1. To address biodiversity declines within semi‐natural habitats, land management must cater for diverse taxonomic groups. Integrating our understanding of the ecological requirements of priority (rare, scarce or threatened) species through ‘biodiversity auditing’, with that of the intensity and complexity of historical land use, encourages novel forms of management. Experimental confirmation is needed to establish whether this enhances biodiversity conservation relative to routine management.
2. Biodiversity auditing and historical land use of dry‐open terrestrial habitats in Breckland (Eastern England) both encourage management incorporating ground disturbance and spatio‐temporal variability. To test biodiversity conservation outcomes, we developed forty 4‐ha management complexes over three successive winters, of which 20 were shallow‐cultivated (rotovation) and 20 deep‐cultivated (ploughing), stratified across 3,850‐ha of closed‐sward dry grassland and lowland heathland (collectively ‘dry grassland’). Complexes comprised four 1‐ha subtreatments: repeat‐cultivation, first‐time cultivation, 1‐year‐old fallow and 2‐year‐old fallow. We examined responses of vascular plants; spiders; true bugs; ground, rove and ‘other’ beetles; bees and wasps; ants; and true flies on treatment complexes and twenty‐one 4‐ha untreated controls. Sampling gave 132,251 invertebrates from 877 species and 28,846 plant observations from 167 species.
3. Resampling and rarefaction analyses showed shallow‐ and deep‐cultivation both doubled priority species richness (pooling subtreatments within complexes) compared to controls. Priority spider, ground beetle, other beetle and true bug richness were greater on both treatments than controls. Responses were strongest for those priority dry‐open habitat associated invertebrates initially predicted (by biodiversity auditing) to benefit from heavy physical disturbance.
4. Assemblage composition (pooling non‐priority and priority species) varied between subtreatments for plants, ants, true bugs, spiders, ground, rove and other beetles; but only 1‐year‐old fallowed deep‐cultivation increased priority richness across multiple taxa.
5. Treatments produced similar biodiversity responses across various dry grassland ‘habitats’ that differed in plant composition, allowing simplified management guidance.
6. Synthesis and applications. Our landscape‐scale experiment confirmed the considerable biodiversity value of interventions inspired by history and informed by systematic multi‐taxa analysis of ecological requirements across priority biota. Since assemblage composition varied between subtreatments, providing heterogeneity in management will support the widest suite of species. Crucially, the intended recipients responded most strongly, suggesting biodiversity audits could successfully inform interventions within other systems.

中文翻译：

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实验证据表明，受历史启发的新型土地管理干预措施可增强生物多样性

1. 为了解决半自然生境中生物多样性的下降，土地管理必须迎合各种生物分类群。通过“生物多样性审核”将我们对优先（稀有，稀有或受威胁）物种的生态要求的理解与对历史土地利用的强度和复杂性的理解相结合，可以鼓励采用新颖的管理形式。需要进行实验确认，以确定相对于常规管理而言，这是否可以增强生物多样性的保护。
2. 布雷克兰（英格兰东部）的干旱开放陆地生境的生物多样性审计和历史土地利用都鼓励将地面干扰和时空变化结合在一起的管理。为了测试生物多样性保护的成果，我们在连续三个冬季开发了40个4公顷的管理综合体，其中20个是浅耕（轮作）和20个深耕（耕作），在3,850公顷的封闭草地上进行了分层。低地荒地（统称为“干旱草原”）。复合体由四个1公顷的亚处理组成：重复耕种，首次耕种，1岁休闲和2岁休闲。我们检查了维管植物的反应。蜘蛛 真正的错误；研碎，移动和“其他”甲虫；蜜蜂和黄蜂；蚂蚁 而真正的苍蝇则依赖于治疗复合物和21个未经处理的4公顷对照。
3. 重采样和稀疏分析表明，与对照相比，浅耕和深耕都使优先物种的丰富度（复合物中的池子处理）增加了一倍。两种处理的优先蜘蛛，地面甲虫，其他甲虫和真正的虫子丰富度都比对照大。对于那些最初预测（通过生物多样性审计）优先受旱灾影响的，与栖息地相关的无脊椎动物，应对措施最为强烈，它们将从严重的人为干扰中受益。
4. 在对植物，蚂蚁，真虫，蜘蛛，地面，粗毛和其他甲虫进行子处理的子处理之间，组合物的组成（非优先种和优先种）有所不同。但是只有1岁的孩子在深耕中增加了多个类群的优先级丰富度。
5. 处理在植物组成不同的各种干旱草原“生境”中产生了相似的生物多样性响应，从而简化了管理指导。
6. 综合与应用。我们的景观规模实验证实了受历史启发并通过优先生物群对生态系统需求进行系统多分类分析的干预措施具有可观的生物多样性价值。由于子处理之间组合的组成各不相同，因此在管理上提供异质性将支持最广泛的物种。最重要的是，预期的接受者反应最强烈，这表明生物多样性审计可以成功地为其他系统内的干预提供信息。