Recreating semi-natural grasslands: A comparison of four methods

Rydgren, Knut; Jørn-Frode, Nordbakken; Austad, I.; Auestad, Inger; Heegaard, Einar

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2010.07.005

“…Resilience is often defined as the rate of change (Pimm ), in the case of road verges the speed of convergence toward reference plant communities. Plant material may be transferred as hay from local sources (Kiehl et al ; Rydgren et al ) or as site‐specific seed mixtures of local origin. Using the latter makes it possible to tailor vegetation to include particular target species or to meet aesthetic requirements (Rydgren et al ; Auestad et al ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Plant material may be transferred as hay from local sources (Kiehl et al ; Rydgren et al ) or as site‐specific seed mixtures of local origin. Using the latter makes it possible to tailor vegetation to include particular target species or to meet aesthetic requirements (Rydgren et al ; Auestad et al ). The species in local seed mixtures also serve as target species for the restoration as they are deliberately selected to increase species richness and support local seminatural grassland vegetation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Near‐natural methods promote restoration of species‐rich grassland vegetation—revisiting a road verge trial after 9 years

Auestad

¹

,

Rydgren

²

,

Austad

³

2015

Restoration Ecology

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The present loss of species-rich grasslands makes it vital to restore these valuable habitat types, including novel habitat variants such as road verges. Due to the lack of knowledge on long-term outcomes of restoration initiatives, well-designed studies comparing different restoration methods are needed. In this study, we examined fine-scale vegetation recovery patterns over 9 years in a field experiment with several near-natural restoration methods (adding local seed mixtures, transferring hay from local grasslands using hard or light raking, and natural regeneration) in a road verge. We compared this to standard revegetation (hydroseeding species-poor commercial seed mixtures). We found major temporal changes in vegetation restored by local seed or hay transfer, before it gradually became more similar to the donor grasslands and seed mixtures, which served as references for the experiment. Natural (spontaneous) regeneration with seed dispersal from surroundings gave similar results, whereas areas revegetated using standard methods became more dissimilar to the reference sites during the study period. The main variation in species composition reflected the contrast between local donor grasslands and seed mixtures and the species-poor early successional grasslands. We conclude that near-natural methods (hay transfer and seeding) successfully restored species-rich grassland, including road verges. This study underlines the importance of comparing several treatments over a sufficiently long period to assess their success in restoring species-rich grassland.

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“…In many parts of the world, roadsides are regularly mown for traffic-safety reasons, and their vegetation will then remain at the same successional stage year after year. Hence, there are similarities in management and abiotic conditions between roadsides and habitats such as wooded pastures and mown or grazed semi-natural grasslands [28]. In contrast to roadsides, the latter habitats have declined rapidly in Europe during the last century [29], and today only a fraction of their former extent remains.…”

Section: Roadside Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

How are biodiversity and dispersal of species affected by the management of roadsides? A systematic map

Bernes

¹

,

Bullock

²

,

Jakobsson

³

et al. 2017

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Background: In many parts of the world, roadsides are regularly managed for traffic-safety reasons. Hence, there are similarities between roadsides and certain other managed habitats, such as wooded pastures and mown or grazed grasslands. These habitats have declined rapidly in Europe during the last century. For many species historically associated with them, roadsides may function as new primary habitats or as dispersal corridors in fragmented landscapes. Current recommendations for roadside management to promote conservation values are largely based on studies of plants in semi-natural grasslands, although such areas often differ from roadsides in terms of environmental conditions and disturbance regimes. Moreover, roadsides provide habitat not only for plants but also for many insects. For these reasons, stakeholders in Sweden have emphasised the need for more targeted management recommendations, based on actual studies of roadside biodiversity. Methods:This systematic map provides an overview of the available evidence on how biodiversity is affected by various forms of roadside management, and how such management influences the dispersal of species along roads or roadsides. We searched for literature using 13 online publication databases, 4 search engines, 36 specialist websites and 5 literature reviews. Search terms were developed in English, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. Identified articles were screened for relevance using criteria set out in a protocol. No geographical restrictions were applied, and all species and groups of organisms were considered. Descriptions of included studies are available in an Excel file, and also in an interactive GIS application that can be accessed at an external website.Results: Our searches identified more than 7000 articles. The 207 articles included after screening described 301 individual studies considered to be relevant. More than two-thirds of these studies were conducted in North America, with most of the rest performed in Europe. More than half of the studies were published in grey literature such as reports from agencies or consultants. The interventions most commonly studied were herbicide use, sowing and mowing, followed by soil amendments such as mulching and fertiliser additions. The outcomes most frequently reported were effects of interventions on the abundance or species richness of herbs/forbs, graminoids and woody plants. Effects on insects and birds were reported in 6 and 3% of the studies, respectively. Conclusions:This systematic map is based on a comprehensive and systematic screening of all available literature on the effects of roadside management on biodiversity and dispersal of species. As such it should be of value to a range of actors, including managers and policymakers. The map provides a key to finding concrete guidance for conservation-and restoration-oriented roadside management from published research. However, the map also highlights important knowledge gaps: little data was found for some geograp...

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“…In many parts of the world, roadsides are regularly mowed for traffic-safety reasons, and their vegetation will then remain at the same successional stage year after year. Hence, there are similarities in management and abiotic conditions between roadsides and habitats such as wooded pastures and mown or grazed semi-natural grasslands [21]. In contrast to roadsides, the latter habitats have declined rapidly in Europe during the last century [22], and today only a fraction of their former extent remains.…”

Section: Roadside Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

How are biodiversity and dispersal of species affected by the management of roadsides? A systematic map protocol

Bernes

¹

,

Bullock

²

,

Jakobsson

³

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: In many parts of the world, roadsides are regularly managed for traffic-safety reasons. Hence, there are similarities between roadsides and certain other managed habitats, such as wooded pastures and mown or grazed grasslands. In contrast to roadsides, the latter habitats have declined rapidly in Europe during the last century, and today only a fraction of their former extent remains. For many species historically associated with these habitats, roadsides may therefore function as new primary habitats or as dispersal corridors in fragmented landscapes. Current recommendations for roadside management to promote conservation values are largely based on studies of plants in semi-natural grasslands, although such areas often differ from roadsides in terms of environmental factors and impacts. Moreover, roadsides provide habitats not only for plants but also for many insects, especially if they are sandy and exposed to the sun. For these reasons, stakeholders in Sweden have emphasised the need for more targeted management recommendations, based on actual studies of roadside biodiversity. Methods:The proposed systematic map is intended to provide an overview of the available evidence on how biodiversity is affected by various forms of roadside management, and how such management influences the dispersal of species along roads or roadsides. Relevant interventions include e.g. mowing, shrub removal, control of invasive/ nuisance species, sowing or planting, burning, grazing by livestock, scraping and ditching. Non-intervention or alternative forms of roadside management will be used as comparators. Relevant outcomes include measures of species or genetic diversity, the abundance of individual species or groups of organisms, species distribution patterns, and movement rates of individuals or propagules. Searches will be made for peer-reviewed and grey literature in English and several other languages. No geographical restrictions will be applied, and all species and species groups will be considered.

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Recreating semi-natural grasslands: A comparison of four methods

Cited by 44 publications

References 51 publications

Near‐natural methods promote restoration of species‐rich grassland vegetation—revisiting a road verge trial after 9 years

Near‐natural methods promote restoration of species‐rich grassland vegetation—revisiting a road verge trial after 9 years

How are biodiversity and dispersal of species affected by the management of roadsides? A systematic map

How are biodiversity and dispersal of species affected by the management of roadsides? A systematic map protocol

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