This study investigates the impact of plant diversity on the biomass yield, forage quality, quality-adjusted yield, and revenues of semi-natural grasslands under varying management intensities. The research challenges the prevailing agricultural view that higher plant diversity correlates with lower yields and quality. The findings reveal that plant diversity significantly increased quality-adjusted yield and revenues across different management intensities, highlighting its importance as a production factor independent of management practices. This suggests that maintaining and restoring plant diversity is a key to sustainable grassland management.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Feb 07, 2020
Authors
Sergei Schaub, Robert Finger, Florian Leiber, Stefan Probst, Michael Kreuzer, Alexandra Weigelt, Nina Buchmann, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen
Tags
plant diversity
biomass yield
forage quality
sustainable management
semi-natural grasslands
management intensities
quality-adjusted yield
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