Vegetation management shapes arthropod and bird communities in an African savanna

Parker, Daniel M.; Stears, Keenan; Olckers, T.; Schmitt, Melissa H.

doi:10.1002/ece3.9880

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 91 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our finding of no significant relationship between insect richness and proxies for plant biomass was unexpected. Previous studies of moths in South African savannahs (Delabye et al, 2022a) and various groups of herbivorous and other arthropods in KNP (Parker et al, 2023) suggested that primary productivity and vegetation complexity, both associated with plant biomass, are key drivers of insect diversity. However, these studies did not include plant diversity in their analyses of potential drivers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Climate-driven vegetation characteristics shape phytophagous and carnivorous insect diversity in South African savannahs

Gaona,

Delabye,

Potocky

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Despite the recognized importance of insects in savannah ecosystems, the drivers of their diversity patterns remain poorly understood, particularly in the Afrotropical region. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impacts of climate, habitat, disturbance, and vegetation variables on the diversity of phytophagous moths (Lepidoptera) and carnivorous mantises (Mantodea) across 60 plots in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Based on an extensive dataset of 65,593 moth individuals representing 817 morphospecies and 3,511 mantis individuals representing 38 morphospecies, our results revealed plant communities as the fundamental driver of diversity for both insect groups. The effects of vegetation on insect diversity were indirectly influenced by climate, particularly mean temperature (negatively correlated with precipitation), through its impact on plant species richness. Additionally, a complex interplay among bedrock type, water availability, and disturbances from large herbivores and fire further shaped insect diversity. Our findings highlight the region's vulnerability to climate change, as decreasing precipitation and increasing temperatures were shown to alter vegetation composition and biomass, consequently affecting insect communities. Overall, our results emphasize the necessity of managing large herbivores and regulating fire regimes to maintain diverse vegetation, which is crucial for supporting insect diversity. Effective conservation strategies should prioritize balancing water availability and disturbance intensity, particularly in maintaining the health of seasonal rivers, to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on these ecosystems.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In savannah ecosystems, plant communities play a key role in determining insect distribution and diversity (e.g., Leal et al, 2016;Parker et al, 2023). According to the resource specialization hypothesis, high plant diversity provides resources for more herbivorous insect species (e.g., Du et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate-driven vegetation characteristics shape phytophagous and carnivorous insect diversity in South African savannahs

Gaona,

Delabye,

Potocky

et al. 2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The drop-plate meter and data collected using it met all expectations, being cost effective, easy to construct and operate, quick to deploy, and proving to generate reliable and robust predictors of plant biomass. This approach’s effectiveness is evidenced by its continued use in other habitats around the world ( Vermeire et al, 2021 ; Parker et al, 2023 ). The model generated using data from all crop systems showed that drop-plate measurements significantly predicted plant biomass across a wide swath of agroecosystems and geographic regions that varied substantially in plant community characteristics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating plant biomass in agroecosystems using a drop-plate meter

Robertson¹,

Schmid²,

Lundgren³

2023

PeerJ

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reason for doing the work Plant biomass is a commonly used metric to assess agricultural health and productivity. Removing plant material is the most accurate method to estimate plant biomass, but this approach is time consuming, labor intensive, and destructive. Previous attempts to use indirect methods to estimate plant biomass have been limited in breadth and/or have added complexity in data collection and/or modeling. A cost-effective, quick, accurate, and easy to use and understand approach is desirable for use by scientists and growers. Objectives An indirect method for estimating plant biomass using a drop-plate meter was explored for use in broad array of crop systems. Methods Drop-plate data collected by more than 20 individuals from 16 crop types on 312 farms across 15 states were used to generate models to estimate plant biomass among and within crop types. Results A linear model using data from all crop types explained approximately 67% of the variation in plant biomass overall. This model performed differently among crop types and stand heights, which was owed to differences among sample sizes and farming between annual and perennial systems. Comparatively, the model using the combined dataset explained more variance in biomass than models generated with commodity specific data, with the exception of wheat. Conclusions The drop-plate approach described here was inexpensive, quick, simple, and easy to interpret, and the model generated was robust to error and accurate across multiple crop types. The methods met all expectations for a broad-use approach to estimating plant biomass and are recommended for use across all agroecosystems included in this study. While it may be useful in crops beyond those included, validation is suggested before application.

show abstract