GRASSLANDS: TYPES, BIODIVERSITY AND IMPACTS -- ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH - PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL FACTORS -- GRASSLANDS: TYPES, BIODIVERSITY AND IMPACTS -- Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data -- CONTENTS -- PREFACE -- COMMENTARY. HOW DOES MOWING OF GRASSLAND ON SEA WALL FLOOD DEFENCES AFFECT INSECT ASSEMBLAGES IN EASTERN ENGLAND? -- ABSTRACT -- INTRODUCTION -- SEA WALL HABITATS -- Mown vs. Unmown -- ASPECT -- GRASS HEIGHT AND FLOWER AVAILABILITY -- Timing of Grass Cut -- Height of Grass Cut -- TYPE OF MOWING MACHINERY USED AND METHOD OF HARVESTING -- CONCLUSION:MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SEAWALLS IN ESSEX -- Monitoring of Insect Responses to Sea Wall Management:More Research Needed? -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 1. GLOBAL BIODIVERSITY LOSS AND CONSERVATION: A REVIEW -- ABSTRACT -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. DATA SOURCES AND METHODS -- 3. ANALYSES AND RESULTS -- 3.1 Profile of Global Biodiversity -- 3.2 Mass Species Extinctions in the History -- 3.3 Global Profile of Biodiversity Loss -- 3.3.1 Analysis of Globally Threatened Plants -- 3.3.2 Analysis of Globally Threatened Animals -- 3.4 PROFILE OF GLOBAL NATURE RESERVES -- 3.5 CHINA'S BIODIVERSITY -- 3.5.1 Biodiversity Profile -- 3.5.2 Endangered Plants in China -- 3.5.3 Endangered Animals in China -- 4. DISCUSSION -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 2. INDIRECT BIOTIC INTERACTIONS IN THE RHIZOSPHERE OF GRASSLANDS -- ABSTRACT -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. INDIRECT BIOTIC INTERACTIONS IN THE RHIZOSPHERE -- 2.1. Microbial-Faunal Indirect Interactions -- 2.2. Plant-Microbial Indirect Interactions -- 2.3. Faunal-Plant Indirect Interactions -- 2.4. Microbial-Microbial Indirect Interactions -- 3. INDIRECT INTERACTIONS IN THE RHIZOSPHERE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF GRASSLANDS -- 4. METHODS USED FOR THE STUDY OF THE RHIZOSPHERE INTERACTIONS -- 4.1. Community Level Analysis.

4.2. Individual Level Analysis -- 4.3. Detecting Functional Activity -- 4.4. Isotope Techniques -- 4.5. Perturbation Experiments -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 3. EVALUATION OF SOIL QUALITY ON TEMPERATE GRASSLAND SOILS USING BIOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES -- ABSTRACT -- GRASSLAND SOILS -- SOIL QUALITY -- LAND USE CONVERSION EFFECT ON SOIL QUALITY -- GRASSLAND SOIL QUALITY -- CONCLUSIONS -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 4. ORCHARDGRASS: A VALUABLE PERENNIAL PASTURE GRASS ADAPTED TO DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS -- ABSTRACT -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND MANAGEMENT FACTORS ON ORCHARDGRASS GROWTH -- 2.1. Solar Radiation and Shade -- 2.2. Nitrogen -- 2.3. Water -- 2.4. Temperature -- 2.5. Regrowth Duration -- 3. MORPHOLOGY AND LEAF AREA INDEX (LAI) -- 4. MODELLING ORCHARDGRASS GROWTH BASEDON CANOPY PHOTOSYNTHESIS -- 5. NUTRITIVE VALUE -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 5. GRASSLAND MANAGEMENT AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES IN SOIL MICROBIAL COMMUNITIES -- ABSTRACT -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS -- 2.1. Study Site Description -- 2.2. Soil Sampling and Vegetation Analysis -- 2.3. Soil Physico-chemical Properties -- 2.4. PLFA Analysis -- 2.5. DNA Extraction, PCR, and DGGE Analysis -- 2.6. Statistical Analysis -- 3. RESULTS -- 3.1. Plant Vegetation Structure -- 3.2. Soil Physico-chemical Properties -- 3.3. Soil Microbial Community Structure-PLFA Data -- 3.4. Soil Microbial Community Structure-rDNA Data -- 3.5. Linkage between Plant Functional Types and Soil Microbial Communities -- 4. DISCUSSION -- 5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 6. CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF ALKALI GRASSLAND BIODIVERSITY IN CENTRAL-EUROPE -- ABSTRACT -- 1. INTRODUCTION -- 2. SOIL CONDITIONS AND CLIMATE -- 3. GRASSLAND TYPES -- 3.1. General Characteristics -- 3.2. Annual Alkali Pioneer Swards of Steppes and Lakes.

3.3. Dense and Tall Puccinellia Swards -- 3.4. Artemisia Alkali Steppes -- 3.5. Achillea Alkali Steppes on Meadow Solonetz -- 3.6. Alkali Meadows -- 3.7. Tall Herb Alkali Meadows and Meadow Steppes -- 4. MANAGEMENT AND THREATS -- 4.1. Traditional Management -- 4.2. Current Management and Threats -- 5. CONSERVATION REMARKS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- REFERENCES -- CHAPTER 7. THE SOIL NEMATODES IN NATURAL AND SEMI-NATURAL GRASSLANDS AND THEIR USE AS BIOINDICATORS -- ABSTRACT -- INTRODUCTION -- ROLE OF PLANTS IN THE COMPOSITION OF NEMATODE FAUNA -- NEMATODES IN NATURAL AND SEMI-NATURAL GRASSLANDS -- NEMATODES IN AGRICULTURAL, MAN-MANAGED OR MONOCULTURE GRASSLANDS -- SOIL NEMATODES AND THEIR USE AS INDICATOR OF SOIL ECOSYSTEM STATUS -- ECOLOGICAL INDICES -- DIVERSITY INDICES -- CONCLUSION -- REFERENCES -- INDEX.