Between land and sea – a classification of saline and                     brackish grasslands of the Baltic Sea coast

Pätsch, Ricarda; Schaminée, J.H.J.; Janssen, John; Hennekens, S.M.; Bruchmann, Ines; Jutila, Heli; Meisert, Anke; Bergmeier, Erwin

doi:10.1127/phyto/2019/0339

Cited by 8 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The best quality indicators for coastal meadows are the coverage ratio of low‐lying plants (more than 25%) and the proportion of these species (more than 23%) compared to species pool. The ratios of medium‐height plants (over 40%), light‐demanding plants (more than 60%), salt‐tolerant plants, hemicryptophytes, and cryptophytes (more than 60%), and wintergreen plants (more than 65%) in relation to overall plant coverage were also considered to be good indicators of the quality of coastal meadows, in line with Pätsch et al (2019). These plants take time to appear during the restoration process (Waldén et al 2017), regardless of whether the degradation is characterized by tall herbs (Pakeman et al 2017).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Lindborg & Eriksson 2004; Lundberg et al 2017), although changes in the number of species cannot always be a restoration target (Bakker et al 2000). Our research revealed that, in coastal meadows, species richness may not be the main indicator of quality, as there is high diversity in the plant communities, associations, and types that comprise coastal meadows due to variations in location around the Baltic Sea, bedrock, salinity, inundation, and other factors (Pätsch et al 2019). Some associations are more species‐rich, and others are species‐poor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Within each region, the meadows were selected to be as close as possible to each other, and sampling was done in carefully selected parts of the meadows in order to avoid elevation gradients and salinity differences. Plant communities were identified as the Molinia caerulea ‐ Carex panicea type of the Armerion maritimae association in the Silma region and the C. panicea ‐ Galium palustre and Filipendula ulmaria types of the Triglochino ‐ Agrostietum stoloniferae and Molinio ‐ Arrhenatheretea associations (Pätsch et al 2019). These communities are distinct and rare vegetation types and are restricted to the northern Baltic Sea (the West Estonian archipelago) and Baltic Proper (Pätsch et al 2019).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Twenty years of Baltic Boreal coastal meadow restoration: has it been long enough?

Kose

Heinsoo

Kaljund

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The restoration of a threatened type of seminatural grassland-the Baltic Boreal coastal meadows-began in Estonia in 1997. The main causes of degradation of these communities were land abandonment and overgrowth by reed. In 2015, we resurveyed 14 sites and classified as (1) permanently managed or (2) restored before 2005, or (3) after 2005. In 2015, all sites were managed under the EU agri-environmental scheme and classified as permanently managed or restored before or after 2005. The resurvey focused on assessment of the long-term success of restoration, comparing the vegetation parameters of restored meadows with permanently managed meadows (which were considered as reference). Our study revealed that historical management patterns have an impact on the species richness of these habitats, as more species were found in historically mown meadows, even if the sites were restored by grazing. However, species richness was not an important indicator of coastal meadow recovery. The best indicators of restoration success are evenness and coverage of low-lying, light-demanding, salt-tolerant, wintergreen, cryptophyte, and hemicryptophyte plant species. Phragmites australis is a good indicator species for the habitat, as its abundance indicates poor habitat quality. The study indicated that the recovery of coastal meadow habitat from abandonment requires more than 15 years of restoration activities, and suggested the 3-year restoration period covered by conservation measures and funds is not enough. Therefore, we recommend that agri-environmental schemes should support additional restoration activities for recently restored meadows which are entering the management scheme.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Twenty years of Baltic Boreal coastal meadow restoration: has it been long enough?

