Modest enhancements to conventional grassland diversity improve the provision of pollination services.

ABSTRACT: Grassland for livestock production is a major form of land use throughout Europe and its intensive management threatens biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural landscapes. Modest increases to conventional grassland biodiversity could have considerable positive impacts on the provision of ecosystem services, such as pollination, to surrounding habitats.Using a field-scale experiment in which grassland seed mixes and sward management were manipulated, complemented by surveys on working farms and phytometer experiments, the impact of conventional grassland diversity and management on the functional diversity and ecosystem service provision of pollinator communities were investigated.Increasing plant richness, by the addition of both legumes and forbs, was associated with signif

SUBMITTER: Orford KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4996327 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature