Effects of grazing regimes on ground-dwelling small mammal distribution and abundance in rangelands at Gravelotte, South Africa

Abstract

Understanding the impact of grazing on wildlife communities is essential for implementing sustainable grazing practices that promote biodiversity conservation. This study investigated the effects of three grazing regimes (Wildlife and Cattle Grazing, Traditional Rotational Selective Grazing, and Holistic Planned Grazing and Wildlife) on small mammal communities in Gravelotte Rangeland, South Africa. We deployed ten Sherman traps at 10 m intervals along each of four linear transects within each grazing regime (40 traps per regime) to sample small mammals. Over a total of 360 trap-nights (120 trap-nights per regime), we captured 33 small mammals representing nine species from four families and three orders. We found that grazing regimes had no effect on small mammals’ species occurrence but did influence their abundance. Although not significant, Wildlife and Cattle Grazing had the highest species richness. However, small mammal abundance was significantly higher under Traditional Rotational Selective Grazing. Environmental variables, including grass cover, grass height, tree cover, and altitude, showed no significant effect on small mammal occurrence, although altitude negatively influenced species abundance. Our findings underscore the importance of grazing management in shaping small mammal communities and highlight the need for research on how grazing intensity, particularly herd effects, influences their distribution and abundance.