Low Land-use Intensity Research Articles

The mineralosphere – Succession and physiology of bacteria and fungi colonising pristine minerals in grassland soils under different land-use intensities

The mineralosphere is an important micro habitat in terrestrial ecosystems. How different groups of microorganisms colonise mineral surfaces and whether the level of grassland land-use intensity (LUI) modifies this micro-habitat is not well known, however. We exposed mesh containers filled with pristine soil minerals (illite/goethite) mixed with 13C labelled root litter of Dactylis glomerata and Lolium perenne in grassland soils of the “Schwäbische Alb” (Germany) to characterise the succession of different microbial properties in the mineralosphere. The use of sites within the Biodiversity Exploratories made it possible to select five sites of low LUI and five sites of high LUI. After 1, 2, 7, 12 and 31 months of exposure in the grassland soils, we used physiological, microbiological and isotopic methods to elucidate in situ colonisation patterns, carbon use and levels of extracellular enzyme expression by soil microorganisms associated with mineral surfaces. Microorganisms slowly colonised pristine mineral surfaces and established functionally distinct communities over time. Fungi colonised mineral surfaces to a greater extent than bacteria, reaching 13.2% of control soils compared to 3.2% by bacteria after 31 months. Fungi also reached pristine mineral surfaces earlier than bacteria, probably due to their hyphal growth strategies, and made immediate use of the added complex root litter substrate. This result is evident by the incorporation of up to 74% root litter-derived C into the fungus-specific PLFA (18:2ω6,9) compared to 51% root litter-derived C in the bacteria-specific PLFAs. Both bacteria and fungi associated with minerals remained in an active state (high biomass-specific respiration, high bacterial and fungal growth rates) throughout the experimental period. Grassland LUI and physico-chemical properties of the adjacent soil modified both quantity and quality of substrates available to soil microorganisms in the mineralosphere. Since 13C incorporation into microbial biomass was greater under low LUI than under high LUI, we conclude that microorganisms in low LUI sites had to rely on the added root material, while the carbon signal in microorganisms in the high LUI sites was diluted by alternative sources resulting from transport of dissolved organic carbon into the mineralosphere.

Will I stay or will I go? Plant species‐specific response and tolerance to high land‐use intensity in temperate grassland ecosystems

AbstractAimIntensification of land use strongly impacts plant communities by causing shifts in taxonomic and functional composition. Mechanisms of land use‐induced biodiversity losses have been described for temperate grasslands, but a quantitative assessment of species‐specific occurrence optima and maximum tolerance (niche breadth) to land‐use intensity (LUI) in Central European grasslands is still lacking.LocationTemperate, managed permanent grasslands in three regions of Germany.MethodsWe combined extensive field work with a null model–randomization approach, defined a “habitat niche” for each plant species based on occurrence and abundance across 150 grassland sites differing in LUI (i.e., amount of fertilizer, mowing/grazing intensity and a compound index of these), and assessed their realized niche breadth (tolerance). Underlying mechanisms driving species’ responses to LUI were assessed by relating plant functional traits, Ellenberg indicator values (EIV), Grime's ecological strategies (CSR) and Briemle utilization numbers.ResultsOut of 151 plant species, 34% responded negatively, whereas 10% responded positively to high LUI. This pattern was mainly driven by species’ response to fertilization and mowing frequency; grazing intensity response was less pronounced. Positively reacting species, displaying broader niches, were associated with competition‐related functional traits, high EIV for nutrient supply and moisture and high mowing tolerance under spatiotemporally variable conditions. Negatively responding species, displaying relatively narrow niches confined to spatiotemporally homogeneous low LUI sites, were associated with a nutrient‐retentive strategy, under nutrient‐poor, base‐rich soil conditions.ConclusionOur analyses of individual species’ reactions clearly demonstrate that species responding negatively to high LUI display little tolerance towards intensive fertilization and mowing, leading to plant diversity loss; whereas grazing partly thwarts these effects by creating new habitat niches and promoting ruderal species. Our approach can be applied to other habitat types and biogeographical regions in order to quantify local specific response or tolerance, adding to existing knowledge about local vegetation dynamics.

