Establishing a semi-natural grassland: Effects of harvesting time and sowing density on species composition and structure of a restored Arrhenatherum elatius meadow

Scotton, M.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2015.12.029

Cited by 21 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…, ). Multiple harvest periods when different species with mature seeds are present increased transfer rate from 64% to 75% in an inland meadow (Scotton ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Restoration of inland brackish vegetation by large‐scale transfer of coastal driftline material

Wolters

Vries

Ozinga

et al. 2017

Applied Vegetation Science

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Question Does large‐scale transfer of coastal driftline material enhance the establishment of inland brackish vegetation? Location The Klutenplas of 11 ha, a formerly reclaimed agricultural field, north coast of the Netherlands. Methods A large quantity of coastal driftline material of local origin was transferred to the restoration site in 2006 after top soil removal in 2005 leaving bare areas for control plots. A priori species composition of the driftline was analysed in a greenhouse germination study. Target species were assigned to saline and brackish ecological species groups and present and historic regional occurrences. Our procedure for selecting target species resulted in a list of 98 species characteristic of terrestrial salt and brackish ecological species groups. The establishment of plant species in the field was recorded annually from 2006 to 2009, with a final survey in 2012. A comparison between locations with and without driftline was made. The entire study site was grazed with sheep. Results Driftline material contained 39 species, including 26 target species. During the first 4 yr, the mean number of target species in the established vegetation of driftline plots was significantly higher than in control plots. When corrected for spontaneous occurrence by natural colonization in control plots, 44% of the target species in the established vegetation of driftline plots during the first 4 yr could be attributed to the transferred material. After 7 yr driftline and control plots converged to similar levels, probably as a result of dispersal by wind and animals. Conclusions Transfer of coastal driftline material enhanced the rate of establishment of inland brackish vegetation for at least the first 4 yr.

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“…, ). Multiple harvest periods when different species with mature seeds are present increased transfer rate from 64% to 75% in an inland meadow (Scotton ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sampling time made a difference, with autumn driftline containing more propagules and more species than driftline sampled in spring (Bakker et al 2001(Bakker et al , 2007. Multiple harvest periods when different species with mature seeds are present increased transfer rate from 64% to 75% in an inland meadow (Scotton 2016).…”

Section: Driftline Germination Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Restoration of inland brackish vegetation by large‐scale transfer of coastal driftline material

Wolters

Vries

Ozinga

et al. 2017

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…Experimental approaches have considerably strengthened the conceptual bases of restoration ecology by testing hypotheses from the field of community ecology (Wainwright et al, 2018) and exploring key processes in restoration operations such as biotic interactions or disturbances (Buisson, Corcket, & Dutoit, 2015). One of the principal processes that affects restoration success is the limited dispersal and recruitment of plant seeds in a context of habitat fragmentation (Pywell et al, 2002;Woodcock, McDonald, & Pywell, 2011), particularly after a long history of intensive agricultural practices that has reduced the number of floodplain grassland species seeds stored in the seed bank (Bischoff, Warthemann, & Klotz, 2009;Hedberg & Kotowski, 2010;Scotton, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of management on vegetation trajectories during the early‐stage restoration of previously arable land after hay transfer

