Different extinction debts among plants and arthropods after loss of grassland amount and connectivity

Deák, Balázs; Bede, Ádám; Rádai, Zoltán; Tóthmérész, Béla; Török, Péter; Nagy, D; Torma, Attila; Lőrinczi, Gábor; Nagy, Antal; Mizser, Szabolcs; Kelemen, András; Valkó, Orsolya

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109372

Cited by 25 publications

(24 citation statements)

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“…The two groups of verges are very different according to their age. It can be confirmed through similar publications that besides age, landscape management has an important role [22,25,76], and that the features of the component species of the vegetation are important for species composition, especially in the case of specialist species sensitive to the loss of metapopulation connections [26,42,[77][78][79].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…However, most of the studies were made in the Great Hungarian Plain, where the role of the Cumanian mounds was also significant from among the remnants. These patches of loess remnants are considered as hot spots for vegetation [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. In addition, verges alongside agricultural areas and roads, where the vegetation has been reduced, are also very important as relics of the former vegetation [5,26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, secondary verges have been left by ploughing (e.g., flood protection embankments). Weeds and generalist species are dominant in these verges [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Verges as Fragments of Loess Grasslands in the Carpathian Basin and Their Festuca Species

et al. 2022

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Loess vegetations of the Carpathian Basin have been ploughed for a thousand years. Therefore, loess steppes of verges of the Transdanubia have nearly disappeared. Therefore, in Hungary, it is also important to find out the composition of loess vegetation. The aims of our study were to date the age of the sample verges and explore types of verges. Is there a correlation between the types, location, expanse and vegetation types of the verges? Which of the coenologically important species of the genus Festuca occur in the verges and patches of loess grassland? The studies were carried out in three areas. We examined the age of the verges and their natural condition. Floristic and coenological surveys were applied to analyse the diversity of the verges. Inflorescence morphological analysis of the dominant Festuca species in the vegetation was carried out by analysing 25 parameters. Our results showed that not only the age of verges was valuable and natural. Most of the loess species did not appear in old verges. Consequently, we should not rely only on the age of the verges to make hypotheses about its natural condition and vegetation. Based on the coenological data, there were two types of verges, which were the interspaced verge and the border verge. Based on the diversity assessment from the survey, data of the interspaced verge showed the highest diversity value, the diversity value was higher than 4. Among the studied taxa, Festuca pseudovina was separated clearly as a homogeneous group. The morphotaxonomic parameters were not enough for species identification of F. valesiaca and F. callieri, but they were not enough for F. rupicola neither, so the examination of the sclerenchyma is required. Overall, in contrast to the previous hypothesis, the age of the grassland fragments is not the most important factor, but rather their location, size, the number of species and the diversity are adapted to them.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Verges as Fragments of Loess Grasslands in the Carpathian Basin and Their Festuca Species

et al. 2022

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“…All studies agree that the potential of kurgans for preserving grasslands is connected with their steep slopes, which impede ploughing (Deák et al, 2020; Dembicz et al, 2020). High environmental heterogeneity caused by the steep slopes of kurgans facing different cardinal directions also supports the co-existence of various microhabitats from mild to harsh even within a small area (Deák et al, 2021a; Lisetskii et al, 2016). By harboring grassland specialist species with different habitat requirements, kurgans are often characterized by a higher plant diversity compared to plain grassland areas of the same size (Deák et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Based on the findings of previous researches, in these landscapes, the conservation importance of kurgans is rather linked to their high biodiversity and unique flora. Recent studies from Europe (Deák et al, 2021a; Lisetskii et al, 2016,) and Central Asia (Deák et al, 2017) revealed that due to their specific environmental conditions, kurgans often harbour a high number of grassland species that are underrepresented in the neighbouring plain landscapes. Typical examples are the occurrence of forest-steppe plants on the mild north-facing slopes of kurgans situated in the steppe biome (Deák et al, 2017) and steppe plants situated on the top and on south-facing slopes of the kurgans within the forest-steppe biome (Deák et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heritage of ancient cultures supports conservation: a continent-wide perspective from the Eurasian steppes

