caa a22 4500 605527733 CHVBK 20210128100809.0 cr unu---uuuuu 210128e20150801xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10531-015-0922-8 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10531-015-0922-8 Sphagnum farming: the promised land for peat bog species? [Elektronische Daten] [Christoph Muster, Greta Gaudig, Matthias Krebs, Hans Joosten] Sphagnum farming is a promising approach towards sustainability in growing media production for horticulture. In this study we focus on the additional value of Sphagnum farming sites as a surrogate habitat for threatened peat bog fauna. The highly diverse arthropod groups of spiders and harvestmen were used as bioindicators to track changes in species assemblages over the first 3years of Sphagnum farming on a site in northwestern Germany. The results were compared with simultaneously studied reference habitats of nearby bog grasslands and degraded peat bog remnants. Spider communities changed rapidly from assemblages dominated by disturbance specialists (pioneer species) in the year of artificial Sphagnum establishment to diverse assemblages with large proportions of peatland generalists in the following years. Conservation value based on rarity, Red List status, disturbance tolerance and peatland association of individual species was in the later stage of Sphagnum farming as high as in the seminatural reference sites. Species quality index as derived from rarity scores was particularly high in the first year of succession due to the occurrence of some rare disturbance specialists. Despite the fact that each succession stage has its own conservation value, we advocate long rotation cycles in Sphagnum farming to allow establishment of slowly colonizing peatland specialists. We generally recommend the establishment of Sphagnum farms on degraded peatland, as creation of this artificial habitat promotes landscape and species diversity and provides refuges for endangered species of peatland and ephemeral habitats. Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht, 2015 Araneae nationallicence Bioindication nationallicence Mire conservation nationallicence Paludiculture nationallicence Spider community succession nationallicence Surrogate habitat nationallicence Muster Christoph Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Johann Sebastian Bach Str. 11/12, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut Gaudig Greta Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut Krebs Matthias Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut Joosten Hans Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/8(2015-08-01), 1989-2009 0960-3115 24:8<1989 2015 24 10531 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0922-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0922-8 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Muster Christoph Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Johann Sebastian Bach Str. 11/12, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Gaudig Greta Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Krebs Matthias Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 700 1- Joosten Hans Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, Partner in the Greifswald Mire Centre, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstr. 15, 17487, Greifswald, Germany aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Biodiversity and Conservation Springer Netherlands 24/8(2015-08-01), 1989-2009 0960-3115 24:8<1989 2015 24 10531