Restoration of Subalpine Species-Rich Grasslands: Short-Term<i>vs</i>Long-Term Changes in the Density and Diversity of above-Ground Insects

Karg, Jerzy; Kujawa, Krzysztof; Manhart, Christof; Marschalek, Heinz; Neugebauer, Klaus; Sachteleben, Jens

doi:10.3161/15052249pje2015.63.1.013

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Taxonomic and functional diversity as well as composition approached the target state for all restoration measures, with more invasive measures involving topsoil removal being more successful in restoring the target state (Harvest only < Topsoil, Topsoil + Propagules). These results are in line with previous studies conducted in agricultural landscapes showing that with extensification (i.e., mowing reduction) insect species diversity can be restored (Nickel and Achtziger 2005, Karg et al 2015). While these studies focused on local taxonomic richness (α‐diversity), we show that restoration measures are particularly valuable for restoring taxonomic diversity at the landscape level (γ‐diversity) and are equally successful for rare and dominant species (see diversity profiles; Fig.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…A variety of studies investigated the success of restoration measures for insect communities. For example, many studies have assessed how low‐impact grassland management (no fertilization, removal of biomass; e.g., Nickel and Achtziger 2005, Karg et al 2015), reintroduction of grazing (WallisDeVries and Raemakers 2001, Öckinger et al 2006), or sowing of plant propagules from target communities in agricultural land (Woodcock et al 2010, 2012, Rowe and Holland 2013) affect the success of insect community restoration. In addition, it has been stressed that the landscape context is crucial for the outcome of restoration measures (Woodcock et al 2010, Zirbel et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long‐term restoration success of insect herbivore communities in seminatural grasslands: a functional approach

Neff

Resch

Marty

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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Seminatural grasslands are important biodiversity hotspots, but they are increasingly degraded by intensive agriculture. Grassland restoration is considered to be promising in halting the ongoing loss of biodiversity, but this evaluation is mostly based on plant communities. Insect herbivores contribute substantially to grassland biodiversity and to the provisioning of a variety of ecosystem functions. However, it is unclear how they respond to different measures that are commonly used to restore seminatural grasslands from intensively used agricultural land. We studied the long‐term success of different restoration techniques, which were originally targeted at reestablishing seminatural grassland plant communities, for herbivorous insect communities on taxonomic as well as functional level. Therefore, we sampled insect communities 22 yr after the establishment of restoration measures. These measures ranged from harvest and removal of biomass to removal of the topsoil layer and subsequent seeding of plant propagules. We found that insect communities in restored grasslands had higher taxonomic and functional diversity compared to intensively managed agricultural grasslands and were more similar in composition to target grasslands. Restoration measures including topsoil removal proved to be more effective, in particular in restoring species characterized by functional traits susceptible to intensive agriculture (e.g., large‐bodied species). Our study shows that long‐term success in the restoration of herbivorous insect communities of seminatural grasslands can be achieved by different restoration measures and that more invasive approaches that involve the removal of the topsoil layer are more effective. We attribute these restoration successes to accompanying changes in the plant community, resulting in bottom‐up control of the herbivore community. Our results are of critical importance for management decisions aiming to restore multi‐trophic communities, their functional composition and consequently the proliferation of ecosystem functions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term restoration success of insect herbivore communities in seminatural grasslands: a functional approach

Neff

Resch

Marty

et al. 2020

Ecological Applications

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“…These species were, however, missing in restored grasslands, so that restored grasslands could not provide a comparative amount of resources to pollinators. The lack of insect‐pollinated species at restored sites hinders the restoration of insect communities and supports previous observations that restoration of insect communities in grasslands is generally slow (Woodcock et al, 2012; Karg et al, 2015). On the other hand, the abundant seed production of generalists at restored sites is probably beneficial for large herbivores.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 84%

Restoration of ecosystem functions: Seed production in restored and ancient grasslands

