Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41048254›Full record

ArticleLandscape ecology2025

How does landscape composition and configuration affect dung beetle communities in Eastern Austrian agricultural landscapes?

Raja Imran Hussain, Benjamin Knittl, Christian H Schulze, Thomas Frank

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Landscape ecology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Raja Imran HussainInstitute of Zoology, Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity, BOKU University, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria.
Benjamin KnittlInstitute of Zoology, Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity, BOKU University, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria.
Christian H SchulzeDivision of Tropical Ecology and Animal Biodiversity, Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, A-1030 Vienna, Austria.
Thomas FrankInstitute of Zoology, Department of Ecosystem Management, Climate and Biodiversity, BOKU University, Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Context: Understanding the effects of landscape composition on biodiversity is crucial, especially in human-dominated agricultural landscapes. This study focuses on dung beetles, an ecologically significant group, to explore how landscape composition and configuration influences species richness, abundance and community structure of dung beetles in Eastern Austrian agricultural areas. Objectives: The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between landscape composition and dung beetle communities. Specifically, we aim to determine how different habitat types within agricultural landscapes affect dung beetle species richness, abundance and community structure. Methods: We sampled dung beetles across 14 study landscapes, each with a diameter of 1 km, varying from homogenous landscapes dominated by annual crops to highly heterogeneous landscapes with diverse habitats such as woodlands, hedgerows, and set-aside land (areas left fallow or uncultivated). The study design focused on comparing dung beetle communities across these varying landscape compositions. Results: Our results reveal that dung beetle species richness is positively correlated with woodland cover, set-aside land and hedgerow length, while beetle abundance is associated with woodland cover and hedgerow length. Additionally, dung beetle communities were highly nested, with communities from landscapes with less woodland cover nested within those from landscapes with higher woodland cover. This underscores the importance of heterogeneously structured landscapes, such as woodlands, for maintaining diverse dung beetle communities. These findings highlight that a decline in structural diversity, often caused by agricultural intensification, likely reduces the ecosystem services provided by dung beetles. Conclusions: The study's findings emphasize the significance of maintaining landscape structural diversity to support dung beetle communities and their associated ecosystem services. Recommendations for landscape management and planning include promoting heterogeneous landscapes with set-aside land to enhance biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in agricultural areas.

Indexed as

Coprophagous beetlesLandscape heterogeneitySet-aside landSpecies compositionSpecies richness

Identifiers

PMID41048254
PMCPMC12494615

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.