Linear structures such as woodlots and hedgerows offer many benefits to ecosystems, including enhancing biodiversity, increasing the abundance of plants and animals, and providing a wide range of ecosystem services. However, agriculture expansion has deteriorated and destroyed these elements in the farmland landscape. Human‐made structures like road verges, electricity pylons, or railways may enhance biodiversity in intensive farmland, replacing natural woody elements. We aimed to explore whether abandoned railway lines in agriculture‐dominated landscapes can serve as alternative habitats for plant species. We evaluated the taxonomical, functional, and phylogenetic diversity, along with the community composition of plants, in 25 sites along abandoned railway lines and 25 reference sites in adjacent semi‐natural grasslands. We found no significant difference in species richness and Shannon diversity between grasslands and abandoned railway vegetation, but we observed distinct differences in functional and phylogenetic diversity. Moreover, the vegetation along abandoned railways is not a variant of surrounding semi‐natural grasslands but comprises a novel vegetation type composed of species associated mainly with crops, ruderal, and forest habitats. Abandoned railway lines are characterized by specific abiotic conditions providing a set of opportunities for shaping distinct plant communities in an intensively managed agricultural landscape, fulfilling the concept of a novel ecosystem. Abandoned railways offer a unique opportunity for conservation and can serve as valuable dispersal corridors and habitats for plants, increasing functional and phylogenetic diversity in agricultural landscapes. Combining ecological restoration techniques and sustainable land management practices can help support plant diversity on abandoned railways.

中文翻译：

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在农业景观中，废弃的铁路比相邻的草地支持更大的功能和系统发育植物多样性


林地和树篱等线性结构为生态系统提供了许多好处，包括增强生物多样性、增加动植物的丰度以及提供广泛的生态系统服务。然而，农业扩张已经恶化并破坏了农田景观中的这些元素。道路边缘、电线塔或铁路等人造结构可以取代天然木质元素，从而增强密集农田的生物多样性。我们旨在探索在农业为主的景观中废弃的铁路线是否可以作为植物物种的替代栖息地。我们评估了废弃铁路沿线 25 个地点和邻近半自然草原的 25 个参考地点的分类学、功能和系统发育多样性，以及植物的群落组成。我们发现草原和废弃铁路植被之间的物种丰富度和 Shannon 多样性没有显著差异，但我们观察到功能和系统发育多样性存在明显差异。此外，废弃铁路沿线的植被不是周围半自然草原的变体，而是一种新型植被类型，由主要与农作物、原始和森林栖息地相关的物种组成。废弃铁路线的特点是特定的非生物条件，为在集约化管理的农业景观中塑造不同的植物群落提供了一系列机会，实现了新型生态系统的概念。废弃的铁路为保护提供了独特的机会，可以作为宝贵的传播走廊和植物栖息地，增加农业景观的功能和系统发育多样性。 将生态恢复技术和可持续的土地管理实践相结合，有助于支持废弃铁路上的植物多样性。