Species-rich semi-natural grasslands have a higher resistance but a lower resilience than intensively managed agricultural grasslands in response to climate anomalies

More Stable Productivity of Semi Natural Grasslands than Sown Pastures in a Seasonally Dry Climate

In the Neotropics the predominant pathway to intensify productivity is generally thought to be to convert grasslands to sown pastures, mostly in monoculture. This article examines how above-ground net primary productivity (ANPP) in semi-natural grasslands and sown pastures in Central America respond to rainfall by: (i) assessing the relationships between ANPP and accumulated rainfall and indice...

High diversity stabilizes the thermal resilience of pollinator communities in intensively managed grasslands

The resilience of ecosystems depends on the diversity of species and their specific responses to environmental variation. Here we show that the diversity of climatic responses across species contributes to a higher projected resilience of species-rich pollinator communities in real-world ecosystems despite land-use intensification. We determined the thermal niche of 511 pollinator species (flie...

Competitive advantage of Rumex obtusifolius L. might increase in intensively managed temperate grasslands under drier climate

Grazing response patterns indicate isolation of semi-natural European grasslands

L. Weiss ([email protected]), H. Pfestorf, F. May, K. K ö rner, M. Fischer, J. M ü ller and F. Jeltsch, Inst. of Biochemistry and Biology, Univ. of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 2, DE-14469 Potsdam, Germany. LW and FJ also at: Leibniz-Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research, ZALF, Eberswalder Str. 84, DE-15374 M ü ncheberg, Germany. FM also at: Dept of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre ...

Weed suppression greatly increased by plant diversity in intensively managed grasslands: A continental‐scale experiment

Grassland diversity can support sustainable intensification of grassland production through increased yields, reduced inputs and limited weed invasion. We report the effects of diversity on weed suppression from 3 years of a 31-site continental-scale field experiment.At each site, 15 grassland communities comprising four monocultures and 11 four-species mixtures based on a wide range of species...