Ecological time frames and the conservation of grassland insects

Abstract

Some guidelines for conservation management are developed, based on sustainability. Grassland data that have been rigorously screened for their consistency over time are presented as evidence. It is shown that species rarity is related to commonness and that extremes of abundance unfold in a pattern over the long term. Risks of extinction are related furthermore to degrees of community heterogeneity when a system is functioning in a state of resilience. For conservation management this means that durable time is a function of the space available. All data assume the absence of catastrophe (usually a rare event if heterogeneity is maintained) and demonstrate a methodology appropriate to the conservation ethic. Emphasis is given to standardised observation (not necessarily continuous) over the long time frame.

Keywords:

• conservation
• grasslands
• faunas
• abundance
• rarity
• extinction
• space
• time
• heterogeneity