Livestock grazing and biodiversity: Effects on CO₂ exchange in semi-arid Karoo ecosystems, South Africa

Livestock use in semi-arid South African ecosystems has not been extensively studied in relation to the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO₂). We present four years of measurements from twinned eddy-covariance towers in Nama-Karoo, South Africa, to investigate the carbon fluxes and the impact of grazing intensity on NEE. The design contrasted NEE at a long-term site grazed at recommended levels (LG) with a long-term heavily grazed (EG) site that had been rested for 10 years, and was monitored for two years after which intensive grazing was reintroduced for this experiment. This allowed for the quantification of long-term NEE trends on "recovering" vegetations (years I, II) and short-term responses to an intensified land use (years III, IV). The results showed that the net release of CO₂ was slightly higher at LG than on "recovering" vegetation at the EG site, where near-neutral exchange was observed during years I and II. However, after grazing was reintroduced to the EG site, differences between sites was reduced but not eliminated. These findings suggest that there is a somewhat higher carbon sequestration potential at the resting EG site than at the LG site, apparently associated with the dominance of unpalatable drought-tolerant grass species and local elimination of many palatable shrubs. Reduction of this sink potential by reintroduction of high-intensity grazing indicates the sensitivity of C-sequestration in this "recovering" system to heavy grazing, but underlines continued resilience of NEE under far heavier grazing than in the LG system. These data suggest notable trade-offs in these ecosystems between carbon storage, biodiversity, and livestock production with rainfall variability being a critical inter-annual driver. PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: This study suggests that long-term resting of previously over-utilized southern African semi-arid vegetation supports enhanced carbon sequestration potential, even if over-utilization has transformed vegetation composition (i.e. has caused degradation through reduced plant species richness). However, this enhanced carbon sequestration potential can be quickly negated by the reintroduction of grazing, even after 10 years of resting. Achievement of carbon sequestration is dependent on average to above-average precipitation and its distribution throughout the year, with sink activity evident mainly after seasonal rains during the warm season.