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

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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.