Grass grows faster when grazed, a mutualism with the grazers

Evidence

Many grasses undergo a physiological change known as compensatory growth in which the plant compensates for loss of foliage by quickly growing more. It seems counterintuitive, but when a herd of buffalo grazes down a sward of fresh grass, it actually grows faster in response. This helps the plant recover, but also invites the buffalo back for dinner later in the season. It’s even been discovered that there is an enzyme in the saliva of grazing buffalo that actually stimulates grass growth. To say nothing of the fertilizer produced by a passing herd. Grass gives to buffalo and buffalo give to grass. — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 576

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines compensatory growth — a mechanism that grounds reciprocity and gift logic in observable plant physiology.
• XREF: connects to: Buffalo grazing restored 95 percent of native grasses on Cheyenne River — Winona LaDuke, All Our Relations: Native Struggles for…, 806; Sweetgrass flourishes when harvested and declines when left alone — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 570; Mutualism between species emerges under scarcity, not abundance — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom,…, 997 (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Sweetgrass has become dependent on human harvesting to flourish #corroborates (0.85) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 578
• Sweetgrass renewal after harvest signals the plant’s mutual need for people #corroborates (0.82) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 585
• Food plants and humans shape each other’s evolution toward mutual thriving #corroborates (0.80) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 431
• Mutualism between species emerges under scarcity, not abundance #qualifies (0.75) — Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass, 997
• Interspecific competition restricts species to disturbances where their growth efficiency is highest #complicates (0.70) — S. T. A. Pickett and P. S. White, eds., The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and…, 1332