Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards

Permanent crops like vineyards have the potential to contribute to halting the biodiversity loss due to their spatiotemporal stability and lower disturbance frequency in vineyard inter-rows. However, anthropogenic pressures can be quite high in such agroecosystems and little is known about the relat...

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Main Authors: Silvia Winter, Ricarda Weitzl, Stefan Möth, Božana Petrović, Violette Aurelle, Pauline Tolle, Thomas Costes, Sylvie Richart-Cervera, Adrien Rusch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-03-01
Series:Basic and Applied Ecology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179125000052
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author Silvia Winter
Ricarda Weitzl
Stefan Möth
Božana Petrović
Violette Aurelle
Pauline Tolle
Thomas Costes
Sylvie Richart-Cervera
Adrien Rusch
author_facet Silvia Winter
Ricarda Weitzl
Stefan Möth
Božana Petrović
Violette Aurelle
Pauline Tolle
Thomas Costes
Sylvie Richart-Cervera
Adrien Rusch
author_sort Silvia Winter
collection DOAJ
description Permanent crops like vineyards have the potential to contribute to halting the biodiversity loss due to their spatiotemporal stability and lower disturbance frequency in vineyard inter-rows. However, anthropogenic pressures can be quite high in such agroecosystems and little is known about the relative impacts of local management intensity and landscape context on plant communities in viticultural landscapes. In this study, we examined how plant communities were affected by management intensity and landscape context in two European wine-growing regions. We established four plots within one inter-row and three transects in two neighbouring inter-rows and one undervine row in each of 70 paired vineyards (organic versus conventional farming) along a gradient of proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape. We analysed how alpha, beta and gamma diversity and plant species community composition at the vineyard scale responded to farming system, disturbance frequency, and semi-natural habitats. We found a positive impact of organic farming on alpha and gamma diversity and a significant influence of farming and transect type on species community composition. Besides farming system, disturbance frequency (tillage and mulching) reduced alpha diversity but increased beta diversity in the transects of both wine-growing regions. This difference could be attributed to the establishment of different plant communities of vineyards managed with higher or lower mulching and/or tillage intensity. At the landscape scale, higher proximity to and higher proportion of semi-natural habitats increased plant alpha and gamma diversity. Both landscape variables also explained significant variance of the plant community composition. Conservation of farmland biodiversity in vineyards should focus on supporting low-intensity diversified management operations and increasing shares of semi-natural habitats in the landscape.
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spelling doaj-art-506ccfbf55564778993070f9708cbe0b2025-02-07T04:47:17ZengElsevierBasic and Applied Ecology1439-17912025-03-018398108Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyardsSilvia Winter0Ricarda Weitzl1Stefan Möth2Božana Petrović3Violette Aurelle4Pauline Tolle5Thomas Costes6Sylvie Richart-Cervera7Adrien Rusch8Institute of Plant Protection, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, Austria; Corresponding author.Institute of Plant Protection, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Plant Protection, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, AustriaInstitute of Plant Protection, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien (BOKU), Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, 1180 Vienna, AustriaChambre d'Agriculture de la Gironde, Blanquefort, FranceINRAE, ISVV, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR SAVE, F-33883 Villenave d'Ornon, FranceINRAE, ISVV, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR SAVE, F-33883 Villenave d'Ornon, FranceINRAE, ISVV, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR SAVE, F-33883 Villenave d'Ornon, FranceINRAE, ISVV, Bordeaux Sciences Agro, UMR SAVE, F-33883 Villenave d'Ornon, FrancePermanent crops like vineyards have the potential to contribute to halting the biodiversity loss due to their spatiotemporal stability and lower disturbance frequency in vineyard inter-rows. However, anthropogenic pressures can be quite high in such agroecosystems and little is known about the relative impacts of local management intensity and landscape context on plant communities in viticultural landscapes. In this study, we examined how plant communities were affected by management intensity and landscape context in two European wine-growing regions. We established four plots within one inter-row and three transects in two neighbouring inter-rows and one undervine row in each of 70 paired vineyards (organic versus conventional farming) along a gradient of proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape. We analysed how alpha, beta and gamma diversity and plant species community composition at the vineyard scale responded to farming system, disturbance frequency, and semi-natural habitats. We found a positive impact of organic farming on alpha and gamma diversity and a significant influence of farming and transect type on species community composition. Besides farming system, disturbance frequency (tillage and mulching) reduced alpha diversity but increased beta diversity in the transects of both wine-growing regions. This difference could be attributed to the establishment of different plant communities of vineyards managed with higher or lower mulching and/or tillage intensity. At the landscape scale, higher proximity to and higher proportion of semi-natural habitats increased plant alpha and gamma diversity. Both landscape variables also explained significant variance of the plant community composition. Conservation of farmland biodiversity in vineyards should focus on supporting low-intensity diversified management operations and increasing shares of semi-natural habitats in the landscape.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179125000052BiodiversityBeta diversityManagement intensityPerennial cropSemi-natural habitatsViticulture
spellingShingle Silvia Winter
Ricarda Weitzl
Stefan Möth
Božana Petrović
Violette Aurelle
Pauline Tolle
Thomas Costes
Sylvie Richart-Cervera
Adrien Rusch
Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
Basic and Applied Ecology
Biodiversity
Beta diversity
Management intensity
Perennial crop
Semi-natural habitats
Viticulture
title Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
title_full Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
title_fullStr Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
title_full_unstemmed Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
title_short Extensive vegetation management and semi-natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in European vineyards
title_sort extensive vegetation management and semi natural habitats increase plant alpha and gamma diversity in european vineyards
topic Biodiversity
Beta diversity
Management intensity
Perennial crop
Semi-natural habitats
Viticulture
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179125000052
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