Experimental evidence for the immediate impact of fertilization and irrigation upon the plant and invertebrate communities of mountain grasslands

Abstract

The response of montane and subalpine hay meadow plant and arthropod communities to the application of liquid manure and aerial irrigation – two novel, rapidly spreading management practices – remains poorly understood, which hampers the formulation of best practice management recommendations for both hay production and biodiversity preservation. In these nutrient-poor mountain grasslands, a moderate management regime could enhance overall conditions for biodiversity. This study experimentally assessed, at the site scale, among low-input montane and subalpine meadows, the short-term effects (1 year) of a moderate intensification (slurry fertilization: 26.7–53.3 kg N·ha−1·year−1; irrigation with sprinklers: 20 mm·week−1; singly or combined together) on plant species richness, vegetation structure, hay production, and arthropod abundance and biomass in the inner European Alps (Valais, SW Switzerland). Results show that (1) montane and subalpine hay meadow ecological communities respond very rapidly to an intensification of management practices; (2) on a short-term basis, a moderate intensification of very low-input hay meadows has positive effects on plant species richness, vegetation structure, hay production, and arthropod abundance and biomass; (3) vegetation structure is likely to be the key factor limiting arthropod abundance and biomass. Our ongoing experiments will in the longer term identify which level of management intensity achieves an optimal balance between biodiversity and hay production.

Urban meadows as an alternative to short mown grassland: effects of composition and height on biodiversity

“…, Andrey et al. ) and with previous studies of a range of invertebrate groups in which both abundance (Garbuzov et al. ) and species diversity (Unterweger et al.…”

Effects of nitrogen addition and mowing on rodent damage in an Inner Mongolian steppe

“…In this aspect, although N addition did not significantly increase ANPP in the present study, ANPP showed an increasing trend (Figure e). Second, a taller plant community and a higher provided increased opportunity for the rodents to hide and escape from predators, mainly night owls and hawks (Andrey, Humbert, Pernollet, & Arlettaz, ; Woodcock & Pywell, ). Third, as we did not record data on feeding behavior by C. dauricus , we cannot exclude effects of N addition on food quality and intake selectivity by the rodents, as has been reported in a previous study (Yi et al., ).…”

“…Actually, plant community height in the mown plots was marginally lower than that in the nonmown plots (Figure d), which we attributed to changes in growth strategy, considering the unchanged microclimate in our study. A shorter plant community height increases the risk of exposure to predators (Andrey et al., ; Ritchie, ; Woodcock & Pywell, ); therefore, rodents may choose taller plant communities to dig their burrows. The results indicate that mowing may be an effective method for controlling rodent damage in grasslands.…”

Habitat heterogeneity favors asexual reproduction in natural populations of grassthrips

“…Precise details on site selection and experimental setups are presented elsewhere (Andrey et al. ). Briefly, six circular plots (20 m diameter) were delineated at each of 11 study sites (66 different plots; see Fig.…”