Impact of land use on woody aboveground biomass in Miombo woodlands of western Zambia – comparison of three allometric equations

Globally, the intensification of land use for agriculture, timber and fuel is considered the leading threat to the diversity and biomass of forests and woodlands. To suggest management options, it is important to understand the patterns and drivers of diversity, structure, biomass and carbon stock of woodland vegetation. In this study we used data from three sites in the Miombo woodlands of western Zambia, which are subject to low, medium and high land-use intensity. We sampled 20 plots of 1 000 m² at each of these sites. Woody vegetation was sampled for richness and structure to provide an understanding of the impact of land-use intensity. Woody plant species richness was not affected by land-use intensity. However, an ANOVA revealed that stem diameter at breast height (DBH) was higher at the low land-use intensity (national park) than at medium and high land-use intensities (selective timber harvest, and non-selective harvest for crop fields and timber). We tested three different allometric equations (one global and two regionally adapted) to determine woody aboveground biomass (AGB) and carbon stock at the three sites. The estimated AGB using the regionally adapted allometric equation of Ryan et al. and the global tropical equation of Brown et al. revealed that the AGB for low and high land-use intensity sites were significantly different from each other with the medium land-use intensity site being intermediate. We concluded that DBH and AGB estimations were influenced by the land-use intensity in the Miombo woodlands as suggested by other studies in the tropical forest and woodlands.

Exploring relationships between land use intensity, habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity to identify and monitor areas of High Nature Value farming

Understanding how species richness is distributed across landscapes and which variables may be used as predictors is important for spatially targeting management interventions. This study uses finely resolved data over a large geographical area to explore relationships between land-use intensity, habitat heterogeneity and species richness of multiple taxa. It aims to identify surrogate landscape metrics, valid for a range of taxa, which can be used to map and monitor High Nature Value farmland (HNV).Results show that variation in species richness is distributed along two axes: land-use intensity and habitat heterogeneity. At low intensity land-use, species rich groups include wetland plants, plant habitat indicators, upland birds and rare invertebrates, whilst richness of other species groups (farmland birds, butterflies, bees) was associated with higher land-use intensity. Habitat heterogeneity (broadleaved woodland connectivity, hedgerows, habitat diversity) was positively related to species richness of many taxa, both generalists (plants, butterflies, bees) and specialists (rare birds, woodland birds, plants, butterflies).The results were used to create maps of HNV farmland. The proportion of semi-natural vegetation is a useful metric for identifying HNV type 1. HNV type 2 (defined as a mosaic of low-intensity habitats and structural elements) is more difficult to predict from surrogate variables, due to complex relationships between biodiversity and habitat heterogeneity and inadequacies of current remotely sensed data.This approach, using fine-scaled field survey data collected at regular intervals, in conjunction with remotely sensed data offers potential for extrapolating modelled results nationally, and importantly, can be used to assess change over time.

Local topographic and edaphic factors largely predict shrub encroachment in Mediterranean drylands

Shrub encroachment influences several ecosystem services in drylands worldwide. Yet, commonly used strategies to reduce encroachment show a low medium-term success, calling for a better understanding of its causes. Previous works identified multiple drivers responsible for this phenomenon, including anthropogenic and environmental causes. However, the relative effect of climate, topography and edaphic factors on shrub encroachment is not fully understood nor has been properly quantified in Mediterranean Basin drylands. Also, understanding how these drivers lead to changes in plant communities' functional traits associated to shrub encroachment is crucial, considering traits influence ecosystem processes and associated ecosystem services. Here, we studied the understory of a Mediterranean dryland ecosystem composed of savanna-like Holm-oak woodlands, along a regional climatic gradient. We specifically assessed (i) how climatic, topographic and edaphic factors influence understory relative shrub cover (RSC) and (ii) their direct and indirect effects (via RSC) on plant functional traits. We studied the mean and diversity of 12 functional traits related to plant regeneration, establishment, and dispersal, at the community-level. We found that, under similar low-intensity land use, topographic and edaphic factors, namely slope variations and soil C:N ratio, were the most important predictors of shrub encroachment, determining communities' functional characteristics. Climate, namely summer precipitation, had a much lesser influence. Our model explained 52% of the variation in relative shrub cover. Climate had a stronger effect on a set of functional traits weakly involved in shrub encroachment, related to flowering and dispersal strategies. We show that shrub encroachment is largely predicted by topo-edaphic factors in Mediterranean drylands subject to conventional low-intensity land use. Hence, management strategies to reduce encroachment need to take these drivers into account for efficient forecasting and higher cost-effectiveness. Our results suggest that climate change might not greatly impact shrub encroachment in the Mediterranean Basin, but may affect functional structure and reduce functional diversity of plant communities, thus affecting ecosystem functioning.

