Enhancing success in grassland restoration by adding regionally propagated target species

Baasch, Annett; Engst, Karina; Schmiede, Ralf; May, Konstanze; Tischew, Sabine

doi:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.06.062

Cited by 41 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The high species diversity of the establishment gaps proved to be the source of the species colonization to the adjacent grasslands. Previous studies reported moderate establishment rate of sown species in the adjacent grasslands (Ruprecht 2006;Albert et al 2014); therefore, we assume that also in our case it would take several years for grassland species to permanently establish outside the gaps (Baasch et al 2016(Baasch et al , Švamberková et al 2019. We found species with good dispersal ability and good competitive ability to establish in the adjacent speciespoor and dense grassland sward.…”

Section: Temporal and Spatial Colonization Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Establishment gaps in species-poor grasslands: artificial biodiversity hotspots to support the colonization of target species

Kiss

Deák

Tóthmérész³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Sowing of grass seed mixtures is a feasible and cost-effective method for landscape-scale grassland restoration. However, sowing only grasses usually leads to species-poor and dense grass sward, where the establishment of target forbs is hampered both by microsite and propagule limitation. To overcome these limitations and increase the diversity of species-poor sown grasslands we developed a novel method by creating 'establishment gaps'. We used tillage to open gaps of 1 m 2 , 4 m 2 and 16 m 2 size in the dense grass sward of six species-poor sown grasslands in the Great Hungarian Plain. We sowed high-diversity seed mixtures of 35 native species into all gaps. We analyzed vegetation development during the first five years after setting up the trial. We also studied the colonization dynamics of the sown species along four 20-m transects around each gap, resulting in a total of 1440 plots of 1 m 2 size that were studied. Our results indicated that most of the sown species were able to establish permanently in the establishment gaps. The total cover and the cover of perennial sown species increased independently of gap size. Meanwhile the cover of short-lived sown species 2 decreased during the five years. There was only a moderate level of weed abundance in the gaps, and weed cover decreased over the years. The sown target species started to colonize the species-poor grasslands surrounding the establishment gaps within five years. The highest number of species and individuals dispersed from the 4 m 2 -sized gaps, as they had a more stable development than small gaps and were exposed to lower grazing pressure than large ones. Implications for practice Establishment gaps are widely applicable tools to increase the diversity of speciespoor grasslands. Gaps of 4 m 2 represent a more feasible solution compared to larger openings also for the farmers, because there is only a moderate level of weed encroachment and smaller soil disturbance occurs during their creation.  We recommend sowing high-diversity seed mixtures containing both short-lived species that can establish in the first year and perennial species, which guarantee a high cover of target species later on.  Gaps sown with high-diversity seed mixture are highly resistant to unfavorable climatic conditions: increasing grass abundance in dry years does not hamper the recovery of target grassland species in the following years.

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Section: Temporal and Spatial Colonization Dynamicsmentioning

confidence: 73%

Establishment gaps in species-poor grasslands: artificial biodiversity hotspots to support the colonization of target species

Kiss

Deák

Tóthmérész³

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

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“…Attempts to reassemble grassy ecosystems through active restoration are recent and rare. Some examples are cerrado savannas in Brazil (Pellizzaro et al., ;Pilon et al., ; Silva, Oliveira, da Rocha, & Vieira, ), semi‐natural grasslands in Europe (Baasch, Engst, Schmiede, May, & Tischew, ; Hedberg & Kotowski, ), grasslands in USA (Holl et al., ; Martin, Moloney, & Wilsey, ), African savannas (Kinyua, McGeoch, Georgiadis, & Young, ) and Australian savannas (O'Dwyer & Attiwill, ). There is evidence that it is possible to reintroduce many native species of trees and some shrubs and herbs in the Brazilian savanna through direct seeding (Pellizzaro et al., ; Silva & Vieira, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of initial functional‐group composition on assembly trajectory in savanna restoration

Coutinho

Alves

Sampaio

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

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Aims:Indicators that can provide information during the early stages of restoration are very useful for predicting restoration outcomes. We posed the following questions: Can savanna restoration outcomes be affected by the initial functional-group composition? Are there functional groups that, when established early, can prevent colonization by invasive grasses, trigger a successful restoration trajectory, and be used as early indicators of restoration success? Methods:We established 110 plots spanning a naturally occurring range of species composition in savanna areas that had been restored through direct seeding. We looked for different initial compositions of the following functional groups: perennial grasses, annual grasses, short-lived shrubs, and invasive grasses. We measured vegetation cover over two years and evaluated the effects of the initial functional composition on the successional trajectory of the plots. Results:The initial dominant functional group determined the assembly trajectory.Short-lived and fast-growing species were replaced by perennial species, indicating a fast species turnover. Invasive grass cover remained stable over time, demonstrating that once they establish and dominate an area, an alternative stable state is achieved. Conclusions:Our results demonstrate the importance of introducing a mixture of functional groups when restoring savannas in severely disturbed areas. Fast-growing and short-lived species are important for quickly covering the ground, creating the conditions for the establishment of perennial grasses that naturally dominate the herbaceous layer of savannas. Trees are also characteristic of the savanna structure and must be introduced. Our results indicate that invasive grasses must be eliminated and/or constantly controlled before native species are introduced. K E Y W O R D Sassembly trajectory, cerrado, direct seeding, functional group, invasive grasses, priority effects, savanna restoration, species turnover, succession 62 |

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“…Establishing species‐rich populations using native wild plants from the same region is a sensible way to counteract this trend without endangering native populations, as long as we refer to common grassland plants (Baasch et al . ; Kirmer et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ten years of native seed certification in Germany – a summary

Mainz¹,

Wieden²

2018

Plant Biol J

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Many renaturation projects and compensation areas are based on the use of seeds from regional indigenous wild plants; in the following: native or regional seeds. Despite this, such seeds make up only a small proportion of the total number of seeds used for greening projects; in Germany, for example, it is only around 1% (=200 t per year). Although the market for regional seeds is small, it is highly competitive. High-priced native seeds compete with flower mixes of unspecified origin and can only be differentiated from them by reliable quality seals. A quality assurance system based on seed legislation (EU Directive 2010/60, preservation mixtures) has been developed in a few European countries. However, quality assurance ends with the sale of the seeds. Thus, seed use remains unmonitored, and often unsuitable material, or material foreign to the region, is planted in restoration areas. Unfortunately, nature conservation has not made seed-based restoration one of its key issues, neither at the European nor at the national level. Currently there are many different local and regional standards, methods and private certificates that are confusing for users and which provide little continuity and predictability for producers. We recommend the establishment of an EU directive or a broadly agreed recommendation to the EU member states, spearheaded by nature conservation, which would define the standards for producing and using native seeds (e.g. harmonised regions that cross national borders, quality regulations). At the same time, wild plant interest groups should combine existing structures in order to strengthen seed-based restoration through international cooperation.

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Enhancing success in grassland restoration by adding regionally propagated target species

Cited by 41 publications

References 45 publications

Establishment gaps in species-poor grasslands: artificial biodiversity hotspots to support the colonization of target species

Establishment gaps in species-poor grasslands: artificial biodiversity hotspots to support the colonization of target species

Effects of initial functional‐group composition on assembly trajectory in savanna restoration

Ten years of native seed certification in Germany – a summary

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