Permanent removal of livestock grazing in riparian systems benefits native vegetation

Abstract

Livestock grazing in riparian areas has significant impacts on waterway ecosystems. In Australia, livestock grazing is allowed on many public waterway frontages under long-term licences. Many barriers to removing or restricting grazing on riparian areas exist, including concerns that removing grazing from historically grazed sites may favour invasive plant species. We compared vegetation changes at 180 sites along three connected waterways in northern Victoria, Australia that had been extensively grazed by livestock under grazing licences. Some of these sites were permanently protected from grazing by the creation of a new public park and reserve system in 2002. We compared vegetation attrib..