The contribution of successional grasslands to the conservation of semi-natural grasslands species – A landscape perspective

Schmid, Barbara; Poschlod, Peter; Prentice, Honor C.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.12.002

Cited by 22 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Schmid et al. () showed that levels of both phosphorus and nitrate in nutrient‐rich young grasslands decline progressively over time under grazing management in our study area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

“…Ellenberg N-values represent a general indicator of productivity, rather than indicating the status of particular nutrients (Diekmann, 2003). Schmid et al (2017) showed that levels of both phosphorus and nitrate in nutrient-rich young grasslands decline progressively over time under grazing management in our study area.…”

Section: Ellenberg Nmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Redhead et al., ). Whereas the edaphic conditions in younger grasslands may become suitable for the establishment of low‐N species after several decades of grazing management (Schmid et al., ; Smits et al., ), many grassland habitat specialists are not only intolerant of high levels of soil nutrients but are also dispersal‐limited (Purschke et al., ; Riibak et al., ). The oldest grasslands in our study area have had a prolonged history of grazing management (Johansson et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The 22.5 km 2 study area is located on the Baltic island of Öland (SE Sweden) (Figure ) and is characterized by a mosaic landscape comprising arable fields, grasslands, and deciduous forests. Whereas more than 80% of the study area was grassland in the early 18th century (Johansson et al., ), semi‐natural grasslands represent less than 10% of the present‐day land‐cover in the area (Schmid et al., ). Approximately half of the present‐day grassland area represents remnants of old or intermediate‐aged semi‐natural grassland: the remaining grasslands are younger and have developed on previously arable sites after the mid‐20th century.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the ongoing loss and fragmentation of species-rich, old pastures in Europe, young grasslands may also develop on previously arable land (e.g., Fagan, Pywell, Bullock, & Marrs, 2008). Long-term grazing management progressively removes nutrients from young ex-arable grasslands, creating edaphic conditions suitable for the establishment of grassland specialists (Bakker & Berendse, 1999;Schmid, Poschlod, & Prentice, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Landscape history confounds the ability of the NDVI to detect fine‐scale variation in grassland communities

et al. 2018

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The NDVI is a remotely sensed vegetation index that is frequently used in ecological studies. There is, however, a lack of studies that evaluate the ability of the NDVI to detect fine‐scale variation in grassland plant community composition and species richness. Ellenberg indicators characterize the environmental preferences of plant species—and community‐mean Ellenberg values have been used to explore the environmental drivers of community assembly. We used variation partitioning to test the ability of satellite‐based NDVI to explain community‐mean Ellenberg nutrient (mN) and moisture (mF) indices, and the richness of habitat‐specialist species in dry grasslands of different ages. The grasslands represent a gradient of decreasing soil nutrient status. If community composition is determined by the responses of individual species to the underlying environmental conditions and if, at the same time, community composition determines the optical characteristics of the vegetation canopy, then positive relationships between the NDVI and mN and mF are expected. Many grassland specialists are intolerant of nutrient‐rich soils. If specialist richness is negatively related to soil‐nutrient levels, then a negative association between the NDVI and specialist richness is expected. However, because grassland community composition is not only influenced by abiotic variables but also by other spatial and temporal drivers, we included spatial variables and grassland age in the statistical analyses. The NDVI explained the majority of the variation in mF, and also contributed to a substantial proportion of the variation in mN. However, variation in specialist richness and the lowest values of mN were explained by grassland age and spatial variables—but were poorly explained by the NDVI. Synthesis and applications. The NDVI showed a good ability to detect variation in plant community composition, and should provide a valuable tool for assessing fine‐scale environmental variation in grasslands or for monitoring changes in grassland habitat properties. However, because the concentration of grassland specialists not only depends on environmental variables but also on the age and spatial context of the grasslands, the NDVI is unlikely to allow the identification of grasslands with high numbers of specialist species.

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“…Schmid et al. () showed that levels of both phosphorus and nitrate in nutrient‐rich young grasslands decline progressively over time under grazing management in our study area.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Section: Ellenberg Nmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Landscape history confounds the ability of the NDVI to detect fine‐scale variation in grassland communities

et al. 2018

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The role of seed rain, seed bank, and clonal growth in plant colonization of ancient and restored grasslands

Kapás,

Kimberley,

Cousins

2024

Ecology and Evolution

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Understanding the establishment of plant species is important to inform management of restored grasslands and to preserve biodiversity in ancient grasslands. In grassland communities, plant species can establish from seeds arriving via spatial dispersal, from seeds in the soil seed bank or through vegetative spread from nearby source individuals. However, this colonization potential and the likelihood of species establishment can vary in grasslands with different land‐use history. We investigated the relative importance of local species recruitment sources, such as dispersal in space and time and species presence in adjacent grasslands, in determining establishment of plant species in eight grasslands with different land‐use history (paired ancient grasslands continuously managed as pasture vs. restored grasslands on former forest). At each grassland, we established plots (0.25 m2) to monitor seedling emergence from seed dispersal, seed bank, and recorded clonal growth over two growing periods. We found that the likelihood of species establishment was highest from local seed rain, and that species present in the local species pool were more able to germinate and establish in both type of grasslands. Species from the seed bank and clonal growth contributed to a lesser extent to species establishment, but represented a greater proportion of the recolonization and regeneration of species in ancient grasslands. These results demonstrate that surrounding grasslands serve as a source for colonizing species and that dispersal from the adjacent grasslands is the key process in regeneration and colonization of plants. These results imply that the recovery of grasslands depends heavily upon to links to species source in grasslands, especially in restored grasslands. Therefore, management plans should incorporate rotational livestock grazing and larger networks of grassland in restoration efforts, which will enable to desirable species to establish and persist in grasslands.

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Contrasting responses of vascular plants and bryophytes to present and past connectivity in unmanaged grasslands

et al. 2022

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The area of semi-natural grasslands has decreased dramatically causing many grassland specialist species to persist in small habitat fragments. Furthermore, ecological communities once shaped by disturbances related to traditional agriculture now face the impacts of modern agriculture and urbanization. Many of the species have become endangered due to the combined effects of habitat destruction and degradation. We studied the responses of vascular plants and bryophytes to present and past connectivity in semi-natural grasslands, while accounting for the effects of local environmental conditions. We conducted vegetation surveys in 33 fragmented, unmanaged dry grasslands in Southwest Finland. A total of 191 vascular plant species and 60 bryophyte species were recorded. Higher vascular plant diversity was associated with higher historical connectivity, whereas bryophyte diversity declined with increasing current connectivity. Edaphic conditions, microclimate and disturbances were found to structure both vascular plant and bryophyte communities, but the responses to individual environmental variables were very different. The contrasting responses could be explained by the differences between the typical life-history strategies in vascular plants and bryophytes as well as resource competition between the two groups. These results highlight the need to consider different species groups when planning conservation measures. Vascular plant richness may best be conserved in connected grasslands whereas bryophyte richness in isolated ones. The results also indicated that trampling by humans could result in positive disturbance and to some extent help maintain richness of grassland specialist species.

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The contribution of successional grasslands to the conservation of semi-natural grasslands species – A landscape perspective

Cited by 22 publications

References 34 publications

Landscape history confounds the ability of the NDVI to detect fine‐scale variation in grassland communities

Landscape history confounds the ability of the NDVI to detect fine‐scale variation in grassland communities

The role of seed rain, seed bank, and clonal growth in plant colonization of ancient and restored grasslands

Contrasting responses of vascular plants and bryophytes to present and past connectivity in unmanaged grasslands

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