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Abstract. Semi‐natural grasslands are a threatened biotope type in many countries. Typical grassland plant species are adapted to continuous grazing or mowing that keeps the environment open. With the decline in grassland area, these species are ever more reliant on alternative habitats such as road verges. To find out whether plant communities comparable to those of semi‐natural grasslands can be maintained on modern road and railway sides, the vegetation of 92 grasslands and 90 road and railway verges was studied. These biotope types were compared with each other according to their community structure, total number of species, number of grassland species and restricted‐range diversity. Further study of the vegetation of road and railway verges was carried out in order to identify the treatments and environments which are most likely to support diverse plant communities. The species number and the restricted‐range diversity proved to be higher next to roads and railways than on grasslands. Grassland species were, however, most abundant on grasslands. Furthermore, the community structure of these biotope types was totally divergent. In their present state, road and railway verges are not a substitute for semi‐natural grasslands. Nevertheless, the occurrence of grassland species in verges may be enhanced by a suitable mowing regime, by giving up the use of de‐icing salt and herbicides and by allowing natural establishment of vegetation on the verges.

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Data from several animal species and a few plant species indicate that small populations face an elevated risk of extinction. Plants are still underrepresented in these studies

Abstract. Semi‐natural grasslands have become scarce throughout Europe. Preservation of their plant species requires either the maintenance of the existing grasslands or the creation of new ones. To study the establishment and regeneration ability of plant species typical of dry grasslands we laid out an experiment on a former arable field in central Finland. We compared the success of 13 grassland species both in a theoretical situation with minimal competition and in competition with weeds. More than half of the species used were regionally rare. As a group, grassland plants reached the highest cover in the experimental plots in which outside competition was minimised by weeding. However, the total cover achieved by their sward remained as low as 60% in the third growing season. The ability of grassland plants to regenerate and disperse on a small scale was therefore considered to be moderately poor. The short‐living species that were rare in the region where the study took place also had the greatest difficulties in establishment and survival in the experimental field. The preservation of rare species ‐ i.e. those species in the most urgent need of protection ‐ therefore appears to be difficult to achieve by habitat creation. Efforts should primarily be directed towards the maintenance of those habitats into which they have spread and become established naturally.

Several recent reports on the status of women in US academic institutions have recommended more generous family policies to encourage and retain more women among academic staffs. Many of the policies suggested are modelled on those that have been in effect in Nordic countries for decades. The status of women among Finnish and Swedish academic staff ranks is examined, with the assumption that women should be better represented if family policies are a significant factor in advancement and retention. It is found that similar conditions for female academics exist in the US as in Nordic countries, suggesting that advancement may be more dependent upon prevailing social conditions and gender stereotypes.

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