Resilience of grassland plant communities as influenced by root herbivores under different land use intensities

在面临不确定性和意外的复杂系统中，生态系统复原力是持续生产自然资源和生态系统服务的重要因素。在恒定条件下，根部食草性会对草地生产力和生物多样性产生重大影响。然而，目前还没有关于扰动、短期压力或营养脉冲等非平衡条件的研究。本研究旨在评估在不同土地利用强度下，在各种干扰和胁迫下，根食性在植物群落恢复中的作用。我们预计，根食性食草动物对植物群落弹性的影响强度和方向取决于土地利用类型和强度。我们将在受控温室实验中确定根食草动物对植物群落恢复的影响，并在野外调查中监测干扰/胁迫后植物和根食草动物的丰度和群落组成。此外，我们将开发和应用基于过程的根食草食动物和植物群落的模拟模型。这些模型将结合起来，系统地研究植物-草食动物相互作用对草原系统复原力的作用。生物多样性探索实验室的土地利用梯度为研究植物-草食动物相互作用在欧洲相关类型的管理草原在广泛的非生物和生物条件下的弹性提供了极好的条件。我们认为，实地调查、温室控制试验和生态模拟相结合，为阐明不同土地利用情景下根食性对植物群落复原力的影响提供了最合适的方法。

Ecosystem resilience is an essential factor underlying the sustained production of natural resources and ecosystem services in complex systems faced with uncertainty and surprise. Root herbivory can have a significant impact on grassland productivity and biodiversity under constant conditions. However, there are yet no studies focusing on non-equilibrium conditions such as disturbances, short-term stresses or nutrient pulses. Our study aims at assessing the role of root herbivory in plant community resilience after various disturbances and stresses under different land use intensities. We expect the strength and direction of the root herbivore impact on plant community resilience to depend on land use type and intensity. We will determine the root herbivore impact on plant community recovery in controlled greenhouse experiments and monitor plant and root herbivore abundance and community composition after disturbance/stress in field surveys. In addition, we will develop and apply process-based simulation models of both, root herbivores and plant communities. These models will be coupled to systematically investigate the role of plant-herbivore interactions for the resilience of grassland systems. The land use gradient of the Biodiversity Exploratories provides excellent conditions for investigating the role of plant-herbivore interactions for the resilience of relevant types of managed grasslands in Europe under a wide range of abiotic and biotic conditions. We believe that the combination of empirical field work, controlled greenhouse experiments, and ecological modeling provides the most suitable approach to elucidate how the impact of root herbivory on plant community resilience changes under different land use scenarios.