IT25 - Val Mazia/Matschertal - Italy: Species trait data from 16 taxonomic groups from dry pastures, hay meadows and Larch forests (2016)

• (1) Vascular plants (Tracheophyta) were recorded (cover and abundance) within a minimum area of 25 m2 for meadows and pastures and 225 m2 for the larch forests following the method of Braun-Blanquet (1964). The minimum areas were chosen following Dierßen (1990). Specimens of species which were difficult to identify in the field were collected and identified in the laboratory.
• For the recording of (2) Bryophytes (Bryophyta) a 49 m2 minimum area was surveyed and coverage of every species was noted.
• (3) Lichens (Lichenes) in meadows and pastures were recorded from five subplots on the ground (50 × 40 cm) within a 225 m2 area around the central pole (Scheidegger et al. 2002). In forests, five trees were additionally randomly selected within 500 m2 around the central pole, from four subplots (10 × 50 cm) on each tree all species were recorded (cf. Nascimbene et al. 2010).
• (4) Earthworms (Lumbricidae) and (5) millipedes (Diplopoda) were extracted by heat from three soil samples (20 × 20 cm, 15 cm deep, taken randomly within a 100 m2 area around the central pole) using a modified Kempson apparatus (Kempson et al. 1963) with propylene glycol as as collection fluid.
• (6) Spiders (Araneae) and harvestmen (Opiliones) were hand collected in the field (1 h per site) within an area of 100 m2 around the central pole to obtain a comprehensive list of species. Additionally, individuals from pitfall traps and soil samples were added to the survey. Adult specimens were identified to species level, juveniles to the highest taxonomic resolution possible.
• (7) Oribatid mites (Oribatida) were extracted by heat in a Macfadyen extractor (Block 1966) from four samples (10 cm in diameter, 8–10 cm deep, taken from a 25 m2 area around the central pole, including herb, grass, litter, and topsoil); ethanol (75%) was used as collection fluid.
• Within a 100 m2 area around the central pole, (8) grasshoppers (Orthoptera) were caught by hand and with a sweep net for 20 min. Additionally, vocals were used to identify species. A second survey was conducted in the first half of September of the same year, since in June most species had not been adult.
• (9) Bugs (Heteroptera) were collected by hand and with a sweep net (1 h per site), as well as with a modified leaf vacuum (Echo ES, 255-ES, with a gauze bag fitted into the opening) within a 100 m2 area around the central pole to obtain a comprehensive list of species. With the leaf vacuum three samples per site were taken by sucking the vegetation a hundred times each. Additionally, specimens from pit fall traps were identified.
• (10) Ground beetles (Carabidae) were collected from pitfall traps and soil samples as mentioned above.
• (11) Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) were collected by hand sampling (netting, sifting of ant nests, sifting of leaf litter and detritus) within a 25 m2 area around the central pole and from pitfall traps. Further beetle families (Buprestidae, Catopidae, Coccinellidae, Curculionidae, Elateridae,
Geotrupidae, Leiodidae, Silphidae) with only very few species obtained from pitfall traps and soil samples were also identified.
• (12) Ants (Formicidae) were recorded via nest counts from 4 m2 plots (meadows and pastures) or 9 m2 plots (forests) within 100 m2 around the central pole (following the sampling design of Seifert 2017). Individuals from each nest were stored either in 95% ethanol or as dried preparation after identification.
• (13) Butterflies (Papilionoidea) and burnets (Zygaenidae) were caught with a sweep net (45 min per site) within 400 m2 around the central pole, identified to species level, and released.
• (14) Birds (Aves) were recorded using a combination of transect and point-count methods (30 min per site). Bird surveys were conducted early in the morning and in the evening, since these are the times when most species are active. We classified bird species into pasture or woodland species according to their potential breeding habitat (information gathered from Niederfriniger et al. 1996). Due to intensive management no species were assigned to the hay meadows.
• (15) Reptiles and (16) Amphibians were findings of collaborators during summer field work and were included in the species list (four species).