The type of forest edge shapes snail assemblages at forest-pasture transitions.

ABSTRACT: Semi-natural, nutrient-poor calcareous grasslands are local biodiversity hotspots that are increasingly threatened by land use intensification, abandonment, or indirect effects from adjacent habitats. The habitat quality of these grasslands is often influenced by neighbouring forests or intensively managed agricultural land. For example, shrubs encroaching on grassland reduce the sensitive habitat, but at the same time represent a new habitat type (transition zone at gradual forest edge). We investigated the effects of gradual and abrupt forest edges on the species richness, abundance, species composition, functional diversity and number of species of conservation importance (red-listed species) of land snail assemblages at forest-pasture transitions in the Jura Mountains, Switzerland. For

SUBMITTER: Schmera D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10556092 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature