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# Removing herbivores did not simply undo invasive-grass effects
- URL: https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/2026-10-19-invasive-grass-herbivore-exclusion-interactions/
- Published: 2026-10-19T18:19:48.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-19T18:19:48.000Z
- Description: A six-farm Australian experiment linked mammal exclusion and African lovegrass invasion to changing microbes and arthropods.
- Author: Benjamin Worlund
- Tags: grassland invasion, grazing exclusions, foliar microbes, arthropods, Land, Wildlife, One Health, Methods, #ecological-intelligence, #brief-2026-10-19, #global-radar, #peer-reviewed, #geo-oceania

Evidence

Peer-reviewed

Geography

Six livestock-grazed farms in temperate Australian grassy woodlands

System

Native grassy woodlands; invasive grasses; herbivory; foliar microbiomes

## WHAT THE EVIDENCE SAYS

Across six Australian farms, researchers nested herbivore-exclusion treatments in plots dominated by native kangaroo grass or co-dominated by invasive African lovegrass. Invasion and herbivore exclusion both altered litter, microclimate, leaf-associated microbial communities and arthropod assemblages. Phyllosphere diversity generally declined under the interacting disturbances, and mammal exclusion changed fungal infection patterns affecting the native grass.

## WHY IT MATTERS / OUR READ

The most useful management signal is that grazing and invasion cannot always be treated as independent switches. The ecological result of removing herbivores depends on which native and invasive species—and microbial interactions—are present; evaluate the whole plant–consumer system.

## CAVEATS / UNCERTAINTY

Experimental results are local to six grazed farms and nested treatments. 'Buffering' by some herbivores is not a universal endorsement of livestock grazing or evidence of recovery in native plant populations.

## SOURCE

Fioratti Junod et al. · iScience · grassland invasion and herbivore exclusion  
[View original evidence ↗](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2026.117544?ref=intelligence.wildlandseco.com)

From the Morning Brief · 2026-10-19

[Read the full Morning Brief →](https://intelligence.wildlandseco.com/morning-brief-2026-10-19/)