Do mowing regimes affect plant and soil biological activity in the mountain meadows of Southern Poland?

The soil biological activity of mountain meadows is a significant factor that determines the health and utility of these regions. The climax stage of this area is forest, but to maintain semi-natural grassland, which is characterised by high biodiversity, low-intensity land use (mowing or grazing) is necessarily required. To understand the effect of various mowing regimes on the soil biological activity and plants, the soil microbial activity (microbial biomass carbon, dehydrogenase activity and number of the cultivable fraction of soil microbial community), annelids community (density and species composition earthworms and enchytraeids) and plant species composition were investigated. The study area was located in the Pieniny National Park in the Carpathian Mountains, in a meadow belonging to the association Dactylis glomerata-Poa trivialis. The investigated variants were divided according to mowing regime: traditional scything - hand mowing (HM), mechanical mowing (MM), or the abandonment of mowing - non-mowing (NM). The microbial activities (expressed by, e.g. microbial biomass carbon and the number of phosphorus bacteria) were affected by the mowing regime. The density of earthworms was higher in the HM and MM than in the NM variants. The largest changes in plant species composition were caused by the abandonment of mowing (NM). The mean number of plant species was positively correlated with soil moisture, earthworm density, and microbial activity (expressed indirectly by dehydrogenases activity). The soil microbial community, such as vegetative bacteria forms and ammonifying bacteria, were positively associated with pH value, and the microbial and total organic carbon content. The results presented here indicate that there is no single form of optimal management for all living organisms. Decisions about mowing regimes, or abandonment of use, should be preceded by multi-aspect studies, including plants and soil biota.

Structural and functional characteristics of buffer strip vegetation in an agricultural landscape – high potential for nutrient removal but low potential for plant biodiversity

Vegetated buffer strips constitute a transition zone between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and provide several ecosystem services. Buffer strips are often applied as a mitigation measure against diffuse pollution in agricultural areas, primarily because they may retain nutrients and in this way help protect the aquatic environment. Additionally, they can improve biodiversity in an otherwise homogenous landscape and may therefore have a value in their own right. In the present study, we characterized the structural and functional features of the vegetation in Danish buffer strips using a nationwide dataset to explore: i) their floristic quality in terms of species diversity and conservation value and ii) based on their functional characteristics, their potential to retain nutrients. Moreover, we analyzed how the structural and functional characteristics varied along gradients in the environmental features of the catchment. We found that the floristic quality of the buffer vegetation was generally low, exhibiting an average of only 3.3% of the number of species of conservation interest. Instead, Danish buffer strips were dominated by widespread and productive species that are tolerant of anthropogenic impacts in the catchment. The abundance of highly productive plant species was positively related to high intensity land use, whereas the abundance of stress-tolerant plant species was positively related to low intensity land use. The high productivity of the buffer strips implies a large bio-storage potential, and these areas might therefore offer an opportunity to remove nutrients by harvesting the plant biomass. We discuss how Danish buffer strips could be exploited via appropriate management (e.g. harvesting) to maximize nutrient retention and at the same time improve floristic quality.

Land-use and abandonment alters methane and nitrous oxide fluxes in mountain grasslands

Grasslands cover more than one fifth of total land area in Europe and contribute significantly to the total greenhouse gas budget. The impact of management and land use on the carbon cycle and carbon sequestration in grasslands has been well-studied, however effects on emissions of N2O and CH4 remain uncertain. Additionally, the majority of studies have focussed on management differences between intensively managed grasslands, with few results available for lightly managed grasslands and in particular grassland abandonment. We present N2O and CH4 flux measurements for an abandonment trajectory at low land-use intensity, comparing meadow (fertilized and cut), pasture (grazed) and abandoned (unmanaged since 1983) grassland sites located in the Austrian Alps.Mean growing season N2O fluxes were 0.07, 0.07 and − 0.13 nmol m−2 s−1 and CH4 fluxes were − 1.0, − 0.5 and − 1.6 nmol m−2 s−1 for the meadow, pasture and abandoned sites respectively. Variability for both gases at the abandoned site was dominated by ‘hot moments', while ’hot spots' dominated at the managed meadow and pasture sites. Consideration of the diurnal cycle observed at the abandoned site, linear correlations within all data sets, and principal components analyses of the full data set revealed increased consumption of both N2O and CH4 with increasing temperature, but hardly any relationship between fluxes and soil moisture. Upscaled over a year, the observed fluxes correspond to enhanced non-CO2 greenhouse gas uptake of 172 g CO2-equiv. m−2 y−1 following abandonment. These results show that non-CO2 greenhouse gases form an important part of the total climate impact of land use change and grassland abandonment, such that abandoned grassland is a net sink for both CH4 and N2O.

Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands

Bryophytes constitute an important and permanent component of the grassland flora and diversity in Europe. As most bryophyte species are sensitive to habitat change, their diversity is likely to decline following land-use intensification. Most previous studies on bryophyte diversity focused on specific habitats of high bryophyte diversity, such as bogs, montane grasslands, or calcareous dry grasslands. In contrast, mesic grasslands are rarely studied, although they are the most common grassland habitat in Europe. They are secondary vegetation, maintained by agricultural use and thus, are influenced by different forms of land use. We studied bryophyte species richness in three regions in Germany, in 707 plots of 16 m2 representing different land-use types and environmental conditions. Our study is one of the few to inspect the relationships between bryophyte richness and land use across contrasting regions and using a high number of replicates.Among the managed grasslands, pastures harboured 2.5 times more bryophyte species than mead-ows and mown pastures. Similarly, bryophyte cover was about twice as high in fallows and pastures than in meadows and mown pastures. Among the pastures, bryophyte species richness was about three times higher in sheep grazed plots than in the ones grazed by cattle or horses. In general, bryophyte species richness and cover was more than 50% lower in fertilized than in unfertilized plots. Moreover, the amount of suitable substrates was linked to bryophyte diversity. Species richness of bryophytes growing on stones increased with stone cover, and the one of bryophytes growing on bark and deadwood increased with larger values of woody plant species and deadwood cover. Our findings highlight the importance of low-intensity land use and high structural heterogeneity for bryophyte conservation. They also caution against an intensification of traditionally managed pastures. In the light of our results, we recommend to maintain low-intensity sheep grazing on sites with low productivity, such as slopes on shallow soils.

Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands

Bryophytes constitute an important and permanent component of the grassland flora and diversity in Europe. As most bryophyte species are sensitive to habitat change, their diversity is likely to decline following land-use intensification. Most previous studies on bryophyte diversity focused on specific habitats of high bryophyte diversity, such as bogs, montane grasslands, or calcareous dry grasslands. In contrast, mesic grasslands are rarely studied, although they are the most common grassland habitat in Europe. They are secondary vegetation, maintained by agricultural use and thus, are influenced by different forms of land use. We studied bryophyte species richness in three regions in Germany, in 707 plots of 16 m2 representing different land-use types and environmental conditions. Our study is one of the few to inspect the relationships between bryophyte richness and land use across contrasting regions and using a high number of replicates.Among the managed grasslands, pastures harboured 2.5 times more bryophyte species than mead-ows and mown pastures. Similarly, bryophyte cover was about twice as high in fallows and pastures than in meadows and mown pastures. Among the pastures, bryophyte species richness was about three times higher in sheep grazed plots than in the ones grazed by cattle or horses. In general, bryophyte species richness and cover was more than 50% lower in fertilized than in unfertilized plots. Moreover, the amount of suitable substrates was linked to bryophyte diversity. Species richness of bryophytes growing on stones increased with stone cover, and the one of bryophytes growing on bark and deadwood increased with larger values of woody plant species and deadwood cover. Our findings highlight the importance of low-intensity land use and high structural heterogeneity for bryophyte conservation. They also caution against an intensification of traditionally managed pastures. In the light of our results, we recommend to maintain low-intensity sheep grazing on sites with low productivity, such as slopes on shallow soils.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal community differences among European long-term observatories.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal (AMF) communities have been demonstrated to respond to a variety of biotic and abiotic factors, including various aspects of land management. Numerous studies have specifically addressed the impact of land use on AMF communities, but usually have been confined to one or a few sites. In this study, soil AMF assemblages were described in four different long-term observatories (LTOs) across Europe, each of which included a site-specific high-intensity and a low-intensity land use. AMF communities were characterized on the basis of 454 sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) rDNA region. The primary goals of this study were (i) to determine the main factors that shape AMF communities in differentially managed sites in Europe and (ii) to identify individual AMF taxa or combinations of taxa suitable for use as biomarkers of land use intensification. AMF communities were distinct among LTOs, and we detected significant effects of management type and soil properties within the sites, but not across all sites. Similarly, indicator species were identified for specific LTOs and land use types but not universally for high- or low-intensity land uses. Different subsets of soil properties, including several chemical and physical variables, were found to be able to explain an important fraction of AMF community variation alone or together with other examined factors in most sites. The important factors were different from those for other microorganisms studied in the same sites, highlighting particularities of AMF biology.

