Mountain grassland restoration using hay and brush material transfer combined with temporary wheat cover

Durbecq, Aure; Rocher, Léo; Jaunatre, Renaud; Tour, Alice Dupré La; Buisson, Élise; Bischoff, Armin

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2021.106447

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…While this can be favorable to the restoration process by lowering the ruderal species cover (Albert et al 2019), it can also be detrimental to the installation of target species contained in sown seed mixtures or hay itself (Valkó et al 2022). On the other hand, this litter layer can improve local abiotic conditions and protect seeds and young seedlings from extreme events such as frosts or droughts (Durbecq et al 2022), or from predation (Reed et al 2006). In our experiment, the litter layer created by hay transfer had a much greater effect on seed germination and seedling establishment than pre‐restoration standing vegetation and remaining seed bank.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transfer seeds, hay, or soil blocks? The importance of the completeness of biological inputs to address dispersal and establishment limitations during the restoration of plant assemblages in floodplain grasslands

Garrouj,

Alard,

Dudit

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

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This study investigated different techniques of grassland restoration to overcome dispersal or establishment limitation, which are key processes influencing early‐successional plant community assembly. A fully randomized in situ experiment was set up in a former arable land in a floodplain along the Garonne river (south‐western France) to test for the effect of (1) the type and completeness of the biological input (any biological material—seed, hay, and soil—transferred to the site under restoration), (2) soil disturbance by deep tillage, and (3) their interaction on plant community dynamics for 5 years. All inputs influenced the plant community structure and composition. The effects depended on the type of the input but not necessarily in link with its completeness. High density and diversity seed mixture led to high levels of richness and relative abundance of target species like soil blocks, the input considered as the most complete. During the first year, hay transfer mostly influenced community assembly through negative litter effects. Delayed germination of several species contributed to buffer these early effects. This study supports the importance of dispersal limitation during early succession in degraded grassland ecosystems whereas soil disturbance had only subtle effects on the seed bank and standing plant community, indicating that competition and establishment limitation were of secondary importance in our study system. Our results suggest that even low‐frequency immigration events (e.g. when a few seeds are transferred within hay) can be of great importance providing that a sufficiently long time period is considered for grassland restoration.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transfer seeds, hay, or soil blocks? The importance of the completeness of biological inputs to address dispersal and establishment limitations during the restoration of plant assemblages in floodplain grasslands

Garrouj,

Alard,

Dudit

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

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“…Anthyllis vulneraria is a dispersal-limited, late-successional but fast-growing species that may benefit from being sown in a pre-established plant community (Erschbamer, 2007;Marcante et al, 2009). Furthermore, its roots are longer and deeper than those of the sown subordinate Fabaceae Onobrychis viciifolia and of the other sown species (Jungk, 1993) Donath et al, 2006;Durbecq et al, 2022;Wright et al, 2014) may have favoured the dominant Anthyllis vulneraria when sown second or synchronously. Alternatively, plant-soil feedback such as interactions with rhizobia may have contributed to the priority effects (de Vries et al, 2012(de Vries et al, , 2018Fry et al, 2017;Fukami, 2015;Fukami & Nakajima, 2013;Goldstein & Suding, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, Anthyllis vulneraria was not negatively affected by the pre‐established community when sown after subordinate species (PI close to zero), which confirms a high recruitment capacity in established vegetation (Vannette & Fukami, 2014), unless it was affected by Bromopsis erecta . Positive effects of already established vegetation on the recruitment niche (e.g., living cover protecting young seedlings and improving water retention; Donath et al., 2006; Durbecq et al., 2022; Wright et al., 2014) may have favoured the dominant Anthyllis vulneraria when sown second or synchronously. Alternatively, plant–soil feedback such as interactions with rhizobia may have contributed to the priority effects (de Vries et al., 2012, 2018; Fry et al., 2017; Fukami, 2015; Fukami & Nakajima, 2013; Goldstein & Suding, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using priority effects for grassland restoration: Sequential sowing can promote subordinate species

Durbecq,

Bischoff,

Buisson

et al. 2023

Applied Vegetation Science

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AimsThe influence of priority effects on plant community succession is increasingly discussed in community ecology. However, most grassland restoration approaches involving seed addition transfer all target species at the same time. Our objective was to tackle the question: does the order of arrival influence the establishment of restored communities?LocationLa‐Bâtie‐Neuve, Southern Alps, France.MethodsWe applied sequential sowing using two groups, one set of dominant species and one set of subordinate species, each comprising three different perennial plant species. We tested four sowing treatments: control (without any sowing), two sequential sowing treatments (dominants first or subordinates first) and synchronous sowing. We analysed plant cover each year for three years after sowing and calculated priority and earliness indices (the third year) for each group and each sown species.ResultsManipulating the order of arrival shaped community composition and trajectories. Some species of both groups were positively affected by being sown first compared to being sown synchronously. However, dominant and subordinate groups differed in their earliness index, showing a significant benefit for subordinates to be sown first. The subordinate species Onobrychis viciifolia and Plantago lanceolata established only when they were sown first, while Festuca cinerea showed greater establishment when sown first and simultaneously, compared to late sowing. The dominant Anthyllis vulneraria was not affected by date or type of sowing. However, the cover of the most dominant Bromopsis erecta was lower when being sown second, allowing a control of its dominance by delayed sowing.ConclusionThe strength of priority effects differs between species, which may depend on niche characteristics or microenvironment, influencing (negatively or positively) the establishment of late‐arriving species and affecting their competitive abilities. Our study provides evidence that plant community assembly was influenced by the order of arrival, but demonstrated a strong species‐specific response to priority effects.

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“…Methods include, for instance, the addition of hay or seeds collected from a species‐rich donor grassland (Bischoff et al, 2018; Slodowicz et al, 2019; Valkó et al, 2022), topsoil transfer from a species‐rich donor grassland or topsoil removal from the degraded grassland (Buisson et al, 2022; Piqueray et al, 2020; Rasran et al, 2007) or the activation of the soil seed bank (Klaus et al, 2018; Ludewig et al, 2021). So far, seed addition via hay transfer appears to be an effective measure for grassland restoration, provided that the donor sites are sufficiently species rich and close enough to the receiver grassland to ensure compatibility (Albert et al, 2019; Durbecq et al, 2022; Valkó et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental extensification of mountain grasslands restores plant species richness but not species composition in the mid‐term

Humann‐Guilleminot

Boch

León

et al. 2022

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. The traditional grasslands that characterize the cultural landscapes of the Palaeartic mountain massifs represent biodiversity hotspots. Yet, they are currently threatened by the intensification of farming practices, notably excesses in fertilization and irrigation.2. We experimentally investigated the passive restoration of montane and subalpine hay meadows after 6 years of management intensification, with different levels of fertilization and irrigation, followed by 5 years of release of intensive management, that is, extensification. More specifically, relying on a full randomized block-design replicated at 11 Swiss study sites constituted of extensively managed meadows, we exposed during 6 years (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015) four 20 m diameter plots to three levels of intensification (low, medium and high inputs), while a fourth plot served as a control (no inputs). In the second phase of the experiment (2016-2020), all study meadows underwent farming extensification.3. We monitored total species richness and plant diversity (Simpson diversity), indicator plant species as well as the composition and variability of the plant communities based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarity distances. 4. We found that total species richness decreased in the most intensified plots after 6 years of intensification, but all plots retrieved their baseline species richness after 5 years of re-extensification. In addition, we found no difference between the years in plant diversity (Simpson diversity) among the treatments.Yet, intensification led to different plants communities' compositions in all three levels of intensification in 2015 compared to the extensive plots, and this structural difference remained after 5 years of re-extensification. Synthesis and applications.Land-use intensification induces a rapid impoverishment of the flora of mountain meadows. Our results demonstrate the potential of mountain hay meadows to passively restore plant species richness after

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Mountain grassland restoration using hay and brush material transfer combined with temporary wheat cover

Cited by 10 publications

References 52 publications

Transfer seeds, hay, or soil blocks? The importance of the completeness of biological inputs to address dispersal and establishment limitations during the restoration of plant assemblages in floodplain grasslands

Transfer seeds, hay, or soil blocks? The importance of the completeness of biological inputs to address dispersal and establishment limitations during the restoration of plant assemblages in floodplain grasslands

Using priority effects for grassland restoration: Sequential sowing can promote subordinate species

Experimental extensification of mountain grasslands restores plant species richness but not species composition in the mid‐term

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