Deák

Bede

Rádai

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Civilisations including ancient ones, have shaped the global ecosystems in many ways through a co-evolution of landscapes and humans. However, the cultural legacies of ancient and lost civilisations are seldom considered in conservation. Here using a continental-scale dataset containing over 1,000 data records on the localities, land cover, protection status and cultural values related to ancient steppic burial mounds (so-called kurgans), we evaluated how these iconic and widespread landmarks can contribute to grassland conservation in the Eurasian steppes, which is one of the most endangered biomes on Earth. By using Bayesian logistic generalized regressions and proportional odds logistic regressions, we aimed to reveal the potential of mounds in preserving grasslands considering landscapes with different levels of land use transformation. We also compared the conservation potential of mounds situated inside and outside protected areas and assessed whether the presence of cultural, historical or spiritual values support the maintenance of grasslands on them. We revealed that kurgans have enormous importance in preserving grasslands in transformed landscapes outside protected areas, where they can act as habitat islands, and provide an additional pillar for conservation by contributing to habitat conservation and improvement of habitat connectivity. We found that besides their steep slopes hindering ploughing, the existence of cultural, historical or religious values could almost double the chance for grassland occurrence on kurgans due to the related extensive land use and the respect of local communities. As the estimated number of steppic mounds is about 600,000 and also similar historical features exist in all continents, our results can be upscaled to a global level. Our results also suggest that an integrative socio-ecological approach in conservation might support the positive synergistic effects of conservational, landscape and cultural values.

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How can an intensively used agricultural landscape preserve diversity of Orthoptera assemblages?

Jakab

Nagy

2022

J Insect Conserv

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Protecting biodiversity of agricultural lowlands is one of the main topics of European nature conservation. Understanding the relationship and interaction between cultivated and other habitat types is necessary since arable lands cover a significant part of the landscape, but former studies rather focus on the remaining semi-natural sites. Orthoptera assemblages, which are sensitive indicators of habitat structure and conservation value, were studied in a traditional intensively used agricultural area (it has been cultivated for several decades or even 250 years) to assess how arable land and ruderal linear habitats together can preserve insect diversity. Twenty-nine Orthoptera species, including protected Gampsocleis glabra, Acrida ungarica and Celes variabilis were recorded. We identified four assemblages and their character species reflecting intensity of land use. Assemblages of agricultural sites differed from the assemblages of semi-natural habitats used as control group. Revealing their quantitative composition, ratios of lifeforms and ecotypes, character species, and use of Grasshopper Conservation Indexes (GCI) helped to identify habitat types that can effectively preserve natural insect diversity, even under long-term intensive land use regime. Implications for conservation Considering our findings, the role of linear ruderal habitats and less intensively cultivated arable lands covered by alfalfa and red clover in maintaining of biodiversity is higher than it was formerly assumed. Increasing ratio of these less intensive cultures (at least to 5%, optimally 8–10%) and its connection with each other and linear ruderal habitats may provide temporary habitats and corridors for metapopulations living in mosaic landscape. The local greening programs can help Orthoptera conservation as well through supporting the production of these cultures. Complex landscape- and crop rotation planning, that regard the spatial and temporal distribution, and ratio of agriculture landscape elements may become an effective tool for biodiversity conservation and forming sustainable farming systems.

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Different extinction debts among plants and arthropods after loss of grassland amount and connectivity

Cited by 25 publications

References 50 publications

Verges as Fragments of Loess Grasslands in the Carpathian Basin and Their Festuca Species

Verges as Fragments of Loess Grasslands in the Carpathian Basin and Their Festuca Species

Heritage of ancient cultures supports conservation: a continent-wide perspective from the Eurasian steppes

How can an intensively used agricultural landscape preserve diversity of Orthoptera assemblages?

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