Land-use intensity and host plant simultaneously shape the composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a Mediterranean drained peatland.

Land-use change is known to be a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystem services in Mediterranean areas. However, the potential for different host plants to modulate the effect of land-use intensification on community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) is still poorly understood. To test the hypothesis that low land-use intensity promotes AMF diversity at different taxonomic scales and to determine whether any response is dependent upon host plant species identity, we characterised AMF communities in the roots of 10 plant species across four land use types of differing intensity in a Mediterranean peatland system. AMF were identified using 454 pyrosequencing. This revealed an overall low level of AMF richness in the peaty soils; lowest AMF richness in the intense cropping system at both virtual taxa and family level; strong modulation by the host plant of the impact of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the virtual taxa level; and a significant effect of land-use intensification on AMF communities at the family level. These findings have implications for understanding ecosystem stability and productivity and should be considered when developing soil-improvement strategies in fragile ecosystems, such as Mediterranean peatlands.

The effect of local land use and loss of forests on bats and nocturnal insects

Land‐use intensification at local and landscape level poses a serious threat to biodiversity and affects species interactions and ecosystem function. It is thus important to understand how interrelated taxa respond to land‐use intensification and to consider the importance of different spatial scales. We investigated whether and how local land‐use intensity and landscape features affect the predator–prey interaction of bats and insects. Bats and nocturnal insects were assessed on 50 grassland sites in the Schorfheide‐Chorin. We analyzed the effect of local land use and distance to forested areas as a proxy for site accessibility on bats and insects and their biological interaction measured in bat's feeding activity. Insect abundance increased with higher land‐use intensity, while size and diversity of insects decreased. In contrast, bat activity, diversity, and species composition were determined by the distance to forested areas and only slightly by land‐use intensity. Feeding attempts of bats increased with higher insect abundance and diversity but decreased with insect size and distance to forested areas. Finally, our results revealed that near forested areas, the number of feeding attempts was much lower on grassland sites with high, compared to those with low land‐use intensity. In contrast, far from forests, the feeding attempts did not differ significantly between intensively and extensively managed grassland sites. We conclude that the two interrelated taxa, bats and insects, respond to land‐use intensification on very different scales. While insects respond to local land use, bats are rather influenced by surrounding landscape matrix. Hereby, proximity to forests reveals to be a prerequisite for higher bat species diversity and a higher rate of feeding attempts within the area. However, proximity to forest is not sufficient to compensate local high land‐use intensity. Thus, local land‐use intensification in combination with a loss of forest remnants weakens the interaction of bats and insects.

Lichen species richness is highest in non-intensively used grasslands promoting suitable microhabitats and low vascular plant competition

Lichens are very sensitive to habitat changes and their species richness is likely to decline under intensive land use. Currently, a comprehensive study analyzing lichen species richness in relation to land-use types, extending over different regions and including information on habitat variables, is missing for temperate grasslands. In three German regions we studied lichen species richness in 490 plots of 16 m2 representing different land-use types, livestock types, and habitat variables. Due to the absence of low-intensity pastures and substrates such as woody plants, deadwood and stones, there were no lichens in the 78 plots in Schorfheide-Chorin. In the two other regions, the richness of lichen species was 45 % higher in pastures than in meadows, and 77 % higher than in mown pastures, respectively. Among the pastures, the richness of all lichen species was on average 10 times higher in sheep-grazed pastures than in the ones grazed by cattle or horses. On average, the richness of all lichen species increased by 3.3 species per additional microhabitat. Furthermore, the richness of corticolous lichens increased by 1.2 species with 10 % higher cover of woody plants, lignicolous lichen species richness increased by 4.8 species with 1 % higher cover of deadwood, and saxicolous lichen species richness increased by 1.0 species with 1 % higher cover of stones. Our findings highlight the importance of low-intensity land use for lichen conservation. In particular, the degradation of grasslands rich in microhabitats and the destruction of lichen substrates by intensification, and conversion of unfertilized pastures formerly grazed at low intensity to meadows should be avoided to maintain lichen diversity.

