Abstract
Intensification or abandonment of agricultural land use has led to a severe decline of semi-natural habitats across Europe. This can cause immediate loss of species but also time-delayed extinctions, known as the extinction debt. In a pan-European study of 147 fragmented grassland remnants, we found differences in the extinction debt of species from different trophic levels. Present-day species richness of long-lived vascular plant specialists was better explained by past than current landscape patterns, indicating an extinction debt. In contrast, short-lived butterfly specialists showed no evidence for an extinction debt at a time scale of c. 40 years. Our results indicate that management strategies maintaining the status quo of fragmented habitats are insufficient, as time-delayed extinctions and associated co-extinctions will lead to further biodiversity loss in the future. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 597-605 |
Journal | Ecology Letters |
Volume | 13 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- Conservation
- Extinction cascades
- Extinction debt
- Grassland communities
- Habitat loss
- Habitat management
- Landscape change
- Relaxation time
- Species longevity