetation condition. We addressed these aims through the use of leaf litter decomposition bags and pitfall trapping near three microhabitats: beside logs, under trees and in open habitat, considering woodland remnants still grazed by livestock and remnants where livestock grazing had been excluded. A vegetation condition assessment was also performed at each site. Grazed woodlands were subject to either a strategic or set stocked grazing. Sites with grazing removed had a greater abundance of beetles and the Opportunist ant functional group, a faster rate of litter decomposition, greater native plant richness, greater length of logs and a better vegetation condition score. The Dominant Dolichoderinae ant functional group were the only insects trapped more frequently in currently grazed sites. Total invertebrate abundance, beetle abundance and richness, Anonychomyrma abundance and the quantity of leaf litter was greatest under trees. In comparison ants were in higher abundance and richness in the open areas. Leaf litter decomposition rates were fastest near logs. Beetles and Generalised Myrmicinae ants were more active near two of the microhabitats in rotationally grazed sites in comparison to the set stocked. Excluding livestock from woodlands has benefits for components of the invertebrate community, vegetation condition and the important process of litter decomposition. Strategic grazing which includes substantial periods of rest could play a role in balancing the production and conservation needs of privately owned woodlands. Woodland remnants have a range of invertebrates that are dependent on mature trees or logs, such that a variety of microhabitats needs to be retained within remnant native vegetation in agricultural landscapes to maintain a diverse and abundant invertebrate community.},
	keywords = {biodiversity, community, grazing, microhabitat, rangeland},
	issn = {03781127},
	doi = {10.1016/j.foreco.2009.04.005},
	url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2009.04.005},
	author = {Lindsay, Elizabeth A. and Cunningham, Saul A.}
}