Agricultural land-use intensity and its effects on small mammals in the central region of Argentina

Agriculture intensification is one of the main threats to biodiversity in agricultural systems. The effectiveness of conservation strategies in these systems depends mainly on the compromise between biodiversity conservation and agricultural land use. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of land-use intensity, characteristics of linear habitats (field borders) and their surrounding fields (landscape) on small mammal richness and abundance in agricultural systems of Argentina. In autumn 2009, we performed a removal sampling in 60 traplines located in the field borders of high or low land-use intensity regions. In traplines under high land-use intensity we found seven species while under low land-use intensity we found ten. Characteristic species of grasslands and woodlands such as Monodelphis dimidiata, Thylamys pallidior, Necromys lasiurus and Graomys griseoflavus were only captured in traplines under low land-use intensity. Higher numbers of Calomys musculinus species (habitat generalist) were observed under high land-use intensity while Akodon azarae and Oxymycterus rufus species, known as habitat specialists, were more frequently found in the low land-use intensity region. Border width and height, as well as land use of both sides of the border, were major variables for explaining small mammal abundances. Our results suggest that conservation of wide field borders with characteristics similar to those of natural habitats would be crucial for sustainable management of Pampean agricultural systems which hold high richness and abundance of small mammal species.

Global patterns of agricultural land‐use intensity and vertebrate diversity

AbstractAimLand‐use change is the single biggest cause of biodiversity loss. With a rising demand for resources, understanding how and where agriculture threatens biodiversity is of increasing importance. Agricultural expansion has received much attention, but where high agricultural land‐use intensity (LUI) threatens biodiversity remains unclear. We address this knowledge gap with two main research questions: (1) Where do global patterns of LUI coincide with the spatial distribution of biodiversity? (2) Where are regions of potential conflict between different aspects of high LUI and high biodiversity?LocationGlobal.MethodsWe overlaid thirteen LUI metrics with endemism richness, a range size‐weighted species richness indicator, for mammals, birds and amphibians. We then used local indicators of spatial association to delineate statistically significant (P < 0.05) areas of high and low LUI associated with biodiversity.ResultsPatterns of LUI are heterogeneously distributed in areas of high endemism richness, thus discouraging the use of a single metric to represent LUI. Many regions where high LUI and high endemism richness coincide, for example in South America, China and Eastern Africa, are not within currently recognized biodiversity hotspots. Regions of currently low LUI and high endemism richness, found in many parts of Mesoamerica, Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia, may be at risk as intensification accelerates.Main conclusionsWe provide a global view of the geographic patterns of LUI and its concordance with endemism richness, shedding light on regions where highly intensive agriculture and unique biodiversity coincide. Past assessments of land‐use impacts on biodiversity have either disregarded LUI or included a single metric to measure it. This study demonstrates that such omission can substantially underestimate biodiversity threat. A wider spectrum of relevant LUI metrics needs to be considered when balancing agricultural production and biodiversity.

A Comprehensive Evaluation of Industrial Land Intensive Use in Hubei Province Based on Typical Industrial Enterprises

Here, we used Bayes methods to evaluate land use intensity in 365 typical industrial enterprises across nine manufacturing industries in Hubei, China and calculated the potentiality of enterprises with moderate and low intensive land use. We did this by constructing an evaluation index system of intensive land use for industrial enterprises comprised of four sub-objective layers including land use structure, land use intensity, land input and land output, and nine element layers. We found that among 365 enterprises, 82 enterprises use land intensively, accounting for 22.47% of our sample; 215 enterprises use land moderately or have low use, accounting for 58.90% of our samples. Enterprises with intensive use tended to be metal smelting and rolling processing industries and communication equipment, computer and other electronic equipment manufacturing industries. Enterprises with moderate and low use tended to be from the special equipment manufacturing industry, pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and chemical raw materials and chemical industry. The potential area for enterprises with moderate and low land use is approximately 865.70 ha and accounts for 42.38% of total current land approved, indicating that their potentiality for intensive use is large.

