Experimental evidence for the immediate impact of fertilization and irrigation upon the plant and invertebrate communities of mountain grasslands

Ecology and Evolution

Volumn 4, Issue 12, 2014, Pages 2610-2623

  Andrey, Aline ^a   Humbert, Jean Yves ^a   Pernollet, Claire ^a,b   Arlettaz, Raphaël ^a,c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF BERN   (Switzerland)

^b OFFICE NATIONAL DE LA CHASSE ET DE LA FAUNE SAUVAGE   (France)

^c SWISS ORNITHOLOGICAL INSTITUTE   (Switzerland)

Author keywords

Agriculture; Arthropods; Grassland management; Hump shaped model; Liquid manure; Vegetation heterogeneity

Indexed keywords

EID: 84902477481     PISSN: None     EISSN: 20457758     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1118     Document Type: Article

References (52)

1. Baayen, R. H. 2011. languageR: Data sets and functions with "Analyzing Linguistic Data: A practical introduction to statistics". R package version 1.4.
2. Bates, D., M. Maechler, and B. Bolker. 2011. lme4: Linear mixed-effects models using S4 classes. R package version 0.999375-42.
3. Bernhardt-Romermann, M., C. Romermann, S. Sperlich, and W. Schmidt. 2011. Explaining grassland biomass - the contribution of climate, species and functional diversity depends on fertilization and mowing frequency. J. Appl. Ecol. 48:1088-1097.
4. Bowman, W. D., J. R. Gartner, K. Holland, and M. Wiedermann. 2006. Nitrogen critical loads for alpine vegetation and terrestrial ecosystem response: are we there yet? Ecol. Appl. 16:1183-1193.
5. Britschgi, A., R. Spaar, and R. Arlettaz. 2006. Impact of grassland farming intensification on the breeding ecology of an indicator insectivorous passerine, the Whinchat Saxicola rubetra: lessons for overall Alpine meadowland management. Biol. Conserv. 130:193-205.
6. Brown, V. K., C. W. D. Gibson, and J. Kathirithamby. 1992. Community organisation in leaf hoppers. Oikos 65:97-106.
7. Buri, P., R. Arlettaz, and J.-Y. Humbert. 2013. Delaying mowing and leaving uncut refuges boosts orthopterans in extensively managed meadows: evidence drawn from field-scale experimentation. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 181:22-30.
8. Carlen, C., C. Darbellay, and P. Gex. 1998. Effets à long terme de la fumure et de la fréquence des coupes sur une prairie permanente en montagne. Revue suisse Agric. 30:215-221.
9. Cole, L. J., M. L. Pollock, D. Robertson, J. P. Holland, D. I. McCracken, and W. Harrison. 2010. The influence of fine-scale habitat heterogeneity on invertebrate assemblage structure in upland semi-natural grassland. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 136:69-80.
10. Core Team, R. 2013. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria.
11. Crawley, M. J. 2007. The R book. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, West Sussex, UK.
12. Davis, M. A., J. P. Grime, and K. Thompson. 2000. Fluctuating resources in plant communities: a general theory of invasibility. J. Ecol. 88:528-534.
13. Després, L., J. P. David, and C. Gallet. 2007. The evolutionary ecology of insect resistance to plant chemicals. Trends Ecol. Evol. 22:298-307.
14. DiTommaso, A., and L. W. Aarssen. 1989. Resource manipulations in natural vegetation: a review. Vegetatio 84:9-29.
15. Dittrich, A. D. K., and A. J. Helden. 2011. Experimental sward islets: the effect of dung and fertilisation on Hemiptera and Araneae. Insect Conserv. Diversity 5:46-56.
16. Duffey, E. 1962. A population study of spiders in limestone grassland - The field layer fauna. Oikos 13:15-000.
17. Finch, S., and R. H. Collier. 2000. Host-plant selection by insects - a theory based on 'appropriate/inappropriate landings' by pest insects of cruciferous plants. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 96:91-102.
18. Grandchamp, A.-C., A. Bergmanini, S. Stofer, J. Niemelä, P. Duelli, and C. Scheidegger. 2005. The influence of grassland management on ground beetles (Carabidae, Coleoptera) in Swiss montane meadows. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 110:307-317.
19. Grime, J. P. 1973. Competitive exclusion in herbaceous vegetation. Nature 242:344-347.
20. Haddad, N. M., J. Haarstad, and D. Tilman. 2000. The effects of long-term nitrogen loading on grassland insect communities. Oecologia 124:73-84.
21. Hautier, Y., P. A. Niklaus, and A. Hector. 2009. Competition for light causes plant biodiversity loss after eutrophication. Science 324:636-638.
22. Hunter, M. D., and P. W. Price. 1992. Playing chutes and ladders: heterogeneity and the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down forces in natural communities. Ecology 73:724-732.
23. Huston, M. A. 1997. Hidden treatments in ecological experiments: re-evaluating the ecosystem function of biodiversity. Oecologia 110:449-460.
24. Jeangros, B., and C. Bertola. 2000. Effets de l'arrosage sur la végétation des prairies permanentes d'une région du Haut-Valais. Revue suisse Agric. 32:189-194.
25. Kirchner, T. B. 1977. The effects of resource enrichment on the diversity of plants and arthropods in a shortgrass prairie. Ecology 58:1334-1344.
