Dataset Information

Impact of management on foliage-dwelling arthropods and dynamics within permanent pastures.

ABSTRACT: The restoration of biodiversity within previously improved grasslands is an important objective worldwide. In some areas farmers receive remuneration for using specific strategies but the environmental responses to them are still uncertain. This study explored the short and long-term impacts of sheep grazing and/or hay cutting on arthropod foliage communities and flora within Welsh upland permanent pastures (UK). We measured arthropod abundance and diversity plus sward surface height, flower numbers and percentage of forbs and grasses. Data were collected during summer; twice before hay cutting and once shortly after. Total arthropod abundance was higher in grazed plots (due to Symphypleona flourishing) and family richness in hay cut plots, but taxa-specific responses occurred. Short-term effects reflected phenological changes (e.g. in Symphypleona or Cantharidae) and arthropod reductions after hay cut, when mostly Diptera remained. Arthropod communities were more abundant and diverse in flower-rich and forb-dominated plots managed by hay cutting and by hay cutting with aftermath grazing, although certain groups flourished in grazed only grass-dominated plots. The two managements based on a hay cut provided more heterogeneous environmental conditions than other management treatments, and these supported more diverse arthropod communities. The results make a valuable addition to the evidence base on which to base future land use policy at a time when trade-offs between agricultural production and nature conservation are under scrutiny across Europe.

SUBMITTER: Rosa Garcia R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6668424 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Impact of management on foliage-dwelling arthropods and dynamics within permanent pastures.

Rosa García Rocío R Fraser Mariecia D MD

Scientific reports 20190731 1

The restoration of biodiversity within previously improved grasslands is an important objective worldwide. In some areas farmers receive remuneration for using specific strategies but the environmental responses to them are still uncertain. This study explored the short and long-term impacts of sheep grazing and/or hay cutting on arthropod foliage communities and flora within Welsh upland permanent pastures (UK). We measured arthropod abundance and diversity plus sward surface height, flower num ...[more]

PMID: 31366960

Similar Datasets

Project description:Chien-Lung Chen and Pei-Jen L. Shaner (2018) Resource events such as typhoon-triggered greenfall have consequences for multiple ecological mechanisms, ranging from population dynamics and trophic interactions to ecosystem processes. Arthropods are sensitive to environmental disturbances, and many taxa have been used as indicator species. In a field experiment, we tested the effects of greenfall on ground-dwelling arthropods (mostly litter-dwelling taxa) in a forest of Taiwan red pine (Pinus taiwanensis) in the summer of 2013. Of 20 field plots (5 × 5 m), half received P. taiwanensis greenfall while the other half served as unaltered controls. As predicted, some arthropod taxa responded more strongly than others to the greenfall addition. Among the examined arthropod taxa (Araneae, Coleoptera: Carabidae, Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Collembola, Isopoda: Oniscidea), the predatory staphylid beetles (Staphylinidae) responded positively to greenfall addition while the larger-sized detritivore woodlice (Oniscidea) responded negatively. Contrary to our prediction of a positive response, the smaller-sized detritivore springtails (Collembola) were unaffected by the greenfall addition. At the beginning of this study, we observed short-term effects of a naturally- occurring typhoon, to which springtails and ants (Formicidae) responded negatively while staphylid beetles responded positively. Also contrary to our prediction, these taxon-specific responses did not suffice to alter the composition of arthropod communities. We concluded that the intra-annual effects of typhoons-specifically those associated with greenfall-are more likely to impact certain taxa, including staphylid beetles, woodlice, springtails and ants. At the taxonomic level examined here, these intra-annual effects on community composition are non-detectable. As typhoon frequency and intensity are likely to change with global warming, the study makes a timely contribution to our understanding of typhoon-induced ecological dynamics in subtropical plantation forests.

Project description:Abstract Arthropods are abundant and diverse animals in many terrestrial food webs. In western Oklahoma, some shrublands are interspersed with discrete, dense thickets of tall, woody vegetation, known as mottes. Some of these shrublands are managed with prescribed burning. The goal of this study was to examine whether prescribed burning interacted with habitat type (i.e., shrubland versus mottes) to affect ground?dwelling arthropod communities. Arthropods were collected in pitfall traps at four sampling locations in relation to mottes; in the center of mottes, and three plot location in shrublands; 1 m, 15 m, and 50 m away from the edge of the motte. There were three treatment levels for burning: one year postburn (burned in dormant months of 2017), two years postburn (burned in dormant months of 2016), and unburned (burned in dormant season of 2014 and prior). There were no significant interactions between prescribed burning and habitat type. Mottes had a different community of arthropods compared with the surrounding shrubland. Mottes also had lower overall abundance, but a higher diversity of arthropods. In terms of fires, arthropod communities one year after burning were different from those two or more years after burning. There was no effect of burning on overall arthropod abundance, but plots that were one year since burning had significantly lower diversity compared with plots that were two or more years postburn. The results of this study suggest that both fire and mottes can independently facilitate heterogeneity in arthropod communities, but they do not appear to interact with one another. The goal of this study was to examine whether prescribed burning interacted with habitat type (i.e., shrubland versus mottes) to affect ground?dwelling arthropod communities. The results of this study suggest that both fire and mottes can independently facilitate heterogeneity in arthropod communities, but they do not appear to interact with one another.

Dataset Information

Impact of management on foliage-dwelling arthropods and dynamics within permanent pastures.

Publications

Impact of management on foliage-dwelling arthropods and dynamics within permanent pastures.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure