Disentangling forest effects on grassland biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes

不同生态系统之间的过渡带具有不同的非生物梯度，这些梯度决定了其所处农业景观的生物多样性和生态系统服务模式。森林-草地界面是欧洲农业景观中常见的过渡带，它是由于土地利用变化、农业集约化和破碎化的历史而演变的。草原是欧洲优先保护的区域，因为它们在地上和地下维持着多种地方性动植物物种，有助于支持和供应生态系统。草地管理对生物多样性- es格局的影响研究较多，但景观尺度因子的影响尚不明确。本研究旨在了解草地植物和土壤生物群落对管理和离林距离的响应。草地植物群落对土壤生物群具有级联效应，较高的植物多样性与更大、更复杂的蚯蚓和微生物群落相关联，并增强了ES。粗放式管理对植物多样性有积极影响，因此对土壤生物群和ES也有积极影响，但管理如何与森林距离相互作用尚不清楚。检验了以下假设：(1)森林对草地生物多样性和生态系统的正向影响随着距离森林边界的远近而减小；(2)林草交错带植物和土壤生物群落β多样性沿梯度存在差异；(3)植物和土壤生物群落越复杂，分解和氮矿化程度越高，牧草的质量和数量也越高；(4)土地使用者的土地利用和草地管理年限与其物种知识和生态系统贡献相关；(5)过去的草地管理会影响原位生物多样性和ES关系的差异。植物、蚯蚓和土壤微生物群落将在德国东北部的草地上进行检查，沿着从森林内部延伸到每个田地的样带。将对土壤进行碳、氮和矿化分析。将在现场用茶包评估分解情况。植物覆盖物将被收获、干燥并称重。将在访谈中收集有关土地使用者对过去和现在管理的知识以及他们对森林-草地过渡带的看法的数据。植物、蚯蚓和微生物群落及其贡献的ES将根据管理和与森林的距离进行统计建模。该项目将展示生物多样性的模式如何与过渡带的生态系统相互作用，这可能有助于改变农业景观的考虑方式，并强调森林和草原之间的过渡带对生物多样性保护和生态系统的作用。

Transition zones between different ecosystems have distinct abiotic gradients that shape patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) for the agricultural landscapes they are embedded in. Forest-grassland interfaces are common transition zones in European agricultural landscapes that evolved due to a history of land use change, agricultural intensification and fragmentation. Grasslands are European priority areas for conservation as they sustain a diverse number of endemic plant and animal species, both above and below ground, which contribute to supporting and provisioning ES. Grassland management effects on biodiversity-ES patterns are well studied, but the effect of landscape-scale factors are less clear. The proposed research project aims to understand the response of grassland plant and soil biotic communities to management and distance-from-forest. Grassland plant communities have cascading effects on soil biota, such that higher plant diversity has been linked to more larger and more complex earthworm and microbial communities, and enhanced ES. Extensive management has a positive effect on plant diversity, and therefore on soil biota and ES, but how management interacts with the distance from forest is not understood. The following hypotheses are tested: (1) Positive forest effects on grassland biodiversity and ES will decrease with distance to forest boundary; (2) Beta-diversity of plant and soil biotic communities along gradients in forest-grassland transition zones will differ between grazed and mown grassland fields; (3) More complex plant and soil biotic communities will lead to increased decomposition, nitrogen mineralization, and higher quality and quantity of forage; (4) Land users’ length of time of land use and grassland management will be related with their knowledge of species and their contribution to ES; (5) Past grassland management will affect differences of in-situ biodiversity and ES relationships. Plant, earthworm, and soil microbial communities will be examined in grassland fields in north-eastern Germany, along transects reaching from within the forest into each field. Soils will be analyzed for carbon, nitrogen, and mineralization. Decomposition will be assessed in the field with teabags. Plant cover will be harvested, dried, and weighed. Data on land users’ knowledge of past and present management and their perceptions of forest-grassland transition zones will be collected in interviews. Plant, earthworm, and microbial communities, and the ES they contribute to will be statistically modeled in relation to management and distance to forest. This project will show how patterns of biodiversity interact with ES across transition zones, which could contribute to a shift in the way agricultural landscapes are considered, and underscore the role of transition zones between forests and grasslands for both biodiversity conservation and ES.