Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of vegetation structure and floristic diversity on detritivore, herbivore and predatory invertebrates within calcareous grasslands

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Biodiversity and Conservation Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Calcareous grasslands in Europe have shown wide scale declines in their extent and quality as a result of modern agricultural practices, increased atmospheric eutrophication and lack of management. In addition to being a key habitat for specialist plants, calcareous grasslands are also important for many threatened invertebrates. In this UK based study, we investigated the impact of military vehicle activity, floral species richness and vegetation structure on assemblages of detritivore, herbivore and predatory invertebrates. We also consider the impact that disturbance by military vehicle activity on the proportion of invertebrate species capable of flight, a surrogate for dispersal ability. Sward height was negatively correlated with detritivore, herbivore and predator species richness. Herbivores species richness was positively correlated with both forb and grass species richness. Spatial variation in the number of plant species was negatively correlated with herbivore species richness. Those sites most heavily disturbed by military vehicle activity supported the lowest proportions of flightless invertebrates. Successful management for calcareous grassland invertebrates should aim to maintain short swards with high floristic diversity, in terms of both the forbs and grasses. It should be noted, however, that these findings refer to principally surface rather than sward active invertebrates. While disturbance associated with military vehicle activity was not found to affect invertebrate species richness, it has negative consequences for the structure of invertebrate assemblages by selecting against invertebrates with low dispersal ability. To support invertebrate diversity in calcareous grasslands we emphasise the need for variety in the timing and type of management applied to promote heterogeneity in sward structure.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anonymous (1998) A habitat action plan in the UK Biodiversity Group Tranche 2 action plans. Volume II—terrestrial and freshwater habitats. English Nature, Peterborough

  • Baars MA (1979) Catches in pitfall traps in relation to mean densities of carabid beetles. Oecologia 41:25–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bohac J (1999) Staphylinid beetles as bioindicators. Agric Ecosyst Environ 74:357–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BRC (2009) Phytophagous insect data bank. http://www.brc.ac.uk/DBIF/PDIBhistory.aspx. Accessed 23 Jan 2009

  • Brook AJ, Woodcock BA, Sinka M et al (2008) Experimental verification of suction sampler capture efficiency in grasslands of differing vegetation height and structure. J Appl Ecol 45:1357–1363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practice information-theoretic approach. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • BUTT (1986) The management of chalk grasslands for butterflies (focus on nature conservation no. 17). Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough

    Google Scholar 

  • Carvell C (2002) Habitat use and conservation of bumblebees (Bombus spp.) under different grassland management regimes. Biol Conserv 103:33–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colwell RK (2005) EstimateS: Statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples. Version 8.0. user’s guide and application published at: http://purl.oclc.org/estimates

  • Dauber J, Purtauf T, Allspach A et al (2005) Local vs. landscape controls on diversity: a test using surface-dwelling soil macroinvertebrates of differing mobility. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 14:213–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies KE, Margules CR, Lawrence JE (2000) Which traits of species predict population declines in experimental forest fragments? Ecology 81:1450–1461

    Google Scholar 

  • De Vries HH, Den Boer PJ, Van Dijk TS (1996) Ground beetle species in heathland fragments in relation to survival, dispersal, and habitat preference. Oecologia 107:332–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll DA (2005) Is the matrix a sea? Habitat specificity in a naturally fragmented landscape. Ecol Entomol 30:8–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll DA, Weir T (2005) Beetle responses to habitat fragmentation depend on ecological traits, habitat conditions and remnant size. Conserv Biol 19:182–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EC (1992) The conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora. Council directive 92/43/EEC. The Council of European Communities, Brussels

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson CWD, Hambler C, Brown VK (1992) Changes in spider (Araneae) assemblages in relation to succession and grazing management. J Appl Ecol 29:132–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grimbacher PS, Catterall CP (2007) How much do site age, habitat structure and spatial isolation influence the restoration of rainforest beetle species assemblages? Biol Conserv 135:107–118

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hanski I, Niemelä J (1990) Elevation distributions of dung and carrion beetles in Northern Sulawesi. In: Knight WS, Holloway JD (eds) Insects and the rain forests of South East Asia (Wallacea). The Royal Entomological Society of London, London, pp 145–153

    Google Scholar 

  • Hector A, Schmid B, Beikerkuhnlein C et al (1999) Plant productivity and diversity in European grasslands. Science 286:1123–1127

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hillier SH, Walton DWH, Wells DA (1990) Calcareous grasslands. Ecology and management. Bluntisham Books, Bluntisham

    Google Scholar 

  • Holt RD (1996) Food webs in space: an island biogeographic perspective. In: Polis GA, Winemiller KO (eds) Food webs- integration of patterns and dynamics. Chaptman & Hall, New York, pp 313–323

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter MD, Price PW (1992) Playing chutes and ladders: heterogeneity and the relative roles of bottom-up and top-down forces in natural communities. Ecology 73:724–732

    Google Scholar 

  • Iiiffe L, Pywell RF, Roy DB et al (2000) Nature conservation condition assessment of Salisbury Plain training area. NERC contract CO1529, Final report to DEO contract no. DUR/WS/CON 177

  • Lassau SA, Hochuli DF, Cassis G et al (2005) Effects of habitat complexity on forest beetle diversity: do functional groups respond consistently? Divers Distrib 11:73–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton JH (1994) Population dynamic principles. Philos Trans R Soc B 344:61–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLean IFG (1990) The fauna of calcareous grasslands. In: Hillier SH, Walton DWH, Wells DA (eds) Calcareous grasslands—ecology and management. Bluntisham Books, Huntingdon, pp 41–46

