Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 75-88 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Journal of Insect Conservation |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 27 Oct 2023 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2024 |
Abstract
Abstract: The cultivation of peat mosses (‘Sphagnum farming’) is a new wet and climate-friendly agricultural use of degraded bog sites. However, it is largely unknown to what extent these surrogate habitats are used by bog fauna. This study investigated the potential of Sphagnum cultivation sites as surrogate habitats for beetles and evaluated the relationship between the vegetation structure and the occurrence of beetle species. In 2017 and 2018, comparative surveys were carried out at different sub-areas of two Sphagnum cultivation sites and one near-natural bog. Beetles living in and on the upper Sphagnum layer were studied by manually extracting quadrat samples. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the same quadrats to analyze the occurrence of beetle species based on vegetation parameters. We collected 926 individuals of beetles belonging to 89 species out of 17 families. At the different sections of the cultivation sites, 8–16 bog-typical beetle species were found, while at the sub-areas of the near-natural bog, there were 15 and 19 bog-typical species, respectively. The statistical analyses showed that vegetation structure influenced the numbers of beetle species and individuals at both the cultivation and near-natural sites. Implications for insect conservation: A dense and high Sphagnum carpet is a fundamental habitat structure for the beetle fauna of cultivation sites, while vascular plants initially help to create habitat structures on bare peat. Conversely, if the vascular plants overgrow and shade the Sphagnum, this can have a negative effect on bog-typical beetle species, as shown at the near-natural site.
Keywords
- Bogs, Paludiculture, Peatlands, Quadrat samples, Sphagnum farming
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Insect Science
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all)
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Environmental Science(all)
- Nature and Landscape Conservation
- Environmental Science(all)
- Ecology
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In: Journal of Insect Conservation, Vol. 28, No. 1, 02.2024, p. 75-88.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sphagnum cultivation sites as habitat for beetles (Coleoptera) and the effect of vegetation structure on species occurrence and abundance
AU - Zoch, Lotta
AU - Budig, Sören Nikolaus
AU - Reich, Michael
N1 - Funding Information: Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. This work was supported by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (ML, AZ 105.1-3234/1-13-3) and the German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU, AZ 33305/01–33/0).
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Abstract: The cultivation of peat mosses (‘Sphagnum farming’) is a new wet and climate-friendly agricultural use of degraded bog sites. However, it is largely unknown to what extent these surrogate habitats are used by bog fauna. This study investigated the potential of Sphagnum cultivation sites as surrogate habitats for beetles and evaluated the relationship between the vegetation structure and the occurrence of beetle species. In 2017 and 2018, comparative surveys were carried out at different sub-areas of two Sphagnum cultivation sites and one near-natural bog. Beetles living in and on the upper Sphagnum layer were studied by manually extracting quadrat samples. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the same quadrats to analyze the occurrence of beetle species based on vegetation parameters. We collected 926 individuals of beetles belonging to 89 species out of 17 families. At the different sections of the cultivation sites, 8–16 bog-typical beetle species were found, while at the sub-areas of the near-natural bog, there were 15 and 19 bog-typical species, respectively. The statistical analyses showed that vegetation structure influenced the numbers of beetle species and individuals at both the cultivation and near-natural sites. Implications for insect conservation: A dense and high Sphagnum carpet is a fundamental habitat structure for the beetle fauna of cultivation sites, while vascular plants initially help to create habitat structures on bare peat. Conversely, if the vascular plants overgrow and shade the Sphagnum, this can have a negative effect on bog-typical beetle species, as shown at the near-natural site.
AB - Abstract: The cultivation of peat mosses (‘Sphagnum farming’) is a new wet and climate-friendly agricultural use of degraded bog sites. However, it is largely unknown to what extent these surrogate habitats are used by bog fauna. This study investigated the potential of Sphagnum cultivation sites as surrogate habitats for beetles and evaluated the relationship between the vegetation structure and the occurrence of beetle species. In 2017 and 2018, comparative surveys were carried out at different sub-areas of two Sphagnum cultivation sites and one near-natural bog. Beetles living in and on the upper Sphagnum layer were studied by manually extracting quadrat samples. Vegetation surveys were conducted in the same quadrats to analyze the occurrence of beetle species based on vegetation parameters. We collected 926 individuals of beetles belonging to 89 species out of 17 families. At the different sections of the cultivation sites, 8–16 bog-typical beetle species were found, while at the sub-areas of the near-natural bog, there were 15 and 19 bog-typical species, respectively. The statistical analyses showed that vegetation structure influenced the numbers of beetle species and individuals at both the cultivation and near-natural sites. Implications for insect conservation: A dense and high Sphagnum carpet is a fundamental habitat structure for the beetle fauna of cultivation sites, while vascular plants initially help to create habitat structures on bare peat. Conversely, if the vascular plants overgrow and shade the Sphagnum, this can have a negative effect on bog-typical beetle species, as shown at the near-natural site.
KW - Bogs
KW - Paludiculture
KW - Peatlands
KW - Quadrat samples
KW - Sphagnum farming
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174975852&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10841-023-00524-5
DO - 10.1007/s10841-023-00524-5
M3 - Article
VL - 28
SP - 75
EP - 88
JO - Journal of Insect Conservation
JF - Journal of Insect Conservation
SN - 1366-638X
IS - 1
ER -