Differential effect of grassland mowing on arthropod taxa
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In: Ecological Entomology, Vol. 50, No. 2, 04.2025, p. 288-298.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Differential effect of grassland mowing on arthropod taxa
AU - Künast, Robert
AU - Weisser, Wolfgang W.
AU - Seibold, Sebastian
AU - Mayr, David
AU - Siegmüller, Nils
AU - Schneider, Iris
AU - Westenrieder, Martin
AU - Blüthgen, Nico
AU - Staab, Michael
AU - Meyer, Sebastian T.
AU - Achury, Rafael
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Ecological Entomology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society.
PY - 2025/4
Y1 - 2025/4
N2 - Arthropods face a global decline attributed to habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and an intensification of land-use practices such as mowing. Studies on the effects of mowing on arthropod abundance showed conflicting results potentially due to multiple factors, including study design, grassland management, sampling method, and arthropod taxon studied. We conducted four studies in different grasslands, including intensively and extensively used agricultural and urban grasslands, utilising sweep netting, suction sampling, and pitfall traps. We compared the mowing responses of arthropod taxa between those studies at three different taxonomic resolutions (first-level overall arthropods, second-level orders, and third-level families and suborders). First, we discovered that mowing had a negative effect on overall arthropod abundance in all our studies (first level). Second, our four studies found that seven second- and third-level taxa showed only negative, four only positive, and four mixed positive and negative responses. Third, regarding taxonomic resolution, no third-level taxon reacted differently to mowing compared to the second-level taxon it belongs to. Our results indicate that for some taxa, mowing has a consistent negative (e.g. Diptera) or positive effects (e.g. Coleoptera). We suggest those groups have uniform phenological traits that make them especially vulnerable to mowing. For taxa showing mixed responses, we expect that study-dependent factors such as region, sampling method, and grassland management affect their response to mowing.
AB - Arthropods face a global decline attributed to habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and an intensification of land-use practices such as mowing. Studies on the effects of mowing on arthropod abundance showed conflicting results potentially due to multiple factors, including study design, grassland management, sampling method, and arthropod taxon studied. We conducted four studies in different grasslands, including intensively and extensively used agricultural and urban grasslands, utilising sweep netting, suction sampling, and pitfall traps. We compared the mowing responses of arthropod taxa between those studies at three different taxonomic resolutions (first-level overall arthropods, second-level orders, and third-level families and suborders). First, we discovered that mowing had a negative effect on overall arthropod abundance in all our studies (first level). Second, our four studies found that seven second- and third-level taxa showed only negative, four only positive, and four mixed positive and negative responses. Third, regarding taxonomic resolution, no third-level taxon reacted differently to mowing compared to the second-level taxon it belongs to. Our results indicate that for some taxa, mowing has a consistent negative (e.g. Diptera) or positive effects (e.g. Coleoptera). We suggest those groups have uniform phenological traits that make them especially vulnerable to mowing. For taxa showing mixed responses, we expect that study-dependent factors such as region, sampling method, and grassland management affect their response to mowing.
KW - biodiversity conservation
KW - habitat management
KW - insect populations
KW - land use management
KW - landscape management
KW - sampling methods
KW - taxonomic level
KW - Biology
KW - Ecosystems Research
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85209667111&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/een.13400
DO - 10.1111/een.13400
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:85209667111
VL - 50
SP - 288
EP - 298
JO - Ecological Entomology
JF - Ecological Entomology
SN - 0307-6946
IS - 2
ER -