Grassland Management Affects Vegetation Structure, Bats and Their Beetle Prey

Max Anderson,Lisa Norton,Fiona Mathews

doi:10.3390/d12100406

Max Anderson, Lisa Norton + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/d12100406

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Abstract

Agricultural grasslands provide vital habitats for many species. Yet despite representing a significant proportion of European land use, they are disproportionately understudied compared to arable systems. Increases in productivity and intensification have led to changes in management practices, which are likely to affect grassland habitats and the ecological communities that they support. This study simultaneously monitored three trophic levels to assess the impacts of permanent versus temporary pasture (leys) on vegetation composition, carabid and dung beetle abundance, and the activity of beetle-feeding bats. Leys had lower abundances of soil-inhabiting dung beetles, which may be explained by the more recent exposure to tilling compared with permanent pasture. Beetle-feeding bat activity was also greater in leys, with positive relationships between E. serotinus activity and Onthophagus abundance across both pasture types. However, the lack of any positive relationships between beetle-feeding bat activity and Aphodius, a well-known prey genus, suggests that other key prey orders (Lepidoptera) may be of more influence on bat activity. As well as the management of pasture, differences in cattle management between pasture types can have a significant impact on vegetation and soil structure, which influence invertebrate communities and potentially dictate habitat suitability for bats.

Highlights

Agricultural grasslands are one of the dominant land-use types in Europe, and they are vitally important habitats for many species
A total of 790 carabid beetles belonging to 26 species (Table S3) and 2466 dung beetles belonging to 16 species were collected from the five paired farms (Table S4)
Nebria brevicollis was the most abundant species of carabid recorded across all sites, representing over 42% of all carabid beetles (Figure 4d)

Summary

Introduction

Agricultural grasslands are one of the dominant land-use types in Europe, and they are vitally important habitats for many species. Permanent pasture usually has much less intervention than leys While both tend to receive fertiliser applications (either organic or inorganic), the latter is subject to tilling and re-seeding with varying combinations of botanical forage species at regular intervals ranging from 3 to 5 years. These processes can have a significant impact on soil structure and function, affecting, for example, soil chemistry and invertebrate fauna [8,9,10]

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