Effects of management cessation on hoverflies (Diptera: Syrphidae) across Austrian and Swiss mountain meadows
<p>Extensively managed grasslands, particularly in mountain regions, are considered to be one of the most diverse agroecosystems worldwide. Their decline due to land use abandonment affects the diversity of both plants and associated pollinators. Extensive grasslands constitute an important ha...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Web Ecology |
| Online Access: | https://we.copernicus.org/articles/20/143/2020/we-20-143-2020.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Extensively managed grasslands, particularly in mountain regions,
are considered to be one of the most diverse agroecosystems worldwide. Their
decline due to land use abandonment affects the diversity of both plants and
associated pollinators. Extensive grasslands constitute an important habitat
type and food resource for hoverflies (syrphids); however, not much is known
about the effects of abandonment on this important pollinator group. In the
present study, we investigated how abandonment affects species richness and the
composition of syrphids in mountainous meadows. We recorded the richness of
vascular plants, vegetation cover, flower cover and the surrounding
landscape to examine whether and how syrphids are affected by plant and
landscape parameters. We investigated the species richness, abundance and
species composition of syrphids by sweep netting and by using observation
plots in 18 semidry meadows across two Austrian regions and one Swiss region. For
each region, we selected three meadows abandoned for more than 20 years and three
annually mown non-fertilized meadows. Abandonment or mowing had no
significant effect on the total number of syrphid species or individuals or on the number of aphidophagous and non-aphidophagous species and individuals.
However, the total number of species and the number of non-aphidophagous species
significantly increased with the increasing number of plant species. The
surrounding landscape and other plant parameters showed no association with
the assessed syrphid parameters. Although syrphids were unaffected by
abandonment, higher syrphid species numbers in response to a higher plant
richness in annual mown meadows suggest that the management of mountain meadows is beneficial in preserving syrphid richness.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 2193-3081 1399-1183 |