Species diversity, primary productivity, and photosynthetic pathway in grasslands of eastern Pennsylvania

We examined the relationship between primary productivity and diversity for grassland, meadow, savanna (GMS) vegetation in northeastern Pennsylvania, USA, where landscape is primarily forests, agriculture, urban or suburban development. surveyed productivity, plant species diversity, invertebrate order avian abundance 14 grasslands open areas that were actively managed three apparently occurred naturally. Four dominated by warm-season grasses with C4 photosynthetic pathway, nine C3 grasses, forbs, shrubs, four had a mixture of both types. found hump-shaped relationships richness bird as function but not richness. Richness invertebrates birds increased linearly number sampled at each site. The declined increasing proportion did orders collected sweep samples, abundance, Multiple regression showed vegetative characteristics influenced community. Bird area sites, ratio to edge, distance nearest area. There was no evidence influence relative native on GMS restoration farmlands mine lands plantings while possibly beneficial some forms wildlife, seems be less effective maintaining than cool-season shrubs.