Impact of land-use change in mountain semi-dry meadows on plants, litter decomposition and earthworms
<p>Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are biodiversity hotspots in central Europe. However, socio-economic trends in agriculture during the last decades have changed farming practices, leaving steep and remote sites abandoned. Especially the abandonment of meadows is well known to direc...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2019-08-01
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| Series: | Web Ecology |
| Online Access: | https://www.web-ecol.net/19/53/2019/we-19-53-2019.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are biodiversity
hotspots in central Europe. However, socio-economic trends in agriculture
during the last decades have changed farming practices, leaving steep and remote
sites abandoned. Especially the abandonment of meadows is well known to
directly affect plant and insect diversity. However, not much is known about the
effects on soil processes and soil biota. To assess this, we studied four
extensively managed (mown once a year, no fertilization) and four abandoned
(no mowing, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows in a mountain region in
Austria. Plant species richness, plant cover, plant traits, plant biomass,
litter decomposition (tea bag index), and earthworm species richness and
density were assessed. Additionally, soil temperature, moisture and
electrical conductivity were measured. Results showed that managed meadows
contained more plant species than abandoned meadows (118 vs. 93 species,
respectively). We also observed different plant species assemblages between
the two management types. In managed meadows, hemirosette and ruderal plant
species were more abundant, while more plant species without rosettes and a
higher plant necromass were found in abandoned meadows. Additionally,
decomposition rate was higher in abandoned meadows. There was a trend
towards higher earthworm densities in managed meadows, but there was no difference in
earthworm species richness. We conclude that meadow management has effects
on both aboveground vegetation and belowground biota and processes. Both
abandoned and extensively managed meadows were important to sustain overall
biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the study region.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 2193-3081 1399-1183 |