This study evaluates the effects of long-term sheep grazing in salt marshes on the diversity of moths and derives conclusive management suggestions for the conservation of invertebrate diversity in salt marshes. Study sites were located on the Hamburger Hallig, on the Western coast of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Between 2006 and 2009, salt marshes that have been under four levels of livestock density (0, 1-2 sheep/ha, 3-4 sheep/ha, 10 sheep/ha) for over 20 years were sampled using light traps and photoeclectors. Plant and moth species richness were highest under low stocking densities, moth species richness, however, showed no difference between low stocking densities and abandonment. Species richness of moths was only weakly correlated with vegetation parameters (species richness, vegetation height, cover and litter). Using additive diversity partitioning we show that no single grazing treatment harbored all recorded moth species and that grazing increases habitat heterogeneity within each treatment. Additionally, we show that moths react more sensitively to grazing than plants, and that therefore assessments of plant species richness in salt marshes do not allow conclusions on invertebrate diversity. For the evaluation of salt-marsh diversity, a multi-species approach should be favored combining plant and invertebrate assessments. A mosaic of abandoned sites and sites with low and intermediate stocking densities would benefit moth diversity in salt-marsh conservation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
", "keywords": ["Additive diversity partitioning", "PLANT DIVERSITY", "0106 biological sciences", "LONG-TERM", "Small scale", "CONSERVATION", "SPECIES-DIVERSITY", "WESTERN FRANCE", "HABITAT HETEROGENEITY", "/dk/atira/pure/core/keywords/biology; name=Ecosystems Research", "Microlepidoptera", "15. Life on land", "01 natural sciences", "Vegetation structure", "Plant diversity", "FARMLAND BIODIVERSITY", "GEE", "GAMMA-DIVERSITY", "SPATIAL VARIATION", "14. Life underwater", "GRASSLANDS"]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.11.024"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Biological%20Conservation", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.biocon.2011.11.024", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.biocon.2011.11.024", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.11.024"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2012-02-01T00:00:00Z"}}, {"id": "10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.023", "type": "Feature", "geometry": null, "properties": {"updated": "2026-09-22T16:15:33Z", "type": "Journal Article", "created": "2013-06-11", "title": "Grazed Vegetation Mosaics Do Not Maximize Arthropod Diversity: Evidence From Salt Marshes", "description": "Light to moderate grazing in grasslands can create vegetation mosaics of short grazed vegetation and tall ungrazed vegetation. These mosaics have been proposed to maximize plant and animal species richness, yet experimental evidence, especially regarding arthropods is scarce. This study compares abundance, richness and species composition of arthropods in grazed mosaics to those of homogeneous short and tall vegetation.
We sampled arthropods on three German coastal salt marshes where grazing with three densities (high, moderate and none) was installed in 1989 on previously intensively grazed plots. Stable vegetation mosaics had developed under moderate stocking densities. We collected spiders, beetles, bugs and moth larvae by suction sampling in a stratified random sampling design.
Treatments had caused large differences in plant composition after 20 years, which were reflected in the arthropod community. Most species showed a clear preference for either short or tall vegetation, but some species were most abundant in grazed mosaics. Arthropod richness and composition were similar in patches of short vegetation in moderately and highly stocked plots, while patches of tall vegetation were similar to ungrazed plots. Surprisingly, however, grazed mosaics were not richer in species than homogeneous tall vegetation, despite the co-occurrence of species from short, tall and mosaic vegetation.
We conclude that, although arthropod richness of salt marshes is greatly enhanced when stocking density is decreased, this cannot substitute ungrazed marshes for conservation of arthropod diversity. However, long term cessation leads to the disappearance of several species, and therefore the possibilities of rotational grazing should be explored. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
", "keywords": ["0106 biological sciences", "2. Zero hunger", "Beetles", "Habitat heterogeneity", "Patch grazing", "Spiders", "15. Life on land", "Invertebrates", "Grassland", "01 natural sciences", "Species richness"], "contacts": [{"organization": "Michiel F. WallisDeVries, Michiel F. WallisDeVries, Corinna Rickert, Rikjan Vermeulen, Oscar Vorst, Roel van Klink, Jan P. Bakker,", "roles": ["creator"]}]}, "links": [{"href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.023"}, {"rel": "related", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/Biological%20Conservation", "name": "related record", "description": "related record", "type": "application/json"}, {"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.023", "name": "item", "description": "10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.023", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items/10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.023"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection", "name": "collection", "description": "Collection", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main"}], "time": {"date": "2013-08-01T00:00:00Z"}}], "links": [{"rel": "self", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "This document as GeoJSON", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=HABITAT+HETEROGENEITY&f=json", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "alternate", "type": "text/html", "title": "This document as HTML", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=HABITAT+HETEROGENEITY&f=html", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "collection", "type": "application/json", "title": "Collection URL", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"type": "application/geo+json", "rel": "first", "title": "items (first)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=HABITAT+HETEROGENEITY&", "hreflang": "en-US"}, {"rel": "last", "type": "application/geo+json", "title": "items (last)", "href": "https://repository.soilwise-he.eu/cat/collections/metadata:main/items?keywords=HABITAT+HETEROGENEITY&offset=2", "hreflang": "en-US"}], "numberMatched": 2, "numberReturned": 2, "distributedFeatures": [], "timeStamp": "2026-09-22T19:50:20.927909Z"}