Questions Restoration of disturbed alpine ecosystems is difficult due to harsh environmental conditions. Transplanting of vegetation turfs into disturbed areas has been used as a restoration method in disturbed alpine sites. The aim of this study is to investigate which environmental factors influence the vegetation recovery in turf surroundings and how turf attributes contribute to vegetation recovery. Location Restored roads in a former military training area, Dovrefjell mountain range, central Norway. Methods We recorded species richness, vegetation cover and soil characteristics of transplanted turfs and turf surroundings in roads restored between 3 and 14 years ago. Linear and generalized linear mixed models were used to investigate the relative importance of turf attributes and soil factors for recovery of turf surroundings. Results Time was the most important factor for vegetation recovery, but soil conditions in turf surroundings were also highly important. Species richness and vegetation cover in turf surroundings were almost twice as high on silt‐dominated soil and with presence of soil organic matter compared to on coarser soils and without organic matter. Species richness in turfs and turf surroundings was almost equal after 14 years, and the similarity of the species composition was high. Neither turf size, distance to the second closest turf or species richness and vegetation cover of the turfs were important factors for vegetation recovery in the turf surroundings. Conclusion This study demonstrates the importance of preparing the restoration sites before using turf transplants in road and infrastructure restoration. Of particular importance is ensuring soil organic content and a fine soil grain size to increase rates of vegetation recovery in short time scales. Time is the most important factor for recovery in this ecosystem, and this should be communicated to project owners and to the public to ensure realistic expectations on recovery time.

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Like large carnivores, hunters both kill and scare ungulates, and thus might indirectly affect plant performance through trophic cascades. In this study, we hypothesized that intensive hunting and enduring fear of humans have caused moose and other forest ungulates to partly avoid areas near human infrastructure (perceived hunting risk), with positive cascading effects on recruitment of trees. Using data from the Norwegian forest inventory, we found decreasing browsing pressure and increasing tree recruitment in areas close to roads and houses, where ungulates are more likely to encounter humans. However, although browsing and recruitment were negatively related, reduced browsing was only responsible for a small proportion of the higher tree recruitment near human infrastructure. We suggest that the apparently weak cascading effect occurs because the recorded browsing pressure only partly reflects the long‐term browsing intensity close to humans. Accordingly, tree recruitment was also related to the density of small trees 5–10 years earlier, which was higher close to human infrastructure. Hence, if small tree density is a product of the browsing pressure in the past, the cascading effect is probably stronger than our estimates suggest. Reduced browsing near roads and houses is most in line with risk avoidance driven by fear of humans (behaviorally mediated), and not because of excessive hunting and local reduction in ungulate density (density mediated).