Publication details
Influence of hemiparasitic plants and different management practices on communities of Hemiptera in species-rich grasslands
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | Semi-natural grasslands are hotspots of biodiversity in Europe. Being anthropogenic habitats, they depend on regular management. The management type, as well as some other factors, is known to influence grassland biota. Recent research highlighted the importance of root-hemiparasitic plants for functioning and restoration of grassland diversity. Root-hemiparasites are green plants that attach to roots of other plant species withdrawing water and nutrients from host root xylem. Hemiparasites frequently attack dominants, such as grasses, suppress their growth and alter competitive relations and nutrient flows in plant communities, facilitating species coexistence and increasing local plant diversity. However, their effects on other trophic levels have been poorly studied so far. We investigated the impacts of grassland management and a model root-hemiparasitic plant, European Yellow-rattle (Rhinanthus alectorolophus; Orobanchaceae), on communities of Hemiptera. Our experiment was set up in species-rich grasslands at two sites in the eastern Czech Republic, where four treatments of management were applied on 5x5 m plots: cutting, grazing, grazing + burning, and abandonment. At both sites, the yellow-rattle was sown on a half of plots while the other half was used as a control. Hemiptera was collected using standardised suction sampling. We tested the differences in abundance, species richness, species composition, and representation of main trophic groups of Hemiptera among plots with different combinations of experimental factors. Our preliminary results show that both management type and presence of the yellow-rattle, and especially their interaction are essential factors for the communities of Heteroptera in grasslands. They influenced the true bug communities probably indirectly, through changes in the structure and species composition of the vegetation. |