Taxonomic and functional diversity in Mediterranean pastures: Insights on the biodiversity-productivity trade-off

Agricultural intensification is one of the main causes of biodiversity loss world-wide. The inclusion of semi-natural features in agricultural landscapes is suggested as a means of enhancing farm biodiversity, but this practice may have potential negative effects on yield production. Moreover, little evidence exists for effects of semi-natural features on other components of biodiversity, such as functional diversity. Yet this could provide a more comprehensive understanding of biodiversity–productivity trade-offs.
Here, we report the effects of semi-natural woody vegetation on taxonomic and functional diversity, and biomass production of herbaceous species at the field and farm scales by sampling 50 fields, ranging from 0 to 90% woody vegetation cover, on nine similarly managed farms in central-western Spain.
We found significant differences in herbaceous species richness among farms. Both taxonomic and functional β-diversity exhibited significant negative relationships with herbage ...