scholarly journals Animal-Mediated Ecosystem Process Rates in Forests and Grasslands are Affected by Climatic Conditions and Land-Use Intensity

Ecosystems ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Didem Ambarlı ◽  
Nadja K. Simons ◽  
Katja Wehner ◽  
Wiebke Kämper ◽  
Martin M. Gossner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Ecosystem Process

scholarly journals Annual litterfall dynamics and nutrient deposition depending on elevation and land use at Mt. Kilimanjaro

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 10031-10057 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Becker ◽  
H. Pabst ◽  
J. Mnyonga ◽  
Y. Kuzyakov
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Elevation Gradient ◽  
Agroforestry Systems ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Nutrient Inputs ◽  
Nutrient Deposition ◽  
Rainfall Seasonality ◽  
Intensively Managed

Abstract. Litterfall is one of the major pathways connecting above- and belowground processes. The effects of climate and land-use change on carbon (C) and nutrient inputs by litterfall are poorly known. We quantified and analyzed annual patterns of C and nutrient deposition via litterfall in natural forests and agroforestry systems along the unique elevation gradient of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Tree litter in three natural (lower montane, Ocotea and Podocarpus forests), two sustainably used (homegardens) and one intensively managed (shaded coffee plantation) was collected on a biweekly basis from May 2012 to July 2013. Leaves, branches and remaining residues were separated and analyzed for C and nutrient contents. The annual pattern of litterfall was closely related to rainfall seasonality, exhibiting a large peak towards the end of the dry season (August–October). This peak decreased at higher elevations with decreasing rainfall seasonality. Macronutrients (N, P, K) in leaf litter increased at mid elevation (2100 m a.s.l.) and with land-use intensity. Carbon content and micronutrients (Al, Fe, Mn, Na) however, were unaffected or decreased with land-use intensity. On the southern slope of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the annual pattern of litterfall depends on seasonal climatic conditions. While leaf litterfall decreased with elevation, total annual input was independent of climate. Compared to natural forests, the nutrient cycles in agroforestry ecosystems were accelerated by fertilization and the associated changes in dominant tree species.

scholarly journals Enriching plant diversity in grasslands by large-scale experimental sward disturbance and seed addition along gradients of land-use intensity

2016 ◽  
pp. rtw062 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentin H. Klaus ◽  
Deborah Schäfer ◽  
Till Kleinebecker ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
Daniel Prati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Seed Addition

Variation in regrowth ability in relation to land-use intensity in three common grassland herbs

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kirschbaum ◽  
Oliver Bossdorf ◽  
J F Scheepens
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Phenotypic Plasticity ◽  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Temporal Stability ◽  
Common Garden ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Biomass Removal ◽  
Reproductive Biomass

Abstract Aims Plant populations in managed grasslands are subject to strong selection exerted by grazing, mowing and fertilization. Many previous studies showed that this can cause evolutionary changes in mean trait values, but little is known about the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in response to land use. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the relationships between phenotypic plasticity – specifically, regrowth ability after biomass removal – and the intensity of grassland management and levels of temporal variation therein. Methods We conducted an outdoor common garden experiment to test if plants from more intensively mown and grazed sites showed an increased ability to regrow after biomass removal. We used three common plant species from temperate European grasslands, with seed material from 58 – 68 populations along gradients of land-use intensity, ranging from extensive (only light grazing) to very intensive management (up to four cuts per year). Important findings In two out of three species, we found significant population differentiation in regrowth ability after clipping. While variation in regrowth ability was unrelated to the mean land-use intensity of populations of origin, we found a relationship with its temporal variation in P. lanceolata, where plants experiencing less variable environmental conditions over the last 11 years showed stronger regrowth in reproductive biomass after clipping. Therefore, while mean grazing and mowing intensity may not select for regrowth ability, the temporal stability of the environmental heterogeneity created by land use may have caused its evolution in some species.

