Grassland restoration on former arable land: Fine-scale grass accumulation and damaged soil conditions limit species establishment

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F67985939%3A_____%2F22%3A00557972" target="_blank" >RIV/67985939:_____/22:00557972 - isvavai.cz</a>

Result on the web

<a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12665" target="_blank" >https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12665</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12665" target="_blank" >10.1111/avsc.12665</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Grassland restoration on former arable land: Fine-scale grass accumulation and damaged soil conditions limit species establishment

Original language description

Question Which vegetation and soil parameters limit species establishment in restored grasslands? Do these parameters operate predominantly on a fine or a community scale? Location White Carpathian Mountains, SE Czech Republic. Methods We compared 16 grasslands restored on former arable land with 9 well-preserved reference grasslands. We sampled cover of plant species in plots of 2 m x 2 m (community scale) in which four 20 cm x 20 cm subplots (fine scale) were nested. We quantified fine-scale heterogeneity as the mean Sorensen dissimilarity index among the species composition of the subplots. To characterize site conditions, we analyzed soil properties, above-ground plant biomass and its nutrient content. Results Restored grