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Life at the (h)edge—Multidiversity in shrub ecotones is driven by habitat quality and shrub foliage cover
Author(s) -
Klimm Fabian S.,
Boetzl Fabian A.,
König Sebastian,
Bräu Markus,
Burtchen Lara,
Mandery Klaus,
Stör JeanLéonard,
Krauss Jochen
Publication year - 2025
Publication title -
journal of applied ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.503
H-Index - 181
eISSN - 1365-2664
pISSN - 0021-8901
DOI - 10.1111/1365-2664.70061
Abstract Shrub ecotones, the species‐rich transitional zones between grasslands and forests, serve as important refuges for biodiversity but are often confined to small and degraded areas due to prevailing management practices that prioritise either grasslands or forests. This loss of habitat area and quality threatens and impoverishes biodiversity reliant on shrub ecotones. Despite their importance for biodiversity, shrub ecotones were rarely considered in ecological studies, and the drivers affecting their biodiversity across taxa remain unknown. We assessed the effects of multiple shrub ecotone habitat and landscape characteristics for five taxa and their combined multidiversity in 45 sites in Germany. These taxa vary in habitat requirements and dispersal capacities, inhabit different strata and represent multiple trophic levels: herbaceous plants, orthopterans, true bugs, carabids and spiders. The shrub ecotones differed in (i) type (open vs. half‐open), (ii) ecotone area, (iii) habitat quality and (iv) surrounding semi‐natural habitat cover as potential drivers of diversity (species richness, Hill–Shannon diversity and Hill–Simpson diversity) and multidiversity. Shrub ecotone type and habitat quality were the most important drivers of multidiversity, which peaked in open shrub ecotones of high habitat quality. Open ecotones of high quality contained the highest species richness of herbaceous plants, orthopterans and true bugs, while ecotone area and semi‐natural habitat cover were less important. Spiders had the highest Hill–Shannon and Hill–Simpson diversity in open ecotones, while carabids were most speciose in half‐open ecotones of lower quality. Synthesis and applications . Our multi‐taxa assessment is the first comprehensive study of diversity across taxa and multidiversity in shrub ecotones. By combining multiple diversity metrics, our findings provide a more nuanced understanding of biodiversity patterns, which can better inform conservation strategies. To maximise biodiversity benefits across taxa, we recommend managing shrub ecotones at the landscape scale, maintaining a mosaic of open and half‐open shrub ecotones. Designated shrub transition zones with reduced management should be established around suitable habitats to promote the formation of new shrub ecotones.

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