Extent to which an agricultural mosaic supports endemic species-rich grasshopper assemblages in the Cape Floristic Region biodiversity hotspot Samuel Adu-Acheampong, Corinna S. Bazelet*, Michael J. Samways Department of Conservation Ecology and Entomology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 5 August 2015 Received in revised form 5 April 2016 Accepted 22 April 2016 Available online 13 May 2016 Keywords: Fynbos Landscape-scale Land-use Mitigation Vineyards Orchards A B S T R A C T The impact of expansion and intensification of agriculture on biodiversity requires quantification, especially in areas of exceptionally high biodiversity like the Cape Floristic Region (CFR). In the CFR, landscape mosaics consist of agriculture alongside Mediterranean-type fynbos scrubland natural vegetation rich in endemic insect species. However, little is known about how ground-dwelling insect herbivores utilize the various elements of the mosaic. We compared species richness, abundance, species composition, diversity and evenness of grasshoppers among 46 sites in four geographical areas in the CFR. We investigated three land-use types: fynbos (the historic condition as reference), vineyards and deciduous fruit orchards, the main production types in the region. Grasshopper abundance was significantly higher in vineyards than in fynbos or orchards. Species richness, diversity, and evenness were highest in fynbos followed by vineyards and then orchards. Orchards had no unique species, vineyards two, and fynbos 14 unique species. Nevertheless, there was overall high species similarity among all three land-use types, with high species assemblage similarities between vineyards and orchards. Species that preferred fynbos were mostly flightless and endemic to the CFR. We show that agricultural areas do not support the entire species assemblage of natural vegetation, although vineyards are more diverse than orchards, probably because of the presence of often grassy ground cover and an open canopy. Vineyards provide the greatest opportunity for improved harmony between production and biodiversity conservation through continuing to improve the ground cover quality and other farming practices. Fewer opportunities are provided by orchards in view of their closed canopy and absence of grassy ground cover (for generalist species) and fynbos plants (for endemic species). However, protected areas still remain vital for maintaining the full complement of species, especially flightless endemics. ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Biodiversity is threatened by increasing human stressors (Crains and Lackey, 1992; Corker, 2011; de Baan et al., 2013). The threats come from increasing demands for food, fibre and fuel, necessitating the expansion of agricultural lands at the expense of natural vegetation (Norris, 2008; Pagiola et al., 1998). Agricultural production is considered to be one of the strongest drivers of this biodiversity loss (Lindenmayer et al., 2013). The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is a world biodiversity hotspot, with high diversity of endemic plants and other organisms which face high levels of threat (Mittermeier et al., 2004; Myers et al., 2000). The CFR is also known for intensive agricultural production (Esler et al., 2014). Over 30% of the land mass of the CFR has been transformed by agriculture, urbanisation and alien invasive plants, with only 17% of the original extent of the primary natural vegetation (fynbos) still remaining (Cowling et al., 2003; Rouget et al., 2003). Furthermore, 47.7% and 78.6% of South Africa’s vineyards and apple orchards, respectively, are located in the CFR (Greef and Kotze, 2007). These production types, together with potato and melon production, are responsible for the loss of the majority of the original extent of fynbos vegetation, mostly lowland fynbos (Esler et al., 2014) and there is still potential for expansion of agricultural holdings and further pressure on biodiversity within the CFR (Rouget et al., 2003). While agriculture is known to adversely affect biodiversity, if good management practices are observed, they may be able to benefit biodiversity through mitigating the effects of transforma- tion. This can be done by land sparing, such as conserving remnant * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: 17713803@sun.ac.za (S. Adu-Acheampong), cbazelet@sun.ac.za (C.S. Bazelet), samways@sun.ac.za (M.J. Samways). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2016.04.019 0167-8809/ã 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 227 (2016) 52–60 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment journa l homepage : www.e lsevier.com/loca te/agee