Consistent functional response of meadow species and communities to land‐use changes across productivity and soil moisture gradients

Abstract

AbstractQuestionsWet meadows have traditionally been managed at low intensity, promoting the co‐existence of a variety of plant species. The remaining fragments of these meadows are now being degraded by either mowing abandonment or by agricultural intensification, such as increased fertilization. We tested the theoretical expectation that certain functional traits can explain vegetation changes along gradients of productivity and soil moisture in response to these land‐use changes.LocationŽelezné hory Mts., Czech Republic, Central Europe.MethodsWe set up a long‐term experiment where we applied a full factorial design of fertilization and abandonment to 17 traditionally mown wet meadows covering a broad range of productivity and soil moisture conditions found within the region. Plant functional traits that cover different aspects of plant ecological strategies – plant height, specific leaf area (SLA), leaf dry matter content (LDMC), seed mass and clonality – were used to explain both species and whole community response to land‐use change. We employed linear mixed effect models to test for the consistency of functional changes across different productivity and soil moisture conditions.ResultsWe found that the functional response of species and whole communities to land‐use change was consistent across meadows differing substantially in their productivity and soil moisture. Specifically, irrespective of the local conditions, both fertilization and abandonment selected for tall species within communities, highlighting the effect of increased competition for light. Traits related to a more exploitative strategy in species (higher SLA, more prominent clonal growth and smaller seeds) were consistently favoured with increased fertilization.ConclusionsWe show that within a given region with a common land‐use history, certain functional traits consistently explain and can help to predict changes in plant communities caused by land‐use change, irrespective of different productivity and soil moisture conditions. Our results demonstrate a simple way to use functional traits in applied nature conservation. We hope this will encourage practitioners to use functional traits to complement existing knowledge on composition and productivity of considered habitats to enhance the planning of management practices. We encourage practitioners to build regional trait databases to actively use trait information for the purpose of habitat management.