Plant Diversity In Meadows Research Articles

Soil physicochemical properties and floristic composition of two ecosystems differing in plant diversity: fallows and meadows

European farmland has been abandoned at an unprecedented rate over the last few decades, resulting in an increase of the area of fallows and a decrease in plant diversity in meadows. This work was aimed at determining whether differences in the persistence and plant diversity of the two ecosystem types, similar in plant biomass and geographical location, resulted in changes in soil physicochemical properties. Soil physicochemical properties and floristic composition were studied in six fallows at the initial stage of secondary succession and six fresh meadows with high plant diversity. Fallow soils had several-fold higher content of available phosphorus, potassium and nitrates. Meadow soils had a slightly higher C:N ratio and water-holding capacity (WHC), what suggest more humus in meadow soil. The main differences in soil properties between meadows and fallows were after-effects of agricultural management, most probably previous fertilization. The difference in the C:N ratio and WHC can be attributed to ecosystem ages. Abandoned farmlands had relatively good nutrient supply but low species diversity. Meadows, though depleted in available nutrients, showed high floristic richness. The legumes, which were more abundant in meadows, might have supplemented this ecosystem with the limiting N.

Reducing costs in biodiversity monitoring: Shortcuts for plant diversity in meadows as a case study

Monitoring changes in biodiversity requires credible measures of species richness and diversity. Since biodiversity monitoring programmes are challenging and expensive, conservation scientists are increasingly applying proxies; unfortunately, the evidence supporting these methods is still scarce. Here, we explore the cost-effectiveness of shortcuts for the estimation of plant species richness and diversity in meadows. We used regression methods and multimodel inference techniques to calibrate a number of models linking the relative abundance of 5, 4 or 3 plant species (indicators) with the richness and diversity of whole assemblages. The species selected as indicators are common in the study area, with a large regional distribution and frequency of occurrence. Then, with a new dataset, we validated the use of shortcuts with high goodness-of-fit (R2>70%). Mean relative bias varied between +12.5% and −6.1%, which we considered acceptable. Finally, by using computer intensive Monte Carlo simulation techniques to quantify the effect of changes on both (i) number of researchers and technicians in field teams and (ii) number of species to be assessed, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness (time and money) of biodiversity monitoring by comparing full inventories vs. shortcuts. We found that cost-savings can reach 90% (with a shortcut of 5 species) or even higher (93%, with 4 species), which imply that sampling effort could be multiplied ca. 12 times (5 species) or even more (ca. 15 times, 4 species), without increasing costs. It was concluded that calibration and validation of shortcuts can help improve the cost-effectiveness of biodiversity monitoring in managed meadows.