Restoration of plant and habitat diversity by small-scale ploughing of abandoned grasslands

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F26296080%3A_____%2F19%3AN0000144" target="_blank" >RIV/26296080:_____/19:N0000144 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

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DOI - Digital Object Identifier

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Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Restoration of plant and habitat diversity by small-scale ploughing of abandoned grasslands

Original language description

The biodiversity of intensively managed agricultural landscape has rapidly decreased across Europe during the past decades. In the Czech Republic, it was also connected with the abandonment of traditional management practices in the borderland regions after the World War II. Former fields were often converted into non-managed grasslands, extensive pastures or were completely abandoned. Such habitats were also present in the territory of the Podyjí National Park. To increase biodiversity in the protected area and its buffer zone and to support ecosystem services, small-scale ploughing as a restoration management was used. Plant species composition was monitored on permanent plots for three years under following treatments: (A) annual ploughing, (B) after initial ploughing left as a fallow, and (C) non-ploughed part left as a control. Due to very heterogeneous localities, both in terms of environmental conditions and previous land-use in the past, we obtained various results for species diversity as well as for plant community changes. Several plant species which disappeared many years ago were discovered again. Common weed species of arable land prevailed in the first year, while some rare or endangered species occurred mainly on fallows. Significant decrease in species numbers was found in annually ploughed treatment during the following years, where short-lived species were continuously selected. During the three-year-long succession after single ploughing, the vegetation continually developed towards the herb-rich initial successional state of grassland. We suppose that application of small-scale ploughing management could serve as a suitable tool for nature conservation, leading to increase of both, species and habitat diversity. Based on the previous results, we recommend the rotation of ploughed plots within one locality in three-year cycles to prevent increasing populations of invasive species.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

O - Miscellaneous

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10611 - Plant sciences, botany

Project

<a href="/en/project/TH04030244" target="_blank" >TH04030244: Biodiversity increase and support of ecosystem services in agricultural landscape through alternative management practices in grasslands and pastures</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2019

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů