Premium
Impact of management type and intensity on multiple facets of grassland biodiversity in the F rench J ura M ountains
Author(s) -
Mauchamp Leslie,
Mouly Arnaud,
Badot PierreMarie,
Gillet François
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
applied vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.096
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1654-109X
pISSN - 1402-2001
DOI - 10.1111/avsc.12116
Subject(s) - biology , ordination , phylogenetic diversity , cwm , grassland , trait , biodiversity , phylogenetic tree , dominance (genetics) , ecology , interspecific competition , sparql , biochemistry , semantic web , rdf , information retrieval , computer science , gene , programming language
Questions (1) Does grassland vegetation differ in its taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional alpha diversity between strictly grazed parcels ( SGP ) and mowed‐and‐grazed parcels ( MGP )? (2) Do we observe differences in the responses of functional diversity (reflecting differences in the interspecific variation of a trait in the plant community) and community‐weighted mean trait values ( CWM s, reflecting the characteristics of the dominant species)? (3) How do diversity and CWM patterns respond to disturbance and fertilization gradients measured by agronomic descriptors in both parcel types? Location French Jura Mountains. Methods We compared taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversities (based on Rao quadratic entropy) and CWM s between the two management types ( SGP and MGP ). We then used agronomic variables, describing both defoliation regime and fertilization intensity over the past 10 yrs to explain diversity indices and CWM s in a partial redundancy analysis (p RDA ). Results Taxonomic and phylogenetic diversities were higher in SGP than in MGP , as well as functional diversity computed for qualitative traits (clonal growth organs and leaf distribution along the stem). Contrary to expectations from literature, we found higher CWM for leaf dry matter content ( LDMC ) in intensively and regularly cut grasslands compared to only grazed grasslands, which can be explained by the higher dominance of grass species in hay meadows. In addition, constrained ordination revealed that taxonomic, phylogenetic and some functional diversity metrics were negatively affected by defoliation intensity (mowing frequency), while most CWM s were mainly influenced by fertilization intensity, either by the available N input or by the role of commercial inorganic fertilizers, depending on the trait considered. Conclusions Our study revealed consistent patterns between the various facets of biodiversity in grasslands according to the main management regime. Taking agronomic gradients into account suggests the importance of considering both CWM s and functional diversity, which respond variously to agricultural practices. Conservation of high diversity in grasslands, whatever the facet considered, implies keeping some parcels exclusively grazed and limiting N inputs, especially those from inorganic commercial fertilizers.