Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review
Increasing agricultural intensification, combined with land transformation and fragmentation, poses significant threats to biodiversity. While extensively cultivated landscapes serve as vital refuges against biodiversity loss, they are modified by land abandonment and intensification. Orchard meadow...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Pensoft Publishers
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Nature Conservation |
| Online Access: | https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/108688/download/pdf/ |
| _version_ | 1797234275158851584 |
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| author | Cornelia Sattler Julian Schrader Marie-Luise Hüttner Klaus Henle |
| author_facet | Cornelia Sattler Julian Schrader Marie-Luise Hüttner Klaus Henle |
| author_sort | Cornelia Sattler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Increasing agricultural intensification, combined with land transformation and fragmentation, poses significant threats to biodiversity. While extensively cultivated landscapes serve as vital refuges against biodiversity loss, they are modified by land abandonment and intensification. Orchard meadows in Central Europe represent traditional extensive land management systems, exhibiting high biodiversity. Comprising cultivated grasslands and scattered fruit trees, orchard meadows feature structures rich in different habitats supporting a diverse flora and fauna. However, their decreasing economic importance in recent decades has resulted in severe degradation or abandonment. Despite their importance for biodiversity conservation, there remains no comprehensive overview of orchard meadow biodiversity and management in Central Europe. This review aims to summarize existing knowledge on orchard meadows’ role in biodiversity conservation and the effects of management practices on habitat diversity and quality at both smaller (structure and microhabitats, local scale) and larger scales (surrounding landscape, regional scale). The first part focuses on orchard meadow biodiversity, including both plants and animals and their link to landscape-scale factors. Biodiversity in orchard meadows is predominantly affected by patch size, determining species richness and composition, and connectivity to neighbouring orchard meadows, influencing species migration and recolonization success. The second part evaluates management impacts, illustrating differences in the benefits of mowing versus grazing across taxonomic groups. An intermediate management intensity for orchard meadows determines their conservation value in terms of species composition, varying among different taxonomic groups. To prevent area loss and abandonment of orchard meadows, we advocate for political and public support, along with incentives for farmers to maintain their biodiversity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:29:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-97895271cee44dceb79cacbce6dff803 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1314-3301 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T16:29:28Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Pensoft Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Conservation |
| spelling | doaj.art-97895271cee44dceb79cacbce6dff8032024-03-30T07:33:07ZengPensoft PublishersNature Conservation1314-33012024-03-015510313410.3897/natureconservation.55.108688108688Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief reviewCornelia Sattler0Julian Schrader1Marie-Luise Hüttner2Klaus Henle3UFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchMacquarie UniversityUFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchUFZ – Helmholtz Centre for Environmental ResearchIncreasing agricultural intensification, combined with land transformation and fragmentation, poses significant threats to biodiversity. While extensively cultivated landscapes serve as vital refuges against biodiversity loss, they are modified by land abandonment and intensification. Orchard meadows in Central Europe represent traditional extensive land management systems, exhibiting high biodiversity. Comprising cultivated grasslands and scattered fruit trees, orchard meadows feature structures rich in different habitats supporting a diverse flora and fauna. However, their decreasing economic importance in recent decades has resulted in severe degradation or abandonment. Despite their importance for biodiversity conservation, there remains no comprehensive overview of orchard meadow biodiversity and management in Central Europe. This review aims to summarize existing knowledge on orchard meadows’ role in biodiversity conservation and the effects of management practices on habitat diversity and quality at both smaller (structure and microhabitats, local scale) and larger scales (surrounding landscape, regional scale). The first part focuses on orchard meadow biodiversity, including both plants and animals and their link to landscape-scale factors. Biodiversity in orchard meadows is predominantly affected by patch size, determining species richness and composition, and connectivity to neighbouring orchard meadows, influencing species migration and recolonization success. The second part evaluates management impacts, illustrating differences in the benefits of mowing versus grazing across taxonomic groups. An intermediate management intensity for orchard meadows determines their conservation value in terms of species composition, varying among different taxonomic groups. To prevent area loss and abandonment of orchard meadows, we advocate for political and public support, along with incentives for farmers to maintain their biodiversity.https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/108688/download/pdf/ |
| spellingShingle | Cornelia Sattler Julian Schrader Marie-Luise Hüttner Klaus Henle Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review Nature Conservation |
| title | Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review |
| title_full | Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review |
| title_fullStr | Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review |
| title_short | Effects of management, habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in Central Europe: A brief review |
| title_sort | effects of management habitat and landscape characteristics on biodiversity of orchard meadows in central europe a brief review |
| url | https://natureconservation.pensoft.net/article/108688/download/pdf/ |
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