Mechanisms of biodiversity declines in satokusachi:effects of land consolidation and abandonment

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23570024
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Ecology/Environment
• Research Institution: Kobe University
• Principal Investigator: USHIMARU Atushi 神戸大学, 人間発達環境学研究科, 教授 (70399327)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-28 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 里草地 / 植物 / チョウ / バッタ / 中規模撹乱仮説

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Declines in plants and herbivorous insects due to land-use abandonment and intensification, have been studied in agricultural areas worldwide. We compared plant richness and butterfly and orthopteran richness and diversity among three land-use types in semi-natural grasslands: abandoned, traditional and intensified terraces. Plant and herbivore richness and diversity were significantly lower in abandoned and intensified grasslands than in traditional grasslands. Changes in the mowing frequency explained plant richness decline as a consequence of land abandonment and intensification. The results suggest that a mowing frequency of 2-3 times per year enhance herbivore richness directly, as well as indirectly by enhancing plant diversity.

Free Research Field

生態学