TY - JOUR

T1 - Interactions between ecosystem properties and land use clarify spatial strategies to optimize trade-offs between agriculture and species conservation

AU - Cebrián-Piqueras, Miguel A.

AU - Trinogga, Juliane

AU - Grande, Celia

AU - Minden, Vanessa

AU - Maier, Martin

AU - Kleyer, Michael

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2017/11/29

Y1 - 2017/11/29

N2 - Species conservation and forage production are both important, yet conflicting components of sustainable grassland management. We modeled forage production and conservation value as dependents in a chain of responses and effects, starting with abiotic environmental conditions that affect the spatial distribution of land uses and biotic ecosystem properties. We asked which relationships in this causal chain determine trade-offs between forage production and conservation value. Abiotic and biotic ecosystem properties were recorded on 46 plots in the coastal marshes of Northwest Germany. Plant and bird conservation values were calculated using Red Lists, and sales of forage-based agricultural products were assessed by interviewing farmers. We used a structural equation model to determine responses and effects. Groundwater depth and salinity represent the ultimate causes for the spatial variation in sales and conservation value. The water gradient translated into more proximate causes, such as land-use intensity affecting aboveground net primary productivity, forage quality, and species richness. Plant species conservation and forage production were segregated along the water gradient, and both bird conservation and forage production depended on grassland management, albeit at different fertilization levels. Our study points to segregation and integration as two spatial strategies to react to trade-offs between services.

AB - Species conservation and forage production are both important, yet conflicting components of sustainable grassland management. We modeled forage production and conservation value as dependents in a chain of responses and effects, starting with abiotic environmental conditions that affect the spatial distribution of land uses and biotic ecosystem properties. We asked which relationships in this causal chain determine trade-offs between forage production and conservation value. Abiotic and biotic ecosystem properties were recorded on 46 plots in the coastal marshes of Northwest Germany. Plant and bird conservation values were calculated using Red Lists, and sales of forage-based agricultural products were assessed by interviewing farmers. We used a structural equation model to determine responses and effects. Groundwater depth and salinity represent the ultimate causes for the spatial variation in sales and conservation value. The water gradient translated into more proximate causes, such as land-use intensity affecting aboveground net primary productivity, forage quality, and species richness. Plant species conservation and forage production were segregated along the water gradient, and both bird conservation and forage production depended on grassland management, albeit at different fertilization levels. Our study points to segregation and integration as two spatial strategies to react to trade-offs between services.

KW - ecosystem services

KW - endangered bird species

KW - endangered plant species

KW - forage production

KW - land use

KW - landscape planning

KW - Structural equation model

KW - Ecosystems Research

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015862517&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/21513732.2017.1289245

DO - 10.1080/21513732.2017.1289245

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:85015862517

VL - 13

SP - 53

EP - 66

JO - Ecosystems and People

JF - Ecosystems and People

SN - 2639-5908

IS - 2

ER -