Species accumulation in novel grassland habitats is linked to land cover history

Novel grassland habitats along linear infrastructure have gained attention as potential supplementary or replacement habitats for species suffering from the widespread loss of traditionally managed semi-natural grasslands. However, it can take time for species to colonise new habitats, and both the historical and the current landscape composition can affect colonisation rates, particularly for grassland specialist species. We investigated the influence of more than 100 years of landscape history on present-day species richness of plants, butterflies and bumblebees in two types of linear infrastructure habitats: road verges and power line corridors. We analysed the effects of time since habitat establishment and the amount of surrounding grassland cover in different time periods on species richness of the three taxa. Our results suggest a long time lag in the establishment of plant species in novel grassland habitats, with richness of butterflies and bumblebees largely dependent on the richness of plant species. There was no direct relationship between habitat age and the richness of butterflies or bumblebees, but we found unexpected legacy effects of grassland area on present-day species richness. Higher richness of bumblebee species in road verges located in landscapes with larger surrounding grassland cover in the past is most likely a consequence of those landscapes containing a mosaic of afforested and abandoned grassland habitats today. Furthermore, we found that power line corridors might be important replacement habitats for butterflies in landscapes with little other grassland area left. Provided that road verges and power-line corridors are managed appropriately, our results show that their species richness can be expected to increase in the future.

Automated summary

Novel grassland habitats along linear infrastructure have the potential to serve as supplementary or replacement habitats for species affected by loss of traditional grasslands. The establishment of plant species in these habitats takes a long time, and the richness of butterflies and bumblebees depends on the richness of plant species. Landscape history and surrounding grassland cover have a significant impact on present-day species richness. Road verges with larger surrounding grassland cover in the past have higher bumblebee species richness, while power line corridors can be important replacement habitats for butterflies in landscapes with little other grassland area left. With appropriate management, the species richness of these habitats is expected to increase in the future.