Both local and landscape factors determine plant and Orthoptera diversity in the semi-natural grasslands of Transylvania, Romania

Semi-natural grassland supports a large proportion of biodiversity and ecosystem services in Europe, however, it is continuing to be destroyed or degraded. In addition to the clear role of local management in these processes, there is increasing evidence for wider landscape-scale effects on species richness and community composition of plants and animals. Most of this evidence comes from studies in highly altered western European landscapes with only fragments of remaining semi-natural grassland. In contrast, Eastern European countries such as Romania still contain large areas of semi-natural grassland, but this habitat is threatened by agricultural intensification and homogenization. We analyzed vascular plant and Orthoptera communities from species-rich pastures in Southern Transylvania, Romania, against a range of local and landscape factors. Species richness of plants had a highly significant positive relationship with landscape heterogeneity. Orthoptera species richness and abundance were negatively correlated with plant species richness, and increased with proportion of grassland in the landscape and local vegetation height. The results suggest that large and species-rich grassland communities can be significantly affected by both local and landscape scale land use changes, but effects can vary within and between taxonomic groups. Conservation measures such as agri-environment schemes should therefore seek to address landscape scale processes better, promoting a range of low-intensity land use practices in order to support a variety of landscape types.

Bird communities in traditional wood-pastures with changing management in Eastern Europe

Wood-pastures are fragile ecosystems because they were formed by, and depend on specific, low-intensity multifunctional management. Although their ecological and cultural significance is high, wood-pastures are rapidly deteriorating all over Europe, mainly due to changing land use. We still lack a basic understanding of the ecological value of wood-pastures, and in which features they differ from other landscape elements. In this paper we investigated the ecological value of wood-pastures for passerine birds by (i) comparing bird assemblages of wood-pastures with those of closed forests and open pastures and (ii) exploring the relationships between variables describing wood-pastures and species traits of the bird assemblages. Our study region (Southern Transylvania, Romania) provides a unique opportunity to understand the importance of a traditional cultural and ecological environment for many different organisms. Wood-pastures had a higher overall number of bird species, and a higher spatial turnover in bird community composition than closed forests and open pastures. We found significant associations between bird species traits and habitat structural elements in wood-pastures such as large trees, oak- and pear trees and shrubs. Our findings suggest that traditional wood-pastures in Southern Transylvania have distinct and rich passerine bird communities. This richness is inextricably linked to the multifunctional, low-intensity land use traditionally applied in the wood-pastures that promotes high niche diversity. For effective conservation of the biodiversity of wood-pastures, a detailed understanding is needed of how different management regimes may influence the key structural elements of wood-pastures relevant for biodiversity and these should be protected.

How High Nature Value (HNV) farmland is related to bird diversity in agro-ecosystems – Towards a versatile tool for biodiversity monitoring and conservation planning

Within the European Union, national approaches of a ‘High Nature Value (HNV) farmland’ indicator have been developed to inform about the potential of agricultural landscapes to maintain biodiversity. We assessed how bird species abundance, richness and community composition, particularly of specialist species, were associated with the German HNV farmland indicator as an area-based aggregate and with its particular components which were semi-natural landscape elements and agricultural patches with characteristic plant species mapped in representative sample plots.The aggregated HNV indicator score showed a weak but positive relationship with generalist bird species only, while specialist species were associated with individual HNV farmland features characterizing wet grasslands and open farmland. Bird community analysis revealed three groups of HNV farmland features representative of particular landscape types: (1) complex landscapes with vertical woody structures such as hedgerows or small woodlands, (2) wet grasslands and (3) open agricultural land of low land-use intensity. Large portions of unexplained variance, however, indicated that the small-scaled HNV farmland features recorded without considering the landscape context may not have fully captured all important drivers of bird diversity in agricultural landscapes.To achieve a better representation of habitat requirements particularly of specialist bird species we propose surveying HNV farmland in a landscape context and calculating landscape-specific scores for highly structured, wetland-dominated and open landscapes of low land-use intensity. As compared to the aggregated indicator, the small-scale HNV farmland survey data would more efficiently enfold its potential for tailoring conservation schemes specifically to a given landscape type and its associated bird species.