Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures
The plant and insect communities of many summer pastures in the Swiss Alps are changing as they become encroached by woody plants. To understand the implications for overall biodiversity, we need to determine how different taxonomic groups respond to shrub encroachment. We investigated effects of en...
Published in: | Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
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Main Authors: | , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis
2015
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Online Access: | https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/1/Shrub_Encroachment_Affects_the_Diversity_of_Plants_Butterflies_and_Grasshoppers_on_Two_Swiss_Subalpine_Pastures.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-119007 https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0013-093 |
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:119007 2024-09-15T17:49:04+00:00 Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures Koch, Bärbel Edwards, Peter J Blanckenhorn, Wolf U Walter, Thomas Hofer, Gabriela 2015 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/1/Shrub_Encroachment_Affects_the_Diversity_of_Plants_Butterflies_and_Grasshoppers_on_Two_Swiss_Subalpine_Pastures.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-119007 https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0013-093 eng eng Taylor & Francis https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/1/Shrub_Encroachment_Affects_the_Diversity_of_Plants_Butterflies_and_Grasshoppers_on_Two_Swiss_Subalpine_Pastures.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-119007 doi:10.1657/AAAR0013-093 urn:issn:1523-0430 info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess Koch, Bärbel; Edwards, Peter J; Blanckenhorn, Wolf U; Walter, Thomas; Hofer, Gabriela (2015). Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 47(2):345-357. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Earth-Surface Processes Global and Planetary Change Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2015 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-11900710.1657/AAAR0013-093 2024-08-21T00:19:55Z The plant and insect communities of many summer pastures in the Swiss Alps are changing as they become encroached by woody plants. To understand the implications for overall biodiversity, we need to determine how different taxonomic groups respond to shrub encroachment. We investigated effects of encroachment upon species diversity of vascular plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two subalpine pastures (Mesocco and Guarda). On each site, we recognized a sequence of vegetation types representing a gradient of increasing shrub cover. The number of rare plant species was strongly affected by the degree of encroachment, with areas dominated by either dwarf shrubs or Alnus viridis having fewer species than areas of open grassland. In the Mesocco site, we also found differences in other measures of plant species richness (total species richness, number of herbaceous species) and in the number of grasshopper species. While plant richness was highest in grassland-dominated vegetation types, the species richness of grasshoppers was highest in types with a low to intermediate cover of dwarf shrubs. We found no effect of shrub cover upon butterfly species richness at either site. Biotic factors (shrub cover, grazing intensity, and also vegetation-related variables for the insect groups) explained a larger proportion of the variance in species composition of both plants and insects than did large-scale abiotic factors (altitude, aspect, and slope). Our results demonstrate that shrub encroachment is a threat to the biodiversity of subalpine grassland ecosystems. We recommend conservation actions that prevent extensive shrub encroachment but promote a mosaic of small areas at different successional stages. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 47 2 345 357 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Earth-Surface Processes Global and Planetary Change Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Earth-Surface Processes Global and Planetary Change Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Koch, Bärbel Edwards, Peter J Blanckenhorn, Wolf U Walter, Thomas Hofer, Gabriela Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
topic_facet |
Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies 570 Life sciences biology 590 Animals (Zoology) Earth-Surface Processes Global and Planetary Change Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The plant and insect communities of many summer pastures in the Swiss Alps are changing as they become encroached by woody plants. To understand the implications for overall biodiversity, we need to determine how different taxonomic groups respond to shrub encroachment. We investigated effects of encroachment upon species diversity of vascular plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two subalpine pastures (Mesocco and Guarda). On each site, we recognized a sequence of vegetation types representing a gradient of increasing shrub cover. The number of rare plant species was strongly affected by the degree of encroachment, with areas dominated by either dwarf shrubs or Alnus viridis having fewer species than areas of open grassland. In the Mesocco site, we also found differences in other measures of plant species richness (total species richness, number of herbaceous species) and in the number of grasshopper species. While plant richness was highest in grassland-dominated vegetation types, the species richness of grasshoppers was highest in types with a low to intermediate cover of dwarf shrubs. We found no effect of shrub cover upon butterfly species richness at either site. Biotic factors (shrub cover, grazing intensity, and also vegetation-related variables for the insect groups) explained a larger proportion of the variance in species composition of both plants and insects than did large-scale abiotic factors (altitude, aspect, and slope). Our results demonstrate that shrub encroachment is a threat to the biodiversity of subalpine grassland ecosystems. We recommend conservation actions that prevent extensive shrub encroachment but promote a mosaic of small areas at different successional stages. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Koch, Bärbel Edwards, Peter J Blanckenhorn, Wolf U Walter, Thomas Hofer, Gabriela |
author_facet |
Koch, Bärbel Edwards, Peter J Blanckenhorn, Wolf U Walter, Thomas Hofer, Gabriela |
author_sort |
Koch, Bärbel |
title |
Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
title_short |
Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
title_full |
Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
title_fullStr |
Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
title_full_unstemmed |
Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures |
title_sort |
shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two swiss subalpine pastures |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/1/Shrub_Encroachment_Affects_the_Diversity_of_Plants_Butterflies_and_Grasshoppers_on_Two_Swiss_Subalpine_Pastures.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-119007 https://doi.org/10.1657/AAAR0013-093 |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic |
op_source |
Koch, Bärbel; Edwards, Peter J; Blanckenhorn, Wolf U; Walter, Thomas; Hofer, Gabriela (2015). Shrub encroachment affects the diversity of plants, butterflies, and grasshoppers on two Swiss subalpine pastures. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 47(2):345-357. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/119007/1/Shrub_Encroachment_Affects_the_Diversity_of_Plants_Butterflies_and_Grasshoppers_on_Two_Swiss_Subalpine_Pastures.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-119007 doi:10.1657/AAAR0013-093 urn:issn:1523-0430 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-11900710.1657/AAAR0013-093 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
47 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
345 |
op_container_end_page |
357 |
_version_ |
1810290756420632576 |