Albert

Götzenberger

Jongepierová

et al. 2021

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions: Evaluating seed production as a community function in species-rich temperate grasslands, we asked: (a) do ancient and restored grasslands differ in the composition of seed-producing species; (b) do seed-producing species of ancient and restored grasslands differ in their functional traits and habitat origin of their species; and (c) how does seed production change during the season considering management and is seed production different for the whole community and for the subset of species occurring in both types of grasslands? Location: White Carpathian Mountains (Czech Republic). Methods:We assessed the species composition of flowering and fruiting species and collected propagule samples from three ancient and three restored grasslands. From the measured parameters, we estimated seed production for particular fruiting species. We combined these reproductive parameters with data on plant traits and plant status.Results: Flowering species in restored grasslands produced three times higher seed numbers and three times lower seed mass than flowering species in ancient grasslands. At ancient sites, most seeds belonged to meadow specialist species; at restored sites, seeds of ruderal and generalist species prevailed. Prior to mowing, in both grassland types the seed-producing species were characterised by a high capability of clonal reproduction, high leaf dry matter content, and wind pollination. After mowing, seed-producing species were insect-pollinated species at ancient sites. This reflects the dominance of grasses before mowing and of forbs after mowing. Conclusions:Higher seed number, lower seed mass and lower reliance on pollinators in restored grasslands indicate a different ecosystem functionality related to these parameters, in comparison with ancient grasslands. Specifically, seeds act as source for generative regeneration of resident species while resources for pollinators and seed herbivores are reduced. This maintains a differentiation of restored and ancient grasslands not only in terms of species composition but also in their effect on other trophic levels.

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“…It was, thus, possible to reach a maximum insect diversity during the restoration. As the pressure of grazing increased, insect diversity decreased to a greater extent at 7-year enclosure sites than at 3-year sites, suggesting that fencing for 7 years had no significant advantage, even in the presence of interference by large animals, probably because the long-term enclosure promoted the status of dominant species and the vegetation structure became progressively homogenized (Karg et al, 2015). These changes in the vegetation community led to a decline in the variety of insects.…”

Section: Estimatementioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of different fencing periods and grazing intensities on insect diversity in the desert steppe in Inner Mongolia

Wang

Song

Wang³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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For the past several decades, both species biodiversity and productivity of desert steppe have been reduced due to excessive use and climate factors. To counteract this, Chinese government has supported large-scale grassland ecological restoration programs since the year 2000. The policy needs a standard for the evaluation of the effects of such restorative measures on the grasslands after decades. Grassland insect diversity plays an important role in the maintenance of plant species and functional diversity. To understand the relation of grazing management and insect diversity, we use a complete two factor design, two fencing periods (3 or 7 years) and three grazing intensities (0, 6, or 12 sheep per ha), to examine the response of the insect diversity to fencing and grazing in desert steppe. We found almost no significant differences in either plant or insect species diversity between the sites fenced for 3 and 7 years, as the pressure of grazing increased, insect diversity decreased to a greater extent at 7-year enclosure sites than at 3-year sites. We recommend the most suitable grazing intensity for the sustainability of biodiversity of the desert steppe in Inner Mongolia is light grazing (8 sheep/ha 0.5 yr−1), and the most suitable fencing period is three years, which suggest that policies that remove livestock from the desert grassland for long periods (7 + years) are not beneficial for maintaining insect diversity, and heavy grazing lead ecological environment weaker and insect diversity decreasing. Thus, periodic livestock grazing is important in the design of management actions to preserve biodiversity.

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Restoration of Subalpine Species-Rich Grasslands: Short-TermvsLong-Term Changes in the Density and Diversity of above-Ground Insects

Cited by 5 publications

References 32 publications

Long‐term restoration success of insect herbivore communities in seminatural grasslands: a functional approach

Long‐term restoration success of insect herbivore communities in seminatural grasslands: a functional approach

Restoration of ecosystem functions: Seed production in restored and ancient grasslands

Impacts of different fencing periods and grazing intensities on insect diversity in the desert steppe in Inner Mongolia

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