Kose

Heinsoo

Kaljund

et al. 2020

Restoration Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…With our suggestions on transforming the three species‐quantity scales of Norrlin, Hult–Sernander and Drude, we hope to contribute to their comprehensibility and application and to the preservation of a substantial volume of historical quantitative information on Fennoscandian vegetation. An example of a geographically broad‐scale study in which Nordic vegetation‐plot data recorded with different species‐quantity scales were specifically transformed and used, is the survey of salt marsh vegetation of the shores of the Baltic Sea (Pätsch et al., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…vegetation. An example of a geographically broad-scale study in which Nordic vegetation-plot data recorded with different species-quantity scales were specifically transformed and used, is the survey of salt marsh vegetation of the shores of the Baltic Sea (Pätsch et al, 2019).…”

Section: Con Clus Ionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Making them visible and usable — vegetation‐plot observations from Fennoscandia based on historical species‐quantity scales

Pätsch

Jašková

Chytrý

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aims Present‐day large‐scale and plot‐based vegetation analyses contribute to the transnational characterization and interpretation of biodiversity patterns and to habitat typologies which are important for planning, monitoring and decision making in nature conservation. Many historical vegetation surveys applied cover abundance, relative occurrence or density scales (species‐quantity scales) that are nowadays poorly known and consequently disregarded or misinterpreted. Therefore, it is worthwhile to put effort into making them compatible with the datasets sampled using mainstream methods. Within Europe, this especially applies to historical data from Fennoscandia. Here, we aim to propose how to transform the species‐quantity scales frequently used in Fennoscandia into percentage cover scales, based on the conversion of their individual grades. Study area Fennoscandia, including Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Fennoscandian part of Russia (Republic of Karelia, Karelian Isthmus, Murmansk Region). Methods and results We inventoried Fennoscandian vegetation‐plot studies and identified that the most frequently applied species‐quantity scales were those of Norrlin, Hult–Sernander and Drude. We reviewed the definitions and applications of these scales in the literature and, if not available, calculated hypothetical species covers to approximate realistic conversions to the percentage scale. As a result, we propose alternative ways of conversion of the individual scale grades to mid‐percentage cover values. Conclusion Historical vegetation plot data from Fennoscandia can be used as quantitative information for vegetation research if their grades are consistently transformed into percentage cover values using the proposals presented in this paper.

show abstract

Carbon sequestration is not inhibited by livestock grazing in Danish salt marshes

Graversen

Banta

Masqué

2022

Limnology & Oceanography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate change has created a need for solutions that can counteract greenhouse gas emissions. One is the expansion and maintenance of natural carbon (C)-sequestration habitats, such as forests and coastal and marine vegetated ecosystems, socalled "blue carbon ecosystems" including salt marshes, which represent large and long-term C-storage potential. While salt marsh blue carbon is gaining international attention, Baltic and Nordic salt marshes have been neglected in the blue carbon context. Here, we quantified C-stocks and C-sequestration rates in grazed and nongrazed sites of three Danish salt marshes, and evaluated whether grazing livestock, the standard management to increase biodiversity of the marshes, affect C-stocks and sequestration rates. The aboveground biomass and vegetation height in nongrazed salt marshes were significantly larger than for grazed salt marshes, but this did not lead to significantly enhanced overall sediment-or C-accumulation rates. Detailed model analyses of sediment profiles even indicated significantly higher C-densities in surface layers at grazed sites. Averaged C-densities, C-stocks (top 43 cm sediment) and sequestration rates estimated from 210 Pb profiles ranged 0.011-0.022 g C cm À3 , 4228-8178 g C m À2 , and 17-45 g C m À2 yr À1 , respectively, with the latter being low in the global context. While this pioneering study for the Baltic and Nordic regions showed a neutral to positive effect of grazing on C-sequestration, there is a need to explore the overall C-footprint of this practice, including effects on net greenhouse gas emissions and coastal defense capacity, and define blue carbon management strategies for salt marshes to maximize their climate change mitigation and adaptation capacity while supporting biodiversity.

show abstract

Between land and sea – a classification of saline and brackish grasslands of the Baltic Sea coast

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

Twenty years of Baltic Boreal coastal meadow restoration: has it been long enough?

Twenty years of Baltic Boreal coastal meadow restoration: has it been long enough?

Making them visible and usable — vegetation‐plot observations from Fennoscandia based on historical species‐quantity scales

Carbon sequestration is not inhibited by livestock grazing in Danish salt marshes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About