Applied Vegetation Science

In this paper we test how the sowing of native-species under different soil treatments contribute to the recovery of gypsum habitats affected by quarrying in a Mediterranean environment. The best option was gypsum spoil aided by surface treatments, such as organic blanket or organic-matter addition, improving the performance of native-species in terms of density, survival, and growth of seedlings.

The species composition of aboveground vegetation and the persistent soil seed bank were investigated in successional alvar grasslands. We detected large and species rich persistent soil seed banks in all our study sites. The frequency of typical alvar grassland species in the seed bank of long term abandoned sites was unexpectedly high.

We evaluate how reed encroachment on Boreal Baltic coastal meadows leads to a buildup of resource pool in soils and how the latter is only slowly reversed after restoration of grazing. Changed soil properties affect the quality of this habitat for its biota and hinder restoration efforts. Thus, early signs of restoration success should be taken cautiously.

The restoration of formerly 15-20 years abandoned flooded meadows has been successful in terms of species composition and diversity, although the effect of 5-10 years restoration management is more revealed in relatively drier part of vegetation. We propose several species as management status indicators, which may further be used in practical decision making when evaluating the status of meadow communities.

Repeating earlier chronosequence studies may provide valuable information useful in restoration and conservation ecology. In our case, valuable target shrubby grasslands can be restored by spontaneous succession within a few decades in about one third of the studied old fields. Restoration of well-developed target woodlands will take a longer time, although also less desired nitrophilous woodlands might alternatively develop.

In this paper we present new results from a large scale field experiment monitored over ten years that has demonstrated how successful restoration of hay meadow vegetation on ex-arable land can provide benefits both for the effective establishment of regional seed mixtures and also for the natural colonization of species characteristic of ancient meadows from the wider landscape.

This paper describes early vegetation development following Europe's largest active grassland restoration, in which two or three grass species were sown over 760 ha cropland to allow vegetation regeneration by succession dependent on local conditions. The results mostly show favourable changes, including landscape-scale differences in vegetation development, but also suggest potential threats such as buildup of litter and perennial weeds.

Sowing three indigenous foundation species has been used to restore a grassland. To investigate the significances of the foundation species on community dynamics, seeds of four subordinate species were sown and monitored. Foundation species sowing is an effective method because subordinate species established better where foundation species had been sown or where sheep grazed.

Our large-scaled study shows that the transfer of plant material in combination with an adequate disturbance of the existing sward is a suitable method to successfully increase plant diversity in species-poor grasslands. We recorded the vegetation development for three years and analysed soil nutrient contents and seed densities both of plant material and soil seed bank.