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Abstract: Cattle (Bos taurus) are the largest exotic ungulates introduced in Patagonian forest, and the most widely distributed. Although detrimental effects of cattle grazing on these forests have been documented, cattle–plant interaction has never been studied from the perspective of the feeding ecology of this ungulate. We assessed cattle diet on a seasonal basis by microhistological analysis of fecal samples in Los Alerces National Reserve, Argentina. We found that: (1) the annual diet was largely dominated by graminoids and shrubs; (2) the percentage of shrubs, forbs, and other species in the diet changed significantly across seasons; (3) cattle predominantly fed on Nothofagus spp., Berberis spp., Maytenus spp., Chusquea culeou, and Hierocloe sp.; and (4) selected more forbs than other vegetation types in warm-growing season, while highly selected graminoids and avoided shrubs during the cold-dormant season. Although these general selection patterns of plant types were observed seasonally, selection or avoidance at the species level was also recorded. Cattle have been described as grazers, suggesting that the composition of their diet should be dominated by graminoids. However, we found that cattle include significant proportions of woody plants in their diet. These results offer the first data available on diet composition and selection in a protected area in Patagonian forests, a first step towards understanding detrimental effects of cattle grazing on native forest from the perspective of their feeding ecology. Our evidence that cattle positively select Nothofagus spp. and Austrocedrus chilensis suggests that they can negatively affect the establishment and growth of these species. Given that livestock ranching is an important form of subsistence for economically disadvantaged settlers of Los Alerces National Reserve, alternatives to current ranching activities must be considered to improve their livelihood and reduce the negative effects of cattle on forests. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

While agricultural systems are a major pillar in global food security, their productivity is currently threatened by many environmental issues triggered by anthropogenic climate change and human activities, such as land degradation. However, the planetary spatial footprint of land degradation processes on arable lands, which can be considered a major component of global agricultural systems, is still insufficiently well understood. This study analyzes the land degradation footprint on global arable lands, using complex geospatial data on certain major degradation processes, i.e. aridity, soil erosion, vegetation decline, soil salinization and soil organic carbon decline. By applying geostatistical techniques that are representative for identifying the incidence of the five land degradation processes in global arable lands, results showed that aridity is by far the largest singular pressure for these agricultural systems, affecting ~40% of the arable lands' area, which cover approximately 14 million km 2 globally. It was found that soil erosion is another major degradation process, the unilateral impact of which affects ~20% of global arable systems. The results also showed that the two degradation processes simultaneously affect an additional ~7% of global arable lands, which makes this synergy the most common form of multiple pressure of land degradative conditions across the world's arable areas. The absolute statistical data showed that India, the United States, China, Brazil, Argentina, Russia and Australia are the most vulnerable countries in the world to the various pathways of arable land degradation. Also, in terms of percentages, statistical observations showed that African countries are the most heavily affected by arable system degradation. This study's findings can be useful for prioritizing agricultural management actions that can mitigate the negative effects of the two degradation processes or of others that currently affect many arable systems across the planet., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)