Enhancing plant biodiversity in species‐poor grassland through plant material transfer – the impact of sward disturbance

Schmiede, Ralf; Otte, Annette; Donath, Tobias W.

doi:10.1111/j.1654-109x.2011.01168.x

Cited by 47 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…The limited potential of the seed bank documented in our study indirectly underlines the importance of active diaspore dispersal by seeding, in combination with sward disturbance, when a pronounced increase in species richness is desired in grassland restoration (e.g. Walker et al ; Donath et al ; Schmiede et al ; Klaus et al ). Despite this, at very species‐poor grasslands, even small‐scale sward disturbance might be able to slightly increase plant species richness.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance

Klaus

Hoever

Fischer

et al. 2017

Restoration Ecology

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The restoration of grasslands is one of the primary targets of nature conservation. An easy tool to stimulate the growth of plant species currently absent from the aboveground vegetation but hidden in the “dark”, is to make use of the soil seed bank. Here, seeds of rare and endangered species may still be present. However, the potential contribution of soil seed banks to effective grasslands restoration still remains unclear, as some but not many valuable species built up a persistent seed bank. To evaluate the potential of the soil seed bank for grassland restoration, we installed an experiment in 73 differently managed grasslands in Germany, where the seed bank was activated by mechanical sward disturbance. We also determined the species richness, the density of viable seeds, and the functional composition of seed banks and monitored the regeneration of the aboveground vegetation over two seasons. Our results show that sward disturbance led to an activation of the soil seed banks, which, however, contributed only little to the revegetation after sward disturbance. In addition, the severe impoverishment of the soil seed bank indicated a restricted potential for the restoration of temperate grasslands. Nevertheless, the activation of the soil seed bank increased not only the richness of arable weeds but also slightly the richness of typical grassland species. We conclude that only in recently improved and strongly species‐impoverished grasslands, sward disturbance alone might be able to slightly increase plant species richness. To achieve a distinct increase in species richness, additional diaspore transfer is needed.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 66%

Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance

Klaus

Hoever

Fischer

et al. 2017

Restoration Ecology

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“…; Schmiede et al . ). In the present scenarios of land‐use change, accumulation of litter is expected to increase in underused natural grasslands and abandoned fields (Quétier et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Negative and positive interactions among plants: effects of competitors and litter on seedling emergence and growth of forest and grassland species

et al. 2014

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Living plant neighbours, but also their dead aboveground remains (i.e. litter), may individually exert negative or positive effects on plant recruitment. Although living plants and litter co-occur in most ecosystems, few studies have addressed their combined effects, and conclusions are ambivalent. Therefore, we examined the response in terms of seedling emergence and growth of herbaceous grassland and forest species to different litter types and amounts and the presence of competitors. We conducted a pot experiment testing the effects of litter type (grass, oak), litter amount (low, medium, high) and interspecific competition (presence or absence of four Festuca arundinacea individuals) on seedling emergence and biomass of four congeneric pairs of hemicryptophytes from two habitat types (woodland, grassland). Interactions between litter and competition were weak. Litter presence increased competitor biomass. It also had positive effects on seedling emergence at low litter amounts and negative effects at high litter amounts, while competition had no effect on seedling emergence. Seedling biomass was negatively affected by the presence of competitors, and this effect was stronger in combination with high amounts of litter. Litter affected seedling emergence while competition determined the biomass of the emerged individuals, both affecting early stages of seedling recruitment. High litter accumulation also reduced seedling biomass, but this effect seemed to be additive to competitor effects. This suggests that live and dead plant mass can affect species recruitment in natural systems, but the mechanisms by which they operate and their timing differ.

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“…To counter this trend, various agri‐environmental policies and habitat‐protection strategies (e.g. NATURA 2000) and new conservation management practices have been introduced (Stevenson et al ., ; Lencová and Prach, ; Schmiede et al ., ; Kirkham et al ., ). During the past 10–15 years, there has been a considerable development in ecological restoration, and nowadays this plays an important role in contributing to the protection of biodiversity (Society for Ecological Restoration International Science & Policy Working Group, ; Shackelford et al ., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Influence of different storage conditions on quality characteristics of seed material from semi‐natural grassland

Haslgrübler

Krautzer

Blaschka

et al. 2014

Grass and Forage Science

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Neither methodology nor guidelines are available for defining quality characteristics and storage conditions of seed material harvested from semi-natural grassland. Seeds from an Arrhenatherion meadow were harvested via on-site threshing and seed stripping. After determination of purity, thousand seed weight and pre-tests in a phytotron, germination-capacity trials were carried out in a greenhouse. The harvested seed material was stored for up to 3 years under different conditions: (i) room temperature 18-23°C, (ii) cooling chamber (2-5°C with 40-50% humidity) and (iii) freezer (À18°C). There was a significant impact of the tested harvesting methods on seed separation, thousand seed weight and purity, but not on the germination capacity. Different storage conditions and storage length significantly influenced the germination capacity. There were also generally higher germination values for the seed-stripping material than the on-site threshing material (ca. 70 and 60%, respectively, in the first year). Germination capacity decreased significantly with time and was <15% after 3 years. We conclude that harvested seed material from semi-natural grassland should preferably be stored under cool conditions and used within 2 years.

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Enhancing plant biodiversity in species‐poor grassland through plant material transfer – the impact of sward disturbance

Cited by 47 publications

References 34 publications

Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance

Contribution of the soil seed bank to the restoration of temperate grasslands by mechanical sward disturbance

Negative and positive interactions among plants: effects of competitors and litter on seedling emergence and growth of forest and grassland species

Influence of different storage conditions on quality characteristics of seed material from semi‐natural grassland

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