Abstract. Traditionally managed mountain grasslands are biodiversity hotspots in central Europe. However, socio-economic trends in agriculture during the last decades have changed farming practices, leaving steep and remote sites abandoned. Especially the abandonment of meadows is well known to directly affect plant and insect diversity. However, not much is known about the effects on soil processes and soil biota. To assess this, we studied four extensively managed (mown once a year, no fertilization) and four abandoned (no mowing, no fertilization) semi-dry meadows in a mountain region in Austria. Plant species richness, plant cover, plant traits, plant biomass, litter decomposition (tea bag index), and earthworm species richness and density were assessed. Additionally, soil temperature, moisture and electrical conductivity were measured. Results showed that managed meadows contained more plant species than abandoned meadows (118 vs. 93 species, respectively). We also observed different plant species assemblages between the two management types. In managed meadows, hemirosette and ruderal plant species were more abundant, while more plant species without rosettes and a higher plant necromass were found in abandoned meadows. Additionally, decomposition rate was higher in abandoned meadows. There was a trend towards higher earthworm densities in managed meadows, but there was no difference in earthworm species richness. We conclude that meadow management has effects on both aboveground vegetation and belowground biota and processes. Both abandoned and extensively managed meadows were important to sustain overall biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the study region.

中文翻译：

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山地半干旱草地土地利用变化对植物、凋落物分解和蚯蚓的影响

摘要。传统管理的山地草原是中欧的生物多样性热点。然而，过去几十年农业的社会经济趋势改变了耕作方式，使陡峭和偏远的地点被遗弃。众所周知，废弃草地会直接影响植物和昆虫的多样性。然而，对土壤过程和土壤生物群的影响知之甚少。为了评估这一点，我们研究了奥地利山区的四块粗放管理（一年割一次，不施肥）和四块废弃（不割草，不施肥）半干旱草地。评估了植物物种丰富度、植物覆盖度、植物性状、植物生物量、凋落物分解（茶包指数）和蚯蚓物种丰富度和密度。此外，还测量了土壤温度、湿度和电导率。结果表明，管理草甸包含比废弃草甸更多的植物物种（分别为 118 种和 93 种）。我们还观察到两种管理类型之间的不同植物物种组合。在受管理的草甸中，半花结和粗花植物物种更丰富，而在废弃的草地中发现了更多没有花结的植物物种和更高的植物死灵。此外，废弃草地的分解率更高。管理草甸中蚯蚓密度有增加的趋势，但蚯蚓物种丰富度没有差异。我们得出结论，草地管理对地上植被和地下生物群和过程都有影响。废弃的和广泛管理的草地对于维持研究区域的整体生物多样性和生态系统功能都很重要。