According to a study, conversion of historical grasslands to crop production has long-lasting impacts on the functional biodiversity of agricultural ecosystems. The long-term impacts of land-use changes on biodiversity are unclear. Gaëtane Le Provost, Isabelle Badenhausser, Nicolas Gross, and colleagues investigated the long-term impacts of land-use history by examining 220,000 records of land use of 75 grassland fields in western France. The records spanned a 20-year period. To account for species' varying responses to land-use change, the authors measured functional trait diversity, using increased trait diversity, or functional biodiversity, as an indicator of an ecosystem's ability to weather environmental change. The authors charted body size, mobility, and resource-use traits in seven taxa: vascular plants, wild bees, hoverflies, grasshoppers, carabid beetles, spiders, and birds. In land where historical grassland had been converted to cropland, there was reduced diversity in mobility and resource-use traits such as mandible strength in insects. Functional diversity was relatively high in areas with old, permanent grasslands. The authors found that the impact of the land's historical use was as strong a factor in functional biodiversity as current use or composition. According to the authors, retention of permanent grassland sanctuaries within intensive landscapes may help offset ecological debts.
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Article # 19-10023: "Land-use history impacts functional diversity across multiple trophic groups," by Gaëtane Le Provost et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Gaëtane Le Provost, Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate, Frankfurt, GERMANY; e-mail: < gaetaneleprovost@free.fr >; Nicolas Gross, INRA, Clermont-Ferrand, FRANCE; e-mail: < nicolas.gross@inra.fr >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences