Traditional burning and mowing practices support high grassland plant diversity by providing intermediate levels of vegetation height and soil pH

Abstract

Both authors equally contributed to this work. AbstractQuestion: Which types of management practice promote plant species richness in semi-natural grasslands? Which environmental factors might be involved in this management effect? How do different plant life-form groups respond to these variables?Location: Kaida Plateau, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.Methods: In the study area, hay meadows were traditionally maintained through both burning and mowing every second year. Recently, however, meadows that have either been abandoned or maintained only by annual burning or annual mowing have increased. We compared plant species richness, vegetation height and soil pH and water content between traditional meadows and those abandoned or maintained only by burning or mowing. We also examined relationships between these variables and the species richness of plant life-form groups.Results: The mean total and rare plant richness (36 and eight speciesÁm À2 , respectively) in traditionally managed meadows were higher than in meadows of other management types (<26 and ≤5 speciesÁm À2 , respectively). Vegetation height (20-290 cm) and soil pH (4.2-6.2) varied among study plots. Burning and mowing frequencies negatively influenced vegetation height and positively influenced soil pH and/or water content. Traditional management practice provided intermediate vegetation heights (90 cm) and soil pH (5.3). Total species richness showed a unimodal relationship with vegetation height (peaking at 125 cm), and rare species richness was highest at intermediate levels of vegetation height (86 cm) and soil pH (5.2). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that intermediate levels of vegetationheight and soil pH have been maintained through traditional practices combining both infrequent burning and mowing. These practices are essential for conserving common and rare plant diversity in the study area with oligotrophic soil conditions.

Combined burning and mowing for restoration of abandoned semi‐natural grasslands

“…). Nevertheless, in Japan, historically, spring burning has been crucial for local‐scale management because it helps farmers to conduct growing season mowing by removal of woody plants and litter (Nagata & Ushimaru ). Assessing the restoration success based on local‐scale practices provides important information to improve management, particularly in temperate semi‐natural grasslands.…”

“…C. lineare, G. krameri and T. radicans) can recover under management reintroduction after abandonment. The colonization of rare species is often associated with burning management, with a reduction in above-ground competition and a decrease in soil pH (Austrheim et al 1999;Nagata & Ushimaru 2016). However, some of the grassland species, including three endangered species (i.e.…”

“…Some previous studies have proposed the use of mowing and/or tree removal management for grassland restoration as a substitute for high-risk prescribed burning in the grasslands of the USA (MacDougall & Turkington 2007;Halpern et al 2012). Nevertheless, in Japan, historically, spring burning has been crucial for local-scale management because it helps farmers to conduct growing season mowing by removal of woody plants and litter (Nagata & Ushimaru 2016). Assessing the restoration success based on local-scale practices provides important information to improve management, particularly in temperate semi-natural grasslands.…”

“…However, there have been very few studies on the effectiveness of reintroducing managed burning to abandoned grasslands, particularly in temperate Europe and East Asia (Valkó et al. ; Nagata & Ushimaru ).…”

“…The introduction and reintroduction of burning and/or mowing management has been attempted to restore abandoned semi-natural grasslands, with the aim of conserving biodiversity and maintaining ecosystem services (MacDougall & Turkington 2007;Halpern et al 2012). However, there have been very few studies on the effectiveness of reintroducing managed burning to abandoned grasslands, particularly in temperate Europe and East Asia (Valk o et al 2014;Nagata & Ushimaru 2016).…”