Garrouj

Alard

Corcket

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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The restoration of floodplain grasslands has benefited from many studies of the underlying mechanisms. Among the operational tools that resulted, hay transfer is now used increasingly to alleviate the effects of limited seed dispersal and recruitment. To improve this method, we still need to understand how it can affect restoration trajectories, and particularly their direction and magnitude during the early stages of restoration. Based on concepts from the field of community ecology theory, we investigated the effects of early‐stage management through grazing or mowing on restoration trajectories after soil harrowing and hay transfer. We established a randomized block design experiment and quantified several community‐related metrics to formalize restoration trajectories for 3 years after hay transfer on a previously arable alluvial island in southwestern France. Whatever the management treatment, the species richness and evenness were significantly higher in hay‐inoculated than in control plots. This effect was linked to the recruitment of species originating not only from the reference grassland through hay transfer, but also from the seed bank, a well‐known effect of soil harrowing. Although generally oriented toward the reference grassland, the origin, direction, and magnitude of the trajectory of hay‐inoculated plots all depended on the management applied. Sheep grazing applied at the same time as hay transfer enhanced the recruitment of reference species as from the first experimental year, because it controlled aboveground competition and maintained the window of opportunity open for a sufficiently longer period of time. Our findings show that the type of management applied simultaneously to hay transfer influences the origin of a grassland trajectory, while its direction and magnitude are dependent on the management applied in subsequent years. Grazing immediately after hay transfer may be appropriate to accelerate the recruitment of species from the reference grassland.

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“…Apart from spontaneous colonization, one aspect is that species are often deliberately introduced to restore species‐poor grasslands (see Kiehl et al., ; Török et al., ). The techniques of species introduction comprise, among others, transfer of freshly cut seed‐rich hay (e.g., Baasch, Kirmer, & Tischew, ; Edwards et al., ; Klimkowska, Van Diggelen, Bakker, & Grootjans, ; Schmiede, Otte, & Donath, ), transfer of diaspores extracted from fresh hay by on‐site threshing (Scotton, ; Scotton, Kirmer, & Krautzer, ), sowing of regional seed mixtures (Kirmer, Baasch & Tischew ; Lepš et al., ; Prach, Jongepierová, & Řehounková, ; Warren, Christal, & Wilson, ). or a combination of several of these measures (Baasch, Engst, Schmiede, May, & Tischew, ; Engst et al., ; Török et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, the importance of all factors mentioned so far vary with time. In general, many restoration projects report increasing establishment success with time (Pywell et al., ; Scotton, ). In the first years, species have to quickly germinate to leave the seedling stage, which probably is facilitated by a large diaspore size (Leishman et al., ; Westoby et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting the establishment success of introduced target species in grassland restoration by functional traits

Engst

Baasch

Bruelheide

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Species‐rich semi‐natural grasslands are highly endangered habitats in Central Europe and numerous restoration efforts have been made to compensate for the losses in the last decades. However, some plant species could become more easily established than others. The establishment success of 37 species was analyzed over 6 years at two study sites of a restoration project in Germany where hay transfer and sowing of threshing material in combination with additional sowing were applied. The effects of the restoration method applied, time since the restoration took place, traits related to germination, dispersal, and reproduction, and combinations of these traits on the establishment were analyzed. While the specific restoration method of how seeds were transferred played a subordinate role, the establishment success depended in particular on traits such as flower season or the lifeform. Species flowering in autumn, such as Pastinaca sativa and Serratula tinctoria, became established better than species flowering in other seasons, probably because they could complete their life cycle, resulting in increasingly stronger seed pressure with time. Geophytes, like Allium angulosum and Galium boreale, became established very poorly, but showed an increase with study duration. For various traits, we found significant trait by method and trait by year interactions, indicating that different traits promoted establishment under different conditions. Using a multi‐model approach, we tested whether traits acted in combination. For the first years and the last year, we found that models with three traits explained establishment success better than models with a single trait or two traits. While traits had only an additive effect on the establishment success in the first years, trait interactions became important thereafter. The most important trait was the season of flowering, which occurred in all best models from the third year onwards. Overall, our approach revealed the potential of functional trait analysis to predict success in restoration projects.

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Establishing a semi-natural grassland: Effects of harvesting time and sowing density on species composition and structure of a restored Arrhenatherum elatius meadow

Cited by 21 publications

References 21 publications

Restoration of inland brackish vegetation by large‐scale transfer of coastal driftline material

Restoration of inland brackish vegetation by large‐scale transfer of coastal driftline material

The effects of management on vegetation trajectories during the early‐stage restoration of previously arable land after hay transfer

Predicting the establishment success of introduced target species in grassland restoration by functional traits

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