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

在面临不确定性和突然性的复杂系统中，生态系统恢复力是自然资源和生态系统服务持续生产的重要因素。在一定条件下，根系食草性对草地生产力和生物多样性具有重要影响。然而，目前还没有针对干扰、短期应力或营养脉冲等非平衡条件的研究。本研究旨在评估不同土地利用强度下植物根系食草性对植物群落在各种干扰和胁迫下恢复力的作用。根食草动物对植物群落恢复力影响的强度和方向取决于土地利用类型和强度。我们将在温室控制试验中确定根系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/胁迫后植物和根系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模拟模型，根食草动物和植物群落。这些模型将被结合起来，系统地研究植物-食草动物相互作用对草地系统恢复力的作用。生物多样性实验区的土地利用梯度为研究植物-食草动物相互作用在多种非生物和生物条件下对欧洲相关类型管理草原恢复力的作用提供了良好的条件。我们认为，在不同土地利用情景下，根系食草性对植物群落恢复力的影响如何变化，最适合采用实地研究、温室控制实验和生态模型相结合的方法。

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.