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| Titel |
Biodiversity for multifunctional grasslands: equal productivity in high-diversity low-input and low-diversity high-input systems |
| VerfasserIn |
A. Weigelt, W. W. Weisser, N. Buchmann, M. Scherer-Lorenzen |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1726-4170
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Biogeosciences ; 6, no. 8 ; Nr. 6, no. 8 (2009-08-21), S.1695-1706 |
| Datensatznummer |
250003957
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/bg-6-1695-2009.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
Modern grassland management seeks to provide many ecosystem services and
experimental studies in resource-poor grasslands have shown a positive
relationship between plant species richness and a variety of ecosystem
functions. Thus, increasing species richness might help to enhance
multifunctionality in managed grasslands if the relationship between species
richness and ecosystem functioning is equally valid in high-input grassland
systems.
We tested the relative effects of low-input to high-input management
intensities and low to high plant species richness. Using a combination of
mowing frequencies (1, 2 or 4 cuts per season) and fertilisation levels (0,
100 and 200 kg N ha−1 a−1), we studied the productivity of
78 experimental grassland communities of increasing plant species richness
(1, 2, 4, 8 or 16 species with 1 to 4 functional groups) in two successive
years.
Our results showed that in both years higher diversity was more effective in
increasing productivity than higher management intensity: the 16-species
mixtures had a surplus of 449 g m−2 y−1 in 2006 and
492 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 over the monoculture yields whereas the
high-input management resulted in only 315 g m−2 y−1 higher
productivity in 2006 and 440 g m−2 y−1 in 2007 than the
low-input management. In addition, high-diversity low-input grassland
communities had similar productivity as low-diversity high-input communities.
The slopes of the biodiversity – productivity relationships significantly
increased with increasing levels of management intensity in both years.
We conclude that the biological mechanisms leading to enhanced biomass
production in diverse grassland communities are as effective for
productivity as a combination of several agricultural measures. Our results
demonstrate that high-diversity low-input grassland communities provide not
only a high diversity of plants and other organisms, but also ensure high
forage yields, thus granting the basis for multifunctional managed
grasslands. |
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