Linear infrastructure habitats increase landscape-scale diversity of plants but not of flower-visiting insects

Dániel‐Ferreira, Juliana; Bommarco, Riccardo; Wissman, Jörgen; Öckinger, Erik

doi:10.1038/s41598-020-78090-y

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Previously, we found that the ϒ‐diversity of plants was higher in landscapes with power line corridors, possibly because the power line corridors add grassland habitat to the landscape (Dániel‐Ferreira et al, 2020). Here, we found that power line corridors in the landscape also had a positive effect on plant α‐diversity in each grassland type, but there was no such effect for either of the insect groups.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Communities in infrastructure habitats are species rich but only partly support species associated with semi‐natural grasslands

Dániel‐Ferreira

Fourcade

Bommarco

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Biodiversity linked to traditionally managed semi‐natural grasslands is declining, despite conservation efforts. At the same time, the area of novel grassland habitats along linear infrastructure, such as road verges and power line corridors, is increasing and in some regions surpass the area of semi‐natural grasslands. An open question is to what extent these novel grasslands can complement or even replace traditionally managed grasslands as habitat for grassland species. We compared the alpha (species richness) and beta (abundance‐based dissimilarities) diversity of plants, bumblebees and butterflies among semi‐natural pastures, verges of small and big roads, power line corridors and uncultivated field borders nested within 32 landscapes (2 × 2 km squares). Landscapes had either high or low road density and were with or without power line corridors. Across landscapes there was also a gradient in the area of semi‐natural pastures. Alpha diversity of all three species groups was as high in power line corridors and verges of small roads as in semi‐natural pastures, regardless of landscape composition. Although all habitat types shared a large proportion of species, community composition differed among habitats for all three species groups. The beta diversity of plants and butterflies was driven primarily by the replacement of species (turnover), while the beta diversity of bumblebees was driven by a rarer occurrence of certain species in road verges (nestedness). This means that linear infrastructure habitats cannot fully replace the role of semi‐natural grasslands for plant and pollinator diversity. The area of road verges, power line corridors and semi‐natural pastures in the landscape influenced community composition of plants and butterflies, but not the similarity in community composition among habitats within landscapes. Policy implications. Although novel grasslands along linear infrastructures have high numbers of grassland species, they only support a part of the biodiversity found in traditionally managed semi‐natural grasslands. Therefore, protecting and restoring semi‐natural grasslands should continue to be a priority for the conservation of grassland biodiversity. However, especially in landscapes where the area of semi‐natural grasslands is low, road verges and power line corridors can be important habitats for a number of grassland plants and insects and should be managed to promote biodiversity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Communities in infrastructure habitats are species rich but only partly support species associated with semi‐natural grasslands

Dániel‐Ferreira

Fourcade

Bommarco

et al. 2023

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…This could be partially due to an increase in bird detectability along roads. However, roads, tracks, and rails often have an ecotonal effect on the surrounding landscapes (Dániel-Ferreira et al 2020 ) and are lined with narrow strips of embankments or shrubbery, providing potential habitats for birds (Coffin 2007 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of landscape features, climate and topography in shaping taxonomical and functional diversity of avian communities in a heterogeneous Alpine region

et al. 2022

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Understanding the effects of landscape composition and configuration, climate, and topography on bird diversity is necessary to identify distribution drivers, potential impacts of land use changes, and future conservation strategies. We surveyed bird communities in a study area located in the Central Alps (Autonomous Province of South Tyrol, northeast Italy), by means of point counts and investigated taxonomic and functional diversity at two spatial scales along gradients of land use/land cover (LULC) intensity and elevation. We also explored how environmental variables influence bird traits and red-list categories. Models combining drivers of different types were highly supported, pointing towards synergetic effects of different types of environmental variables on bird communities. The model containing only LULC compositional variables was the most supported one among the single-group models: LULC composition plays a crucial role in shaping local biodiversity and hence bird communities, even across broad landscape gradients. Particularly relevant were wetlands, open habitats, agricultural mosaics made up of small habitat patches and settlements, ecotonal and structural elements in agricultural settings, and continuous forests. To conserve bird diversity in the Alps, planning and management practices promoting and maintaining small fields, structural elements, and a mosaic of different LULC types should be supported, while preserving continuous forests at the same time. Additionally, pastures, extensively used meadows, and wetlands are key to conservation. These strategies might mitigate the impacts of global change on bird diversity in the Alps and in other European mountain areas.

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“…In contrast, the land use in non-protected areas already benefit early-successional habitats and species. For example, forest clear-cuts, road verges, and extensively managed green spaces can provide habitat suitable for disturbance-dependent species (Öckinger et al 2009 ; Rubene et al 2014 ; Dániel-Ferreira et al 2020 ). Thus, implementation of disturbances under a land sharing strategy can result in smaller changes that does not compete with other conservation goals (Table 2 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, protected areas are few, and may be too small for natural disturbance dynamics to operate adequately (Baker 1992 ; Brackhane et al 2021 ). In contrast, production landscapes typically contain a large proportion of early-successional habitats, and management practices that might emulate natural disturbances (Rubene et al 2014 ; Batáry et al 2015 ; Dániel-Ferreira et al 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Land sharing complements land sparing in the conservation of disturbance-dependent species

Tälle

Öckinger

Löfroth

et al. 2022

Ambio

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Alteration of natural disturbances in human-modified landscapes has resulted in many disturbance-dependent species becoming rare. Conservation of such species requires efforts to maintain or recreate disturbance regimes. We compared benefits of confining efforts to habitats in protected areas (a form of land sparing) versus integrating them with general management of production land (a form of land sharing), using two examples: fire in forests and grazing in semi-natural grasslands. We reviewed empirical studies from the temperate northern hemisphere assessing effects of disturbances in protected and non-protected areas, and compiled information from organisations governing and implementing disturbances in Sweden. We found advantages with protection of areas related to temporal continuity and quality of disturbances, but the spatial extent of disturbances is higher on production land. This suggests that an approach where land sparing is complemented with land sharing will be most effective for preservation of disturbance-dependent species in forests and semi-natural grasslands.

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Linear infrastructure habitats increase landscape-scale diversity of plants but not of flower-visiting insects

Cited by 14 publications

References 55 publications

Communities in infrastructure habitats are species rich but only partly support species associated with semi‐natural grasslands

Communities in infrastructure habitats are species rich but only partly support species associated with semi‐natural grasslands

The contribution of landscape features, climate and topography in shaping taxonomical and functional diversity of avian communities in a heterogeneous Alpine region

Land sharing complements land sparing in the conservation of disturbance-dependent species

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