A field experiment to recreate species rich hay meadows using regional seed mixtures

Jongepierová, Ivana; Mitchley, Jonathan; Tzanopoulos, Joseph

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2007.07.026

Cited by 85 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Some experiments even had to be terminated after year 2 because the sown species invaded non-sown control plots (Stevenson et al 1995). One way to get around this problem is to sow buffer zones consisting of commercial grass seed mixtures between experimentally treated plots, as was shown by Jongepierová et al (2007). However, commercial seed mixtures are often composed of competitor grasses and forbs, which can also invade the treatment plots.…”

Section: Restoration Success After Seed Sowing and Spontaneous Succesmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…For example, species richness often decreases in sown plots and increases in naturally re-vegetating plots with time, sometimes even surpassing species richness in the sown plots (Jongepierová et al 2007). These observations suggest that the sown grass community reduces the possibility of further colonization by late-successional species by competitive exclusion or litter accumulation (Lepš et al 2007;Török et al 2010b).…”

Section: Restoration Success After Seed Sowing and Spontaneous Succesmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Grassland restoration on former croplands in Europe: an assessment of applicability of techniques and costs

et al. 2011

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Grasslands used to be vital landscape elements throughout Europe. Nowadays, the area of grasslands is dramatically reduced, especially in industrial countries. Grassland restoration is widely applied to increase the naturalness of the landscape and preserve biodiversity. We reviewed the most frequently used restoration techniques (spontaneous succession, sowing seed mixtures, transfer of plant material, topsoil removal and transfer) and techniques used to improve species richness (planting, grazing and mowing) to recover natural-like grasslands from ex-arable lands. We focus on the usefulness of methods in restoring biodiversity, their practical feasibility and costs. We conclude that the success of each technique depends on the site conditions, history, availability of propagules and/or donor sites, and on the budget and time available for restoration. Spontaneous succession can be an option for restoration when no rapid result is expected, and is likely to lead to the target in areas with high availability of propagules. Sowing low-diversity seed mixtures is recommended when we aim at to create basic grassland vegetation in large areas and/or in a short time. The compilation of high-diversity seed mixtures for large sites is rather difficult and expensive; thus, it may be applied rather on smaller areas. We recommend combining the two kinds of seed sowing methods by sowing low-diversity mixtures in a large area and high-diversity mixtures in small blocks to create species-rich source patches for the spontaneous colonization of nearby areas. When proper local hay sources are available, the restoration with plant material transfer can be a fast and effective method for restoration.

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Section: Restoration Success After Seed Sowing and Spontaneous Succesmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Restoration Success After Seed Sowing and Spontaneous Succesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Grassland restoration on former croplands in Europe: an assessment of applicability of techniques and costs

et al. 2011

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“…In this paper, grasslands in the White Carpathian Mountains were investigated because of their extraordinary species-richness, up to 103 vascular plant species per 24 m 2 (Jongepierová et al 2007), which has been predetermined by a long history of low input management and by the biogeographical position situated between the Subatlantic, Montane Carpathian and Pannonian regions. Three types of the most widespread grassland communities in the region (Škodová et al 2008) were selected for detailed analysis: Bromion erecti Koch 1926 (henceforth Bromion), Cynosurion cristati Tüxen 1947 (Cynosurion) and Violion caninae Schwickerath 1944 (Violion), i.e., three distinct vegetation alliances as described in Chytrý (2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Seasonal Development Enables Late Defoliation Without Loss of Forage Quality in Semi-natural Grasslands

et al. 2010

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Agri-environmental measures often require postponing of grassland defoliation until summer months. We investigated how this affects agronomic characteristics, i.e., biomass production and forage quality, in species-rich grasslands in the White Carpathian Mountains, Czech Republic. Three distinct grasslands (vegetation alliances Bromion erecti, Cynosurion cristati, Violion caninae) were selected for biomass sampling in three dates: mid-May, early June and end of June. Proportions of individual species from total biomass, biomass production, crude fibre concentration, organic matter digestibility and community functional properties (forage value, leaf dry matter content, specific leaf area) were determined. Dry matter standing biomass at the end of June was highest in Bromion with 3.5 t/ha, followed by Violion with 2.7 t/ha and Cynosurion with 2.3 t/ha. A steep decline in forage quality (increase in crude fibre and decrease in organic matter digestibility) during accumulation of aboveground biomass was recorded in formerly unmanaged Bromion grassland but remarkably not in formerly grazed Cynosurion and Violion grasslands where early spring dominants were partly replaced by later developing species, Agrostis capillaris and Trifolium spp. Abundance-weighted community functional properties were consistent with results obtained from biomass chemical analyses, thus the 'trait approach' can be used as a suitable surrogate of costly and labor-intensive laboratory procedures. Finally, we assume that the high degree of community seasonal development in Cynosurion and Violion, indicated here by a new community seasonal development index and by development in community specific leaf area, was accountable for the stabilization of forage quality later in the vegetation season.

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“…Apart from the semi-dry grasslands, other habitats of the White Carpathians, such as forests (Němec 2000), wet meadows and fens (Hájek 1998, Hájková et al 2007, and arable land (Otýpková 2001) are also known to be well-preserved and support many endangered species. The floristic composition and richness of the White Carpathians is assumed to result from several factors, such as their position in a phytogeographically transitional region, the history of landscape settlement and the long continuation of traditional management techniques (Jongepierová et al 2007;Klimeš 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Floristic diversity patterns in the White Carpathians biosphere reserve, Czech Republic

et al. 2011

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The flora of the White Carpathians, a mountain range in the south-east of the Czech Republic, is documented by about 485,000 records of vascular plant occurrences collected since the mid-19 th century. A total of 1299 species recorded in 93 grid cells of 2.8 × 3.1 km were used for an analysis of spatial patterns of floristic diversity in the White Carpathians. Multivariate statistical techniques such as ordination and classification were used to reveal the main gradients in floristic composition and species richness, and measured environmental data and Ellenberg indicator values were used to assess underlying environmental factors. There is a striking floristic contrast between the western and eastern part of the study area, which is associated with differences in climate, mean altitude, topographic heterogeneity measured as altitudinal range, and land use. The western part is characterised by thermophilous, continental and calcicolous species of open habitats. In contrast, the more forested eastern part along the state border with Slovakia and the north-eastern part of the area are characterised by acidophilous species with higher moisture requirements. This pattern is consistent with the established phytogeographical division of the Czech Republic into the phytogeographical regions of Thermophyticum and Mesophyticum. The further division of the area into four regions, based on classified grid data, is also similar to the current division into phytogeographical districts, except for the Javorníky district. There are two distinct hot spots of species richness, in the western and the extreme north-eastern part. A poorer flora was found in landscapes with intensive agriculture. Species richness is associated with different environmental factors than species composition, namely with soil types and land-use categories. Alien species are more common in areas with a higher incidence of arable land and built-up areas, and less common in areas dominated by grasslands and forests.

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A field experiment to recreate species rich hay meadows using regional seed mixtures

Cited by 85 publications

References 24 publications

Grassland restoration on former croplands in Europe: an assessment of applicability of techniques and costs

Grassland restoration on former croplands in Europe: an assessment of applicability of techniques and costs

Community Seasonal Development Enables Late Defoliation Without Loss of Forage Quality in Semi-natural Grasslands

Floristic diversity patterns in the White Carpathians biosphere reserve, Czech Republic

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