Quantifying the impact of environmental factors on arthropod communities across organisation levels and spatial scales
2005
Schweiger, Oliver | Maelfait, Jean-Pierre | van Wingerden, Walter | Hendrickx, Frederik | Billeter, Regula | Speelmans, Marjan | Augenstein, Isabel | Aukema, B. | Aviron, Stéphanie | Bailey, Debra | Bukacek, Roman | Burel, Françoise | Diekotter, Tim | Dirksen, Jolanda | Frenzel, Mark | Herzog, Felix | Liira, Jaan | Roubalova, Martina | Bugter, Rob | Department of Community Ecology ; Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) | Institute of Nature Conservation | Universiteit Gent = Ghent University = Université de Gand (UGENT) | Alterra Green World Research (ALTERRA) | Geobotanical Institute | Department of Applied Landscape Ecology ; Helmholtz Zentrum für Umweltforschung = Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) | Plant Protection Service | SAD Paysage (SAD Paysage) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST | Agroscope | Nature Conservation Authority, Department of Informatics ; Partenaires INRAE | Ecobiologie et qualité des hydrosystèmes continentaux (EQHC) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Rennes | Institute of Botany and Ecology ; Faculty of Science and Technology [University of Tartu] ; Tartu Ülikool = University of Tartu [Estonie]-Tartu Ülikool = University of Tartu [Estonie] | Institute of Forest Ecosystem Research (IFER) ; Institute of Foret Ecosystem Research
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. 1. In landscapes influenced by anthropogenic activities, such as intensive agriculture, knowledge of the relative importance and interaction of environmental factors on the composition and function of local communities across a range of spatial scales is important for maintaining biodiversity. 2. We analysed five arthropod taxa covering a broad range of functional aspects (wild bees, true bugs, carabid beetles, hoverflies and spiders) in 24 landscapes (4 × 4 km) across seven European countries along gradients of both land-use intensity and landscape structure. Species–environment relationships were examined in a hierarchical design of four main sets of environmental factors (country, land-use intensity, landscape structure, local habitat properties) that covered three spatial scales (region, landscape, local) by means of hierarchical variability partitioning using partial canonical correspondence analyses. 3. Local community composition and the distribution of body size classes and trophic guilds were most affected by regional processes, which highly confounded landscape and local factors. After correcting for regional effects, factors at the landscape scale dominated over local habitat factors. Land-use intensity explained most of the variability in species data, whereas landscape characteristics (especially connectivity) accounted for most of the variability in body size and trophic guilds. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our results suggest that management effort should be focused on land-use intensity and habitat connectivity in order to enhance diversity in agricultural landscapes. Since these factors are largely independent, specific conservation programmes may be developed with regards to socio-economic and agri-environmental requirements. Changes in either of these factors will enhance diversity but will also result in specific effects on local communities related to dispersal ability and the resource use of species.
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