Relationships between Plant Diversity and Grasshopper Diversity and Abundance in the Little Missouri National Grassland

A continuing challenge in orthopteran ecology is to understand what determines grasshopper species diversity at a given site. In this study, the objective was to determine if variation in grasshopper abundance and diversity between 23 sites in western North Dakota (USA) could be explained by variation in plant species richness and diversity. In this system with relatively low plant diversity, grasshopper species richness and abundance were not significantly associated with plant species richness in either year. Although a number of significant associations between plant diversity and grasshopper diversity were found through regression analyses, results differed greatly between years indicating that plant species richness and diversity did not lead to strong effects on grasshopper diversity metrics. Plant species richness appears to be too coarse grained to lead to accurate predictions of grasshopper species richness in this system dominated by generalist grasshopper species.

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Shading enhances plant species richness and diversity on an extensive green roof

Urban Ecosystems ◽

10.1007/s11252-020-00980-w ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 23 (5) ◽

pp. 935-943

Author(s):

Henk-Jan van der Kolk ◽

Petra van den Berg ◽

Gerard Korthals ◽

T. Martijn Bezemer

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Green Roof ◽

Green Roofs ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Light Weight ◽

Species Richness And Diversity ◽

Native Soil ◽

Substrate Depth

Abstract Green roofs can promote biodiversity in urban areas. The extent to which green roofs stimulate plant diversity can depend on roof characteristics such as roof age, substrate depth and shading. We exploratively studied the vegetation on a Dutch green roof in 50 permanent plots (1 m2) over eight years (2012–2019) following roof construction. Plots were situated either on low substrate depth (6 cm light-weight extensive substrate) or high substrate depth (6 cm light-weight extensive substrate topped with 14 cm native soil) and differed in the amount of shading received from a higher building floor. Increased substrate depth and shading additively increased plant species richness and plant diversity, with high shaded plots supporting on average 6.4 more plant species than low unshaded plots. Shading likely acts via reducing drought stress, whereas increasing substrate depth with native soil may also enhance plant diversity via addition of nutrients and native seeds. The vegetation composition on the roof was dynamic and changed over the years. Sedum acre was initially dominant but disappeared within the first years, whereas Sedum kamtschaticum increased and became dominant in the last years. Trifolium arvense was the most abundant forb species and was especially dominant three years after roof construction. We conclude that increased substrate depth and shading can promote plant species richness and diversity and recommend that both aspects are considered when green roofs are designed. Shading can be achieved by a stepped building architecture and by placing structures on the roof itself, such as solar panels on standards.

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CONSEQUENCES OF THE PHYSICAL MANAGEMENT OF AN INVASIVE ALIEN PLANT FOR RIPARIAN PLANT SPECIES RICHNESS AND DIVERSITY

River Research and Applications ◽

10.1002/rra.2633 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 217-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

C. P. Cockel ◽

A. M. Gurnell ◽

J. Gurnell

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Invasive Alien Plant ◽

Species Richness And Diversity ◽

Riparian Plant

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Superhost Plants Alter the Structure of Plant–Galling Insect Networks in Neotropical Savannas

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants8100369 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (10) ◽

pp. 369 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Araújo ◽

Moreira ◽

Falcão ◽

Borges ◽

Fagundes ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Plant Species ◽

Plant Diversity ◽

Host Plants ◽

Plant Species Richness ◽

Variable Number ◽

Insect Species ◽

Species Number ◽

Neotropical Savannas ◽

Galling Insects

Host plants may harbor a variable number of galling insect species, with some species being able to harbor a high diversity of these insects, being therefore called superhost plants. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the occurrence of superhost plant species of genus Qualea (Vochysiaceae) affects the structure of plant–galling insect ecological networks in Brazilian Cerrado. We sampled a total of 1882 plants grouped in 131 species and 43 families, of which 64 species and 31 families of host plants hosted 112 galling insect species. Our results showed that occurrence of superhosts of genus Qualea increased the linkage density of plant species, number of observed interactions, and the size of plant–galling insect networks and negatively affected the network connectance (but had no effect on the residual connectance). Although the occurrence of Qualea species did not affect the plant species richness, these superhosts increased the species richness and the number of interactions of galling insects. Our study represents a step forward in relation to previous studies that investigated the effects of plant diversity on the plant–insect networks, showing that few superhost plant species alter the structure of plant–herbivore networks, even without having a significant effect on plant diversity.

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