Exploring life forms for linking Orthopteran assemblage and grassland plant community:

AbstractOrthopterans are well known to represent the majority of insect biomass in many grassland ecosystems. However, the verification of a relationship between the traditional descriptors of orthopteran assemblage structure and plant community patterns is not straightforward. We explore the usefulness of the concept of life forms to provide insights on such ecosystem level relationship. For this purpose, thirty sample sites in semi-natural calcareous grasslands were classified according to the relative proportion of dominant herbaceous plant life forms. Orthopteran species were grouped in four categories, based on the Bei-Bienko's life form categorization. The association among plant communities, orthopteran assemblages and environmental factors was tested by means of canonical correspondence analysis. Orthoptera groups were found to be associated with distinct plant communities, also indicating the effect of vegetation change on orthopteran assemblages. In particular, geobionta species were associated with all the most disturbed plant communities, while chortobionta and thamnobionta seemed to be dependent on better preserved grassland types. Therefore, the use of life forms could help informing on the relationships of orthopteran assemblages with grassland conservation state. Information on such community relationships at the local scale could also assist managers in the interpretation of habitat change maps in terms of biodiversity changes

Conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands - Editorial to the 6th EDGG special issue in Hacquetia

This special issue is a collection of articles about the conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands and was initiated by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group at the 15th Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference (EDGC), held at Graz, Austria in 2019. The papers in this special issue cover a range of grassland habitats from montane dry grasslands to lowland sandy grasslands, feathergrass steppes and meadow steppes, and focus on the biodiversity values, conservation issues and restoration prospects of Palaearctic grasslands. We hope that the articles in this special issue will contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of grasslands and support their more effective conservation.Peer reviewe

Conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands - Editorial to the 6th EDGG special issue in Hacquetia

This special issue is a collection of articles about the conservation, restoration and biodiversity of Palaearctic grasslands and was initiated by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group at the 15th Eurasian Dry Grassland Conference (EDGC), held at Graz, Austria in 2019. The papers in this special issue cover a range of grassland habitats from montane dry grasslands to lowland sandy grasslands, feathergrass steppes and meadow steppes, and focus on the biodiversity values, conservation issues and restoration prospects of Palaearctic grasslands. We hope that the articles in this special issue will contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of grasslands and support their more effective conservation.Peer reviewe

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies

The challenge of abandonment for the sustainable management of Palaearctc natural and semi-natural grasslands

Disturbance by biomass removal is a crucial mechanism maintaining the diversity of Palaearctic grasslands, which are unique biodiversity hotspots. Te century-long traditional land use of mowing, grazing and burning, has been fundamentally changed in many parts of the Palaearctic. Due to socio-economic changes, large areas of former pastures and meadows have been abandoned, leading to a succession towards secondary scrublands or forest and the encroachment of competitor grass species, all leading to a decrease in biodiversity. Here we report the causes and consequences of the cessation of traditional grassland management regimes, provide strategies for reducing the impact of abandonment and consider these from the perspective of sustainability. We consider the possibilities for initiating sustainable management regimes in the contemporary socio-economic environment, and discuss the prospectsand limitation of alternative management regimes in the conservation of grassland biodiversity. Tese themes are also the core topics of this Special Feature, edited by the EDGG. We hope that this Special Feature will encourage steps towards more sustainable strategies for the conservation of Palaearctic grasslands and the integration of the sustainability perspective into their conservation

Ecology and Conservation of Steppes and Semi-Natural Grasslands

Palaearctic grasslands encompass a diverse variety of habitats, many of high nature value and vulnerability. The main challenges are climate-change, land-use change, agricultural intensification and abandonment. Many measures are in place to address these challenges, through restoration and appropriate management, though more work is necessary. We present eight studies from China/Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. The papers cover a wide range of grassland and steppe habitats and cover vegetation ecology, syntaxonomy and zoology. We also conducted a systematic search on steppe and grassland diversity. The greatest number of studies was from China, followed by Germany and England. We conclude that the amount of research being carried out on Eurasian grasslands is inadequate considering their high levels of biodiversity and vulnerability. We hope to encourage readers to address current major challenges, such as how to manage grasslands for the benefit of diverse taxa, to ensure that conservation initiatives concentrate on sites where there is good potential for success and for the generation of realistic and viable conservation strategies.Peer reviewe

Conservation and diversity of Palaearctic grasslands – Editorial to the 5th EDGG special issue in Hacquetia

Non peer reviewe