Functional diversity in low-input grassland farming systems: characterisation, effect and management
Résumé
High biodiversity in grasslands is widely perceived to have a major role in maintaining or enhancing the amenity and cultural value of landscapes in Europe. In this paper, we focus mainly at community level, evaluating factors that appear to influence biodiversity at farm and landscape levels. In order to establish generic principles we examine the maintenance of biodiversity in terms of maintaining or enhancing functional diversity (FD). We define plant functional types (PFTs), groups of species having the same function and/or the same effect in the grassland ecosystem, species identified on the basis of plant traits. These traits reflect ecological responses to nutrient input and/or defoliation frequency, and they can also have an effect on ecosystem properties. We reviewed the literature, examining the relationship between several leaf and plant traits and principal ecological factors and, in turn, how these traits could influence the feed value of the grassland vegetation for herbivores. FD was determining as the range of relevant PFTs at community, farm and landscape levels. We propose a practical method of assessing agronomic value of semi-natural grasslands based on the determination of dominant PFTs by measuring traits in situ, or through using a trait database coupled to species abundance records. -We then assess the relevance of the method for semi-natural grasslands subjected to several management practices
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