Natural Establishment of Specialist Plant Species after Topsoil Removal and Soil Perturbation in Degraded Calcareous Sandy Grassland
Author
Summary, in English
Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased soil pH and reduced nitrogen availability. We found early colonisztion of the perennial key species Koeleria glauca after both deep perturbation and topsoil removal, and high seedling establishment in topsoil removal plots 5 and 6years following the restoration treatment (2011-2012). After topsoil removal, overall vegetation composition in 2012 had developed toward the undegraded community, with target species accounting for 20% of the community after topsoil removal, compared to 30% in the undegraded vegetation, and less than 1% in untreated controls. Deep perturbation led to 7% target species, while there were almost no effects of shallow perturbation 6years following treatment. These results demonstrate that topsoil removal can promote colonization of target species of calcareous sandy grassland and highlights the importance of considering the regeneration niche for target species when implementing restoration measures.
Department/s
Publishing year
2014
Language
English
Pages
49-56
Publication/Series
Restoration Ecology
Volume
22
Issue
1
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
Topic
- Ecology
Keywords
- disturbance
- grassland restoration
- lime
- nutrient availability
- pH
- threatened plant species
- vegetation
Status
Published
Project
- Disturbance regimes in dry sandy grasslands – past, present and future
Research group
- Plant Biology
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1061-2971