    Google Scholar 

  • Morris MG (1968) Differences between the invertebrate faunas of grazed and ungrazed chalk grasslands. II. The faunas of sampled turfs. J Appl Ecol 5:601–611

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris MG (2000) The effects of structure and its dynamics on the ecology and conservation of arthropods in British grasslands. Biol Conserv 95:129–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mossakowski D, Främbs H, Baro A (1990) Carabid beetles as indicators of habitat destruction caused by militairy tanks. In: Stork NE (ed) The role of ground beetles in environmental and ecological studies. Intercept Ltd., Hampshire, pp 237–242

    Google Scholar 

  • Niemelä J, Halme E, Haila Y (1990) Balancing sampling effort in pitfall trapping of carabid beetles. Entomol Fenn 1:233–238

    Google Scholar 

  • Perner J, Wytrykush C, Kahmen A et al (2005) Effects of plant diversity, plant productivity and habitat parameters on arthropod abundance in montane European grasslands. Ecography 28:429–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pimm SL, Lawton JH (1977) Number of trophic levels in ecological communities. Nature 268:329–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P, Wallis De Vries MF (2002) The historical and socioeconomic perspective of calcareous grasslands—lessons from the distant and recent past. Biol Conserv 104:361–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pöyry J, Lindgren S, Salminen J et al (2004) Restoration of butterfly and moth communities in semi-natural grasslands by cattle grazing. Ecol Appl 14:1656–1670

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pöyry J, Luoto M, Paukkunen J et al (2006) Different responses of plants and herbivore insects to a gradient of vegetation height: an indicator of the vertebrate grazing intensity and successional age. Oikos 115:401–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts MJ (1985–1993) The spiders of Great Britain and Ireland, vol 1–3. Harley Books, Colchester

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodwell JS (1992) British plant communities. Grassland and montane communities, vol 3. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers LE, Hinds WT, Buschbom RL (1976) A general weight vs. length relationship for insects. Ann Entomol Soc Am 69:387–389

    Google Scholar 

  • Saint-Germain M, Buddle CM, Larrivee M et al (2007) Should biomass be considered more frequently as a currency in terrestrial arthropod community analyses? J Appl Ecol 44:330–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scheu S, Setala H (2001) Multitrophic interactions in decomposer foodwebs. In: Tscharntke T, Hawkins BA (eds) Multitrophic interactions in terrestrial systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E (1998) Experimental tests of effects of plant productivity and diversity on grassland arthropod diversity. Ecology 79:2057–2070

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siemann E, Tilman J, Haarsad J et al (1998) Experimental tests of the dependence of arthropod diversity on plant diversity. Ecology 152:738–750

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith EP, van Belle G (1984) Nonparametric estimation of species richness. Biometrics 40:119–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith J, Eggleton P, Woodcock BA et al (2008) Can arable field margins be managed to enhance their biodiversity, conservation and functional value for soil macrofauna? J Appl Ecol 45:269–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snyder BA, Hendrix PF (2008) Current and potential roles of soil macroinvertebrates (Earthworms, Millipedes, and Isopods) in ecological restoration. Restor Ecol 16:629–636

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE, Henderson PA (2000) Ecological methods, 3rd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Southwood TRE, Leston D (1959) Land and water bugs of the British Isles. Frederick Warne, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Tews J, Brose U, Grimm V et al (2004) Animal species diversity driven by habitat heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures. J Biogeogr 31:79–92

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiele H-U (1977) Carabid beetles in their environment. A study on habitat selection by adaptation in physiology and behaviour. Springer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D (1986) A consumer-resource approach to community structure. Am Zool 26:5–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Toynton P, Ash D (2002) Salisbury plain training area—the British steppes? Brit Wildl 13:335–343

    Google Scholar 

  • Wallis De Vries MF, Poschlod P, Willems JH (2002) Challenges for the conservation of calcareous grasslands in northwestern Europe: integrating the requirements of flora and fauna. Biol Conserv 104:265–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whittaker RH (1975) Communities and ecosystems, 2nd edn. Macmillan, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Willems JH (2001) Problems, approaches, and results in restoration of Dutch calcareous grassland during the last 30 years. Restor Ecol 9:147–154

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wise DH, Snyder WE, Tuntibunpakul P et al (1999) Spiders in decomposition food webs of agroecosystems: theory and evidence. J Arachnol 27:363–370

    Google Scholar 

  • Woodcock BA, Pywell R, Roy DB et al (2005) Grazing management of calcareous grasslands and its implications for the conservation of beetle communities. Biol Conserv 125:192–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodcock BA, Potts SG, Tscheulin T et al (2009) Responses of invertebrate trophic level, feeding guild and body size to the management of improved grassland field margins. J Appl Ecol 46:920–929

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Bill Meek and Liz Warman for recording the vegetation communities and Mark Telfer and Phil Lambdon for identifying the pitfall traps. We are grateful to the Commandant of Salisbury Plain Training Area for allowing access to the site. Finally, we wish to thank Paul Toynton and Dominic Ash of Defence Estates for help in locating the study sites and for providing information on site management.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NERC Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Maclean Building, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8BB, UK

    Ben A. Woodcock & Richard F. Pywell

Authors
  1. Ben A. Woodcock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard F. Pywell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ben A. Woodcock.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Woodcock, B.A., Pywell, R.F. Effects of vegetation structure and floristic diversity on detritivore, herbivore and predatory invertebrates within calcareous grasslands. Biodivers Conserv 19, 81–95 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9703-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-009-9703-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation