Between 2016 and 2018, researchers recorded species richness of 12 bird, insect, and plant taxonomic groups across flowering fields under agri-environmental schemes-- management schemes aimed at conserving biodiversity and reducing agricultural impacts--and seminatural calcareous grasslands in Germany; although flowering fields initially supported different species assemblages than grasslands, over time, such assemblages became more similar to those found in grasslands, suggesting that a combined network of flowering fields and grasslands is necessary to maximize biodiversity conservation efforts, according to the authors.
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Article #20-16038: "A multitaxa assessment of the effectiveness of agri-environmental schemes for biodiversity management," by Fabian A. Boetzl et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Fabian A. Boetzl, University of Würzburg, GERMANY; tel: 0049-(0)931 31-88795, 0049-1520-5790615; email: <fabian.boetzl@uni-wuerzburg.de>
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences