Successional Process in a Sasa nipponica Grassland through Summer Grazing by Beef Cattle

Abstract

A field experiment was undertaken to clarify influence of summer grazing by beef cattle on successional process in a Sasa nipponica grassland. Coverage and height of plant species were measured yearly in thirty-six permanent quadrats on the grassland. Using the coverage and height, state of vegetation was defined for each quadrat with a single-species dominant. At the beginning of the experiment, the grassland was predominantly covered with Sasa nipponica and secondarily with Quercus serrata, containing limited amounts of Artemisia princeps and several kind of deciduous broadleaved trees. Twelve states, in which bare ground was included, were classified during the whole study period. Transition probabilities between the states were estimated. A Markovian model was applied to the probabilities. The successional process had a tendency to return to the former deciduous broadleaved forest consisted essentially of Quercus serrata and Castanea crenata, going through multiple passways. It was shown clearly that Sasa nipponica declined rapidly during three years from the beginning of cattle grazing, herbs increased slightly up to the third year and then decreased gradually, bushes increased rapidly up to the second year and then turned to gradual rise, and trees increased consistently during the period of experiment.