Herbivore and pollinator responses to grassland management intensity along experimental changes in plant species richness

2012 ◽  
Vol 150 (1) ◽  
pp. 42-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anika Hudewenz ◽  
Alexandra-Maria Klein ◽  
Christoph Scherber ◽  
Lea Stanke ◽  
Teja Tscharntke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Management Intensity

scholarly journals Effect of Grazing System on Grassland Plant Species Richness and Vegetation Characteristics: Comparing Horse and Cattle Grazing

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 3300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Schmitz ◽  
Johannes Isselstein
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Grazing Cattle ◽  
Grazing System ◽  
Vegetation Characteristics ◽  
Forage Value ◽  
Grazer Species

Horses are of increasing relevance in agriculturally managed grasslands across Europe. There is concern to what extent grazing with horses is a sustainable grassland management practice. The effect of longer-term horse grazing on the vegetation characteristics of grasslands has received little attention, especially in comparison to grazing cattle. Our study analyses the relative importance of grazing system (grazer species and regime) and grassland management for vegetation characteristics in grasslands as indicator for sustainable management. We monitored grassland vegetation in western central Germany and compared paddocks grazed by horses under two different regimes, continuous (HC) vs. rotational (HR), to paddocks grazed by cattle (C) under similar trophic site conditions. We observed more plant species and more High Nature Value indicator species on HC compared to C. The vegetation of C was more grazing tolerant and had higher forage value than HC. Regardless of the grazing regime, the competitive component was lower, the stress-tolerant component higher and the floristic contrast between patch-types stronger on HC and HR paddocks compared to C. Species richness was strongly influenced by the extent of the floristic contrast. Our results emphasize the potential of horse grazing for biodiversity in agriculturally managed grasslands.

scholarly journals Environmental and Management Control over the Submontane Grassland Plant Communities in Central Slovakia

Diversity ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Andrea Diviaková ◽  
Slavomír Stašiov ◽  
Radovan Pondelík ◽  
Vladimír Pätoprstý ◽  
Milan Novikmec
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Diversity Management ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Grassland Species

In Central Europe, submontane grassland plant biodiversity is currently threatened by management intensification as well as by the cessation and abandonment of management activities (extensive grazing and mowing). Although the vegetation of Central European grasslands has been well described by phytosociological papers, there is still a need to improve our understanding of the effect of both management and environment on species richness and community composition. We studied submontane grassland communities in Central Slovakia. Our study showed that both environmental variables and management were important for shaping the submontane grassland species richness and floristic composition. Plant species richness showed a weak negative relationship with soil pH. When grassland management types were analyzed individually, the amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, pH, and altitude were all found to be significantly correlated with plant species richness or diversity. Management type and local environmental factors (i.e., incoming solar radiation) both determined community composition.

scholarly journals Biodiversity for multifunctional grasslands: equal productivity in high-diversity low-input and low-diversity high-input systems

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 3187-3214 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Weigelt ◽  
W. W. Weisser ◽  
N. Buchmann ◽  
M. Scherer-Lorenzen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
High Input ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Management Intensity ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Grassland Communities ◽  
High Diversity

Abstract. Modern grassland management seeks to provide many ecosystem services and experimental studies in resource-poor grasslands have shown a positive relationship between plant species richness and a variety of ecosystem functions. Thus, increasing species richness might help to enhance multifunctionality in managed grasslands if the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning is equally valid in high-input grassland systems. We tested the relative effects of low-input to high-input management intensities and low to high plant species richness. Using a combination of mowing frequencies (1, 2 or 4 cuts per season) and fertilization levels (0, 100 and 200 kg N ha−1 a−1), we studied the productivity of 78 experimental grassland communities of increasing plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 species with 1 to 4 functional groups) in two successive years. Our results showed that in both years higher diversity was more effective in increasing productivity than higher management intensity: the 16-species mixtures had a surplus of 452 g m−2 y−1 in 2006 and 504 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 over the monoculture yields whereas the high-input management resulted in only 315 g m−2 y−1 higher productivity in 2006 and 440 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 than the low-input management. In addition, high-diversity low-input grassland communities had similar productivity as low-diversity high-input communities. The slopes of the biodiversity – productivity relationships significantly increased with increasing levels of management intensity in both years. We conclude that the biological mechanisms leading to enhanced biomass production in diverse grassland communities are as effective for productivity as a combination of several agricultural measures. Our results demonstrate that high-diversity low-input grassland communities provide not only a high diversity of plants and other organisms, but also ensure high forage yields, thus granting the basis for multifunctional managed grasslands.

scholarly journals Biodiversity for multifunctional grasslands: equal productivity in high-diversity low-input and low-diversity high-input systems

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. 1695-1706 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Weigelt ◽  
W. W. Weisser ◽  
N. Buchmann ◽  
M. Scherer-Lorenzen
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
High Input ◽  
Low Input ◽  
Management Intensity ◽  
Low Diversity ◽  
Grassland Communities ◽  
High Diversity

Abstract. Modern grassland management seeks to provide many ecosystem services and experimental studies in resource-poor grasslands have shown a positive relationship between plant species richness and a variety of ecosystem functions. Thus, increasing species richness might help to enhance multifunctionality in managed grasslands if the relationship between species richness and ecosystem functioning is equally valid in high-input grassland systems. We tested the relative effects of low-input to high-input management intensities and low to high plant species richness. Using a combination of mowing frequencies (1, 2 or 4 cuts per season) and fertilisation levels (0, 100 and 200 kg N ha−1 a−1), we studied the productivity of 78 experimental grassland communities of increasing plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 species with 1 to 4 functional groups) in two successive years. Our results showed that in both years higher diversity was more effective in increasing productivity than higher management intensity: the 16-species mixtures had a surplus of 449 g m−2 y−1 in 2006 and 492 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 over the monoculture yields whereas the high-input management resulted in only 315 g m−2 y−1 higher productivity in 2006 and 440 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 than the low-input management. In addition, high-diversity low-input grassland communities had similar productivity as low-diversity high-input communities. The slopes of the biodiversity – productivity relationships significantly increased with increasing levels of management intensity in both years. We conclude that the biological mechanisms leading to enhanced biomass production in diverse grassland communities are as effective for productivity as a combination of several agricultural measures. Our results demonstrate that high-diversity low-input grassland communities provide not only a high diversity of plants and other organisms, but also ensure high forage yields, thus granting the basis for multifunctional managed grasslands.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document