Analytical Solutions to Trade-Offs between Size of Protected Areas and Land-Use Intensity

2012 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 883-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
VAN BUTSIC ◽  
VOLKER C. RADELOFF ◽  
TOBIAS KUEMMERLE ◽  
ANNA M. PIDGEON
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Protected Areas ◽  
Analytical Solutions ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Trade Offs

scholarly journals Effects of habitat structure and land-use intensity on the genetic structure of the grasshopper species Chorthippus parallelus

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 140133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerstin R. Wiesner ◽  
Jan Christian Habel ◽  
Martin M. Gossner ◽  
Hugh D. Loxdale ◽  
Günter Köhler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Habitat Size ◽  
Grasshopper Species ◽  
Chorthippus Parallelus ◽  
Landscape Characteristics ◽  
Local Populations

Land-use intensity (LUI) is assumed to impact the genetic structure of organisms. While effects of landscape structure on the genetics of local populations have frequently been analysed, potential effects of variation in LUI on the genetic diversity of local populations have mostly been neglected. In this study, we used six polymorphic microsatellites to analyse the genetic effects of variation in land use in the highly abundant grasshopper Chorthippus parallelus . We sampled a total of 610 individuals at 22 heterogeneous grassland sites in the Hainich-Dün region of Central Germany. For each of these grassland sites we assessed habitat size, LUI (combined index of mowing, grazing and fertilization), and the proportion of grassland adjoining the sampling site and the landscape heterogeneity (the latter two factors within a 500 m buffer zone surrounding each focal site). We found only marginal genetic differentiation among all local populations and no correlation between geographical and genetic distance. Habitat size, LUI and landscape characteristics had only weak effects on most of the parameters of genetic diversity of C. parallelus ; only expected heterozygosity and the grasshopper abundances were affected by interacting effects of LUI, habitat size and landscape characteristics. The lack of any strong relationships between LUI, abundance and the genetic structure might be due to large local populations of the species in the landscape, counteracting local differentiation and potential genetic drift effects.

Effects of land use intensity on soil nutrient distribution after reclamation in an estuary landscape

2012 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 699-707 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiuzhen Li ◽  
Yongguang Sun ◽  
Ülo Mander ◽  
Yanlong He
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Nutrient Distribution ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

Diversity and abundance of earthworms across an agricultural land-use intensity gradient

2008 ◽  
Vol 100 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 83-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
R SMITH ◽  
C MCSWINEY ◽  
A GRANDY ◽  
P SUWANWAREE ◽  
R SNIDER ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Agricultural Land Use ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Intensity Gradient ◽  
Land Use Intensity Gradient

scholarly journals High land-use intensity exacerbates shifts in grassland vegetation composition after severe experimental drought

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 2021-2034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Stampfli ◽  
Juliette M. G. Bloor ◽  
Markus Fischer ◽  
Michaela Zeiter
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Vegetation Composition ◽  
Grassland Vegetation

scholarly journals Contrasting responses of above- and belowground diversity to multiple components of land-use intensity

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gaëtane Le Provost ◽  
Jan Thiele ◽  
Catrin Westphal ◽  
Caterina Penone ◽  
Eric Allan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Biodiversity Loss ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Land Use Intensity ◽  
Trophic Groups ◽  
Multiple Components ◽  
Belowground Diversity ◽  
Landscape Level

AbstractLand-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components of land use drive biodiversity loss requires the investigation of multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess the influence of multiple components of local- and landscape-level land use on more than 4,000 above- and belowground taxa, spanning 20 trophic groups. Plot-level land-use intensity is strongly and negatively associated with aboveground trophic groups, but positively or not associated with belowground trophic groups. Meanwhile, both above- and belowground trophic groups respond to landscape-level land use, but to different drivers: aboveground diversity of grasslands is promoted by diverse surrounding land-cover, while belowground diversity is positively related to a high permanent forest cover in the surrounding landscape. These results highlight a role of landscape-level land use in shaping belowground communities, and suggest that revised agroecosystem management strategies are needed to conserve whole-ecosystem biodiversity.

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