Some long-term observations on cyclical and seral processes in Dutch heathlands

Diemont, W.H.; Heil, G. W.

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(84)90088-0

Cited by 36 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…In the untreated plots (X) virtually no changes in the vegetation were observed, except for the dying of Deschampsia tussocks. This was found to be a temporary phenomenon, typical for an ungrazed Deschampsia grass heath (Diemont & Heil 1984). Prescribed burning in the Kootwijk site (September, 1978(September, -1980 did not bring about any change in the dominance of Molinia.…”

Section: Study Sites and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Re-establishment of dominance by dwarf shrubs on grass heaths

Diemont¹,

Homan²

1989

Vegetatio

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Experimental fields were established at three sites on different soil types in Dutch heathlands, where grass species have become dominant, in order to find methods for re-establishment of an ericoid dwarf-shrub heath. Treatments included mowing, mowing and cutting for hay, ploughing, milling, sod cutting and burning.Re-establishment of ericoid dwarf shrubs was only observed after creation of gaps or patches of open soil. The results after nine years for two of the sites and six years for the other site indicate that sod cutting is the most suitable method provided that the mineral top soil is not removed or disturbed. More profound removal of the sod including mineral soil causes a delay in re-establishment of ericoid dwarf shrubs and an increase of grasses.Factors that may explain different responses to gap creation including availability of seeds, soil moisture, soil fertility and plant survival strategies are briefly discussed. Abbreviations: Calluna = Calluna vulgaris,

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Section: Study Sites and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Which kinds of grass species are involved in the seral change depends on soil type and geomorphic position (Diemont & Heil 1984). In-depth studies related to plant nutrients involved in these changes can be found in Heil (1984) and Berendse (1985).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-establishment of dominance by dwarf shrubs on grass heaths

Diemont¹,

Homan²

1989

Vegetatio

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“…Molinia (purple moor grass) abundance has increased at the expense of Calluna (heather or ling) since the start of the industrial revolution in upland areas of England and Wales and in parts of southern and western Scotland (Chambers, Dresser & Smith 1979), and anecdotal accounts indicate that increases have continued over the last 20–30 years. Increases in Molinia have also been found elsewhere in Europe, where large areas of Dutch heathlands have been colonized by Molinia at the expense of dwarf shrub vegetation (Heil & Diemont 1983; Diemont & Heil 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…These observed shifts in vegetation composition from Calluna to Molinia have been variously attributed to inappropriate burning and/or grazing regimes (Grant, Hunter & Cross 1963; Miller, Miles & Heal 1984; Grant & Maxwell 1988) and increased atmospheric nitrogen and sulphur deposition, especially in Holland (Chambers, Dresser & Smith 1979; Heil & Diemont 1983; Diemont & Heil 1984; Lee et al . 1987; Hogg, Squires & Fitter 1995; Roem, Klees & Berendse 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Molinia caerulea on upland moors

Marrs¹,

Phillips²,

Todd³

et al. 2004

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary 1.Molinia encroachment has been viewed as a major threat to moorland conservation in the UK and elsewhere in Europe. In England and Wales agri-environment schemes are in place that aim to reduce Molinia caerulea and encourage the development of dwarf shrub vegetation. We tested a range of management treatments to achieve these objectives in two regions (the North Peaks and Yorkshire Dales) in England. 2. Within each region, the same experiment was carried out on two types of moorland vegetation, Molinia -dominated 'white' moorland and a mixture of Molinia and Calluna vulgaris 'grey' moorland. Burning, grazing and herbicide (glyphosate) treatments were applied in factorial combination at each of the four sites (two regions × two moor types). The responses of both vegetation and individual species were assessed. In addition, on the white moors two techniques for Calluna re-establishment were investigated, (i) removal of Molinia litter by raking and (ii) application of Calluna seed. 3. The data were analysed using a combination of univariate and multivariate analysis of variance to identify trends in this complex data set. 4. The only treatment that had consistent effects in the univariate analysis of variance was glyphosate application, which had similar effects on Molinia at all study sites. There was little difference between the use of low and high application rates (0·27 and 0·54 kg ai ha). There was little impact of herbicide use on other moorland species. Some species were affected on some sites in some years, but there were no consistent effects. Tentative identification of species that responded positively, negatively and erratically to glyphosate application was made. 5. Greater Calluna seedling densities were found in the plots where herbicide was applied, the Molinia litter was removed and seed was added. However, after initial colonization, there was a reduction in Calluna seedling densities as the Molinia recovered. This indicated that disturbance, seed addition and follow-up management are required for successful Calluna establishment. 6. There were significant differences in community response between both the regions and moorland types. The Dales had a relatively greater contribution of grassland species than the Peaks, where the grey site had a relatively greater dwarf shrub component. 7. Burning had little effect on community composition but both grazing and herbicide application had important effects. Grazing of the grey sites, even at the very low levels used in this study, tended to push the communities towards bog-moorland vegetation, but little effect was found at the white sites. Glyphosate treatment tended to push communities towards acidic grassland at the Dales grey site but not at the Peaks. Successional change was also noted, with marked change between the third and fourth year and again between the fifth and six year. Grey sites showed the greatest temporal change. 8. Synthesis and applications . In terms of Molinia control and subsequent restoration of dwarf shrubs, there was...

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“…Management of heathlands is required to maintain these cultural landscapes and in the past this management occurred on a 3-4 yr cycle (Webb, 1998). Currently, this cycle length has extended or is non-existent (Diemont and Heil, 1984;Wessel et al, 2004). From the perspective of optimizing C uptake and minimizing C output, having an understanding the C dynamics of these ecosystems allows us to determine the optimum time to cut the vegetation, thus contributing to global C emission mitigation measures.…”

Section: Annual Soil C Loss and Links To Global Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Soil respiration on an aging managed heathland: identifying an appropriate empirical model for predictive purposes

et al. 2013

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Heathlands are cultural landscapes which are managed through cyclical cutting, burning or grazing practices. Understanding the carbon (C) fluxes from these ecosystems provides information on the optimal management cycle time to maximise C uptake and minimise C output. The interpretation of field data into annual C loss values requires the use of soil respiration models. These generally include model variables related to the underlying drivers of soil respiration, such as soil temperature, soil moisture and plant activity. Very few studies have used selection procedures in which structurally different models are calibrated, then validated on separate observation datasets and the outcomes critically compared. We present thorough model selection procedures to determine soil heterotrophic (microbial) and autotrophic (root) respiration for a heathland chronosequence and show that soil respiration models are required to correct the effect of experimental design on soil temperature. Measures of photosynthesis, plant biomass, photosynthetically active radiation, root biomass, and microbial biomass did not significantly improve model fit when included with soil temperature. This contradicts many current studies in which these plant variables are used (but not often tested for parameter significance). We critically discuss a number of alternative ecosystem variables associated with soil respiration processes in order to inform future experimental planning and model variable selection at other heathland field sites. The best predictive model used a generalized linear multi-level model with soil temperature as the only variable. Total annual soil C loss from the young, middle and old communities was calculated to be 650, 462 and 435 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹, respectively

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Some long-term observations on cyclical and seral processes in Dutch heathlands

Cited by 36 publications

References 7 publications

Re-establishment of dominance by dwarf shrubs on grass heaths

Re-establishment of dominance by dwarf shrubs on grass heaths

Control of Molinia caerulea on upland moors

Soil respiration on an aging managed heathland: identifying an appropriate empirical model for predictive purposes

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