26. Knops, J. M. H., D. Tilman, N. M. Haddad, S. Naeem, C. E. Mitchell, J. Haarstad, et al. 1999. Effects of plant species richness on invasion dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances and diversity. Ecol. Lett. 2:286-293.
27. Li, W., S. J. Wen, W. X. Hu, and G. Z. Du. 2010. Root-shoot competition interactions cause diversity loss after fertilization: a field experiment in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau. J. Plant Ecol. 4:138-146.
28. MacDonald, D., J. R. Crabtree, G. Wiesinger, T. Dax, N. Stamou, P. Fleury, et al. 2000. Agricultural abandonment in mountain areas of Europe: environmental consequences and policy response. J. Environ. Manage. 59:47-69.
29. Marini, L., P. Fontana, M. Scotton, and S. Klimek. 2008. Vascular plant and Orthoptera diversity in relation to grassland management and landscape composition in the European Alps. J. Appl. Ecol. 45:361-370.
30. Mittelbach, G. G., C. F. Steiner, S. M. Scheiner, K. L. Gross, H. L. Reynolds, R. B. Waide, et al. 2001. What is the observed relationship between species richness and productivity? Ecology 82:2381-2396.
31. Morris, M. G. 2000. The effects of structure and its dynamics on the ecology and conservation of arthropods in British grassland. Biol. Conserv. 95:129-142.
32. Mortimer, S. R., J. A. Hollier, and V. K. Brown. 1998. Interactions between plant and insect diversity in the restoration of lowland calcareous grasslands in southern Britain. Appl. Veg. Sci. 1:101-114.
33. Nielsen, C. O. 1955. Studies on Enchytraeidae 5. Factors causing seasonal fluctuations in numbers. Oikos 6:153-169.
34. Niu, K., P. Choler, F. de Bello, N. Mirotchnick, G. Du, and S. Sun. 2014. Fertilization decreases species diversity but increases functional diversity: a three-year experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 182:106-112.
35. Pauli, D., M. Peintinger, and B. Schmid. 2002. Nutrient enrichment in calcareous fens: effects on plant species and community structure. Basic Appl. Ecol. 3:255-266.
36. Perner, J., C. Wytrykush, A. Kahmen, N. Buchmann, I. Egerer, S. Creutzburg, et al. 2005. Effects of plant diversity, plant productivity and habitat parameters on arthropod abundance in montane European grasslands. Ecography 28:429-442.
37. Peter, M., A. Gigon, P. J. Edwards, and A. Luscher. 2009. Changes over three decades in the floristic composition of nutrient-poor grasslands in the Swiss Alps. Biodivers. Conserv. 18:547-567.
38. Rajaniemi, T. K. 2002. Why does fertilization reduce plant species diversity? Testing three competition-based hypotheses. J. Ecol. 90:316-324.
39. Randlkofer, B., F. Jordan, O. Mitesser, T. Meiners, and E. Obermaier. 2009. Effect of vegetation density, height, and connectivity on the oviposition pattern of the leaf beetle Galeruca tanaceti. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 132:134-146.
40. Reid, A. M., and D. F. Hochuli. 2007. Grassland invertebrate assemblages in managed landscapes: effect of host plant and microhabitat architecture. Austral Ecol. 32:708-718.
41. Riedener, E., H.-P. Rusterholz, and B. Baur. 2013. Effects of different irrigation systems on the biodiversity of species-rich hay meadows. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 164:62-69.
42. Sanders, D., and M. H. Entling. 2011. Large variation of suction sampling efficiency depending on arthropod groups, species traits, and habitat properties. Entomol. Exp. Appl. 138:234-243.
43. Sinaj, S., W. Richner, R. Flisch, and R. Charles. 2009. Données de base pour la fumure des grandes cultures et des herbages (DBF-GCH). Revue suisse Agric. 41:1-98.
44. Stampfli, A. 1991. Accurate determination of vegetational change in meadows by successive point quadrat analysis. Vegetatio 96:185-194.
45. Tasser, E., J. Walde, U. Tappeiner, A. Teutsch, and W. Noggler. 2007. Land-use changes and natural reforestation in the Eastern Central Alps. Agric. Ecosyst. Environ. 118:115-129.
46. Tilman, D., and J. A. Downing. 1994. Biodiversity and stability in grasslands. Nature 367:363-365.
47. Tonn, B., and G. Briemle. 2010. Minimum management intensity for maintaining and improving biodiversity of a mesotrophic semi-natural grassland. Grassl. Sci. Europe 15:747-749.
48. Van Wingerden, W. K. R. E., A. R. van Kreveld, and W. Bongers. 1992. Analysis of species composition and abundance of grasshoppers (Orth. Acrididae) in natural and fertilized grasslands. J. Appl. Entomol. 113:138-152.
49. Vintu, V., C. Samuil, C. Sirbu, C. I. Popovici, and M. Stavarache. 2011. Sustainable Management of Nardus stricta L. Grasslands in Romania's Carpathians. Not. Bot. Horti Agrobot. Cluj Napoca 39:142-145.
50. Walker, M. D., P. J. Webber, E. H. Arnold, and D. Ebertmay. 1994. Effects of interannual climate variation on aboveground phytomass in alpine vegetation. Ecology 75:393-408.
51. Woodcock, B. A., S. G. Potts, T. Tscheulin, E. Pilgrim, A. J. Ramsey, J. Harrison-Cripps, et al. 2009. Responses of invertebrate trophic level, feeding guild and body size to the management of improved grassland field margins. J. Appl. Ecol. 46:920-929.
52. Yang, Z. L., J. van Ruijven, and G. Z. Du. 2011. The effects of long-term fertilization on the temporal stability of alpine meadow communities. Plant Soil 345:315-324.