Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) Plantations Provide Additional Habitats for Vascular Plant Species in Agricultural Mosaic Landscapes

Abstract

Increasing loss of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes is often debated in the bioenergy context, especially with respect to non-traditional crops that can be grown for energy production in the future. As promising renewable energy source and additional landscape element, the potential role of short rotation coppice (SRC) plantations to biodiversity is of great interest. We studied plant species richness in eight landscapes (225 km²) containing willow and poplar SRC plantations (1,600 m²) in Sweden and Germany, and the related SRC α-diversity to species richness in the landscapes (γ-diversity). Using matrix variables, spatial analyses of SRC plantations and landscapes were performed to explain the contribution of SRC α-diversity to γ-diversity. In accordance with the mosaic concept, multiple regression analyses revealed number of habitat types as a significant predictor for species richness: the higher the habitat type number, the higher the γ-diversity and the lower the proportion of SRC plantation α-diversity to γ-diversity. SRC plantation α-diversity was 6.9 % (±1.7 % SD) of species richness on the landscape scale. The contribution of SRC plantations increased with decreasing γ-diversity. SRC plantations were dominated more by species adapted to frequent disturbances and anthropo-zoogenic impacts than surrounding landscapes. We conclude that by providing habitats for plants with different requirements, SRC α-diversity has a significant share on γ-diversity in rural areas and can promote diversity in landscapes with low habitat heterogeneity and low species pools. However, plant diversity enrichment is mainly due to additional species typically present in disturbed and anthropogenic environments.