title: Supporting biodiversity by prescribed burning in grasslands - A multi-taxa approach.
abstract: There are contrasting opinions on the use of prescribed burning management in European grasslands. On the one hand, prescribed burning can be effectively used for the management of open landscapes, controlling dominant species, reducing accumulated litter or decreasing wildfire risk. On the other hand burning can have a detrimental impact on grassland biodiversity by supporting competitor grasses and by threatening several rare and endangered species, especially arthropods. We studied the effects of prescribed burning in alkaline grasslands of high conservation interest. Our aim was to test whether dormant-season prescribed burning can be an alternative conservation measure in these grasslands. We selected six sites in East-Hungary: in three sites, a prescribed fire was applied in November 2011, while three sites remained unburnt. We studied the effects of burning on soil characteristics, plant biomass and on the composition of vegetation and arthropod assemblages (isopods, spiders, ground beetles and rove beetles). Soil pH, organic matter, potassium and phosphorous did not change, but soluble salt content increased significantly in the burnt sites. Prescribed burning had several positive effects from the nature conservation viewpoint. Shannon diversity and the number of flowering shoots were higher, and the cover of the dominant grass Festuca pseudovina was lower in the burnt sites. Graminoid biomass was lower, while total, green and forb biomass were higher in the burnt plots compared to the control. The key finding of our study was that prescribed burning did not decrease the abundance and diversity of arthropod taxa. Species-level analyses showed that out of the most abundant invertebrate species, 10 were not affected, 1 was negatively and 1 was positively affected by burning. Moreover, our results suggest that prescribed burning leaving unburnt patches can be a viable management tool in open landscapes, because it supports plant diversity and does not threaten arthropods.
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary. Electronic address: valkoorsi@gmail.com.
authors: Orsolya
authors: O
authors: Valkó
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Balázs
authors: B
authors: Deák
authors: University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Tibor
authors: T
authors: Magura
authors: University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Péter
authors: P
authors: Török
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: András
authors: A
authors: Kelemen
authors: University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Katalin
authors: K
authors: Tóth
authors: University of Debrecen, Department of Ecology, Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Roland
authors: R
authors: Horváth
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Dávid D
authors: DD
authors: Nagy
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Zsuzsanna
authors: Z
authors: Debnár
authors: Research Institute of Oenology and Viticulture, Tarcal, Könyves Kálmán u. 54, H-3915, Hungary.
authors: György
authors: G
authors: Zsigrai
authors: Hortobágy National Park Directorate, Debrecen, Sumen utca 2, H-4024, Hungary.
authors: István
authors: I
authors: Kapocsi
authors: MTA-DE Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Research Group, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen H-4032, Hungary.
authors: Béla
authors: B
authors: Tóthmérész
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods / Q000502:physiology; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D005390:Fires; D065948:Grassland; D006814:Hungary; D063245:Plant Development; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012987:Soil
keywords: Biomass; Fire; Fuel load; Management; Response of the ecosystem; Steppe