Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany
The distribution, density and cover of small-scale natural disturbances was surveyed in semi-natural and set-aside vegetation in a hilly landscape in Central Germany in the spring of 1995. More of the landscape was disturbed on set-aside agricultural land in valley s (1.02 %) and on warm south-facin...
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ftufz:oai:ufz.de:9492 2023-12-10T09:50:41+01:00 Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany Milton, S.J. Dean, W.R.J. Klotz, Stefan 1997 application/pdf https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=9492 https://doi.org/10.2307/3237241 en eng Wiley Journal of Vegetation Science 8 (1);; 45 - 54 https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=9492 https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3237241 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess ISSN: 1100-9233 Landscape heterogeneity Microtus arrvalis Patchiness Plant life-history Sus scrofa info:eu-repo/semantics/article https://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text 1997 ftufz https://doi.org/10.2307/3237241 2023-11-12T23:30:46Z The distribution, density and cover of small-scale natural disturbances was surveyed in semi-natural and set-aside vegetation in a hilly landscape in Central Germany in the spring of 1995. More of the landscape was disturbed on set-aside agricultural land in valley s (1.02 %) and on warm south-facing slopes(1.33 %) than on rocky hilltops (0.3 %) and cool north-facing slopes (0.56 %). The major agents of disturbance on set-aside fields were moles, rodents (and their predators) and wild boars. In surrounding semi-natural grasslands, rabbit warrens were common on south-facing slopes and mound-building ants on north-facing slopes. Disturbances were significantly clustered and frequently superimposed. In order to investigate the effects of disturbance quality on plant assemblages in set-aside fields, two common types of disturbances were compared. These were grazing lawns (0.4–1.0 m2) maintained throughout the summer by common voles (Microtus arvalis), and excavations, 0.7–1.6 m2 in area, where wild boars (Sus scrofa) grubbing for food had removed vegetation and top soil in early spring. Both types of disturbances increased plant species richness on the local scale. Wind-dispersed annual and pauciennial forbs of ruderal habitats (e.g. Carduus acanthoides, Cirsium vulgare, Matricaria maritima, Senecio vernalis) were most abundant on the superficial disturbances made by voles, whereas small, ephemeral field weeds (e.g. Polygonum aviculare, Anagallis arvensis, Chenopodium album, Fallopia convolvulus) predominated on patches grubbed by boars. This study confirms that small-scale disturbances by animals provide a variety of regeneration niches for field weeds and ruderals. The rate of decline in plant species richness on set-aside land is likely to be reduced where land is utilized by a variety of herbivorous and soil-moving mammals. Article in Journal/Newspaper Microtus arvalis UFZ - Publication Index (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research) Journal of Vegetation Science 8 1 45 54 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
UFZ - Publication Index (Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research) |
op_collection_id |
ftufz |
language |
English |
topic |
Landscape heterogeneity Microtus arrvalis Patchiness Plant life-history Sus scrofa |
spellingShingle |
Landscape heterogeneity Microtus arrvalis Patchiness Plant life-history Sus scrofa Milton, S.J. Dean, W.R.J. Klotz, Stefan Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
topic_facet |
Landscape heterogeneity Microtus arrvalis Patchiness Plant life-history Sus scrofa |
description |
The distribution, density and cover of small-scale natural disturbances was surveyed in semi-natural and set-aside vegetation in a hilly landscape in Central Germany in the spring of 1995. More of the landscape was disturbed on set-aside agricultural land in valley s (1.02 %) and on warm south-facing slopes(1.33 %) than on rocky hilltops (0.3 %) and cool north-facing slopes (0.56 %). The major agents of disturbance on set-aside fields were moles, rodents (and their predators) and wild boars. In surrounding semi-natural grasslands, rabbit warrens were common on south-facing slopes and mound-building ants on north-facing slopes. Disturbances were significantly clustered and frequently superimposed. In order to investigate the effects of disturbance quality on plant assemblages in set-aside fields, two common types of disturbances were compared. These were grazing lawns (0.4–1.0 m2) maintained throughout the summer by common voles (Microtus arvalis), and excavations, 0.7–1.6 m2 in area, where wild boars (Sus scrofa) grubbing for food had removed vegetation and top soil in early spring. Both types of disturbances increased plant species richness on the local scale. Wind-dispersed annual and pauciennial forbs of ruderal habitats (e.g. Carduus acanthoides, Cirsium vulgare, Matricaria maritima, Senecio vernalis) were most abundant on the superficial disturbances made by voles, whereas small, ephemeral field weeds (e.g. Polygonum aviculare, Anagallis arvensis, Chenopodium album, Fallopia convolvulus) predominated on patches grubbed by boars. This study confirms that small-scale disturbances by animals provide a variety of regeneration niches for field weeds and ruderals. The rate of decline in plant species richness on set-aside land is likely to be reduced where land is utilized by a variety of herbivorous and soil-moving mammals. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Milton, S.J. Dean, W.R.J. Klotz, Stefan |
author_facet |
Milton, S.J. Dean, W.R.J. Klotz, Stefan |
author_sort |
Milton, S.J. |
title |
Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
title_short |
Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
title_full |
Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
title_fullStr |
Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central Germany |
title_sort |
effects of small-scale animal disturbances on plant assemblages of set-aside land in central germany |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
1997 |
url |
https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=9492 https://doi.org/10.2307/3237241 |
genre |
Microtus arvalis |
genre_facet |
Microtus arvalis |
op_source |
ISSN: 1100-9233 |
op_relation |
https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=9492 https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/3237241 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2307/3237241 |
container_title |
Journal of Vegetation Science |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
45 |
op_container_end_page |
54 |
_version_ |
1784895911595343872 |