Two Studies Report on the Biodiversity of Grasslands

A team of over sixty researches, reported August 17th in Nature on the importance of biodiversity at all levels in providing ecosystem services. The study was done to address the limits of other research that focus only on a single trophic group. This study demonstrated that species richness across multiple trophic groups had a positive influence on the services that are provided in the environment. This means that when considering the importance of biodiversity to human health and the environment, it is important to look at all groups of life, such as insects above ground, as well as soil organisms that cannot be seen.

The study, lead by Dr. Santiago Soliveres from the University of Bern, evaluated 150 grasslands in Germany, looking at 4,600 species of plants and animals across nine trophic groups, including micro-organisms. Dr. Eric Allan from the University of Bern, said "Many different groups are important for providing essential ecosystem services. In order for nature to continue 'working' reliably for us we therefore need to protect biodiversity at all levels in the food chain". One implication is that by applying pesticides and synthetic fertilizers to the land, there may be short term gains in plant growth, but the long-term loss of biodiversity of insects, plants and micro-organisms could ultimately adversely impact life on the planet through loss of soil fertility and habitat that support numerous species that provide beneficial services such as pollinating insects.

Biodiversity is more than an abundance of plant life

Another paper published in August titled "The underestimated biodiversity of tropical grassy biomes" by Brett P. Murphy, Alan N. Andersen and Catherine L. Parr, demonstrated the importance of preserving grasslands in the tropics. While people are all too familiar with the biodiversity of rainforests and understand the importance of preserving this valuable ecosystem, the species richness of grasslands is often overlooked. This study looked at existing research and determined that even though plant biodiversity may be low, the diversity of vertebrate life is just as rich in high rainfall grasslands as it is in tropical forests and concluded that further research to aid in conservation efforts for these grasslands in needed to preserve their species biodiversity.

Not all tropical grasslands are protection like Serengeti National Park.

Photo Credit: courtesy of TripAdvisor

 Sources:

"Biodiversity at multiple trophic levels is needed for ecosystem multifunctionality"
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature19092.html#ref3

 "The underestimated biodiversity of tropical grassy biomes"  http://rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/371/1703/20150319