Successional dynamics of Cynosurus pasture after abandonment in Podkrkonoší

Abstract

Between 1996Between -2002, successional dynamics on an abandoned pasture in Přední Ždírnice (lat. 50°32'N, long. 15°40'E) was examined. A 7-year study was performed on the abandoned mesotrophic pasture classified as Cynosurion Tüxen 1947 at the start of the study. Two permanent plots (100 m 2 ) were established and sampled three times a year; changes in plant species composition (species cover) and plant species diversity (species number) were studied. Species assemblages of the Cynosurus pasture were described, E1 (herb layer) and E2 (shrub layer) covers were calculated and a secondary succession in the plant community was evaluated. Abandonment caused the decrease in the cover of the species sensitive to shading -e.g. Taraxacum sect. Ruderalia, Trifolium repens, Lathyrus pratensis, Plantago major, Stellaria graminea, Vicia cracca. Contrary to this, the cover of Calamagrostis epigejos, Rubus sp., Galium album, Galium verum, Knautia arvensis, Veronica chamaedrys increased, probably due to their ability to spread by clonal growth and as a result of the competitive relationships in the plant community. A big production of Calamagrostis epigejos li�er may be the outcome of a significant decrease (by 9%) in E1 cover (P = 0.04). Although the grassland was invaded by ruderal and weedy species (Apera spica-venti, Myosotis arvensis, Veronica arvensis) and by shrubs Crataegus sp. and Rosa sp. (an increase by 16%), an increase in species number was not significant. Phytosociologically, the Cynosurion Tüxen 1947 community came closer to the Arrhenatherion Koch 1926 alliance.

Seminatural grassland management by mowing ofCalamagrostis epigejosin Hungary

“…Another advantage of long-term permanent plot experiments is that they enable us to study the interaction between restoration treatments and the spontaneous dynamics of the vegetation. According to our knowledge, all previous studies reported about the spread of C. epigejos (Aiken et al 1989;ten Harkel & van der Meulen 1995;Rebele & Lehmann 2001;Sedláková & Fiala 2001;Házi & Bartha 2002;Holub 2002;Luoto et al 2003, Stránská 2008 and no published study has found the reverse trend. In our experiment, we found a significant decrease of the cover of C. epigejos also in the control plots.…”

“…Related problems were reported from central Europe (Rebele & Lehmann 2001;Sedláková & Fiala 2001;Házi & Bartha 2002;Holub 2002;Luoto et al 2003;Somodi et al 2004Somodi et al , 2008Stránská 2008), from western Europe (ten Harkel & van der Meulen 1995), and also from north America (Aiken et al 1989).…”

The influence of Calamagrostis epigejos expansion on the species composition and soil properties of mountain mesic meadows

“…The growing abundance of an expansive species may strongly change the quantitative proportions between species as well as spatial properties of the sward. In Central Europe, one such species is Calamagrostis epigejos (wood small-reed), whose expansion often leads to the degradation of vegetation of abandoned or irregularly managed meadows [9,[13][14][15][16][17].…”

The silence of the lambs? Plant diversity in abandoned sheep pens

“…In contrast, only one species Achillea millefolium was characteristic of control plots. Indicator value analysis evidenced that abandoned sheep pens induced only qualitative changes in plant communities (Stránská 2004). Quantitative changes (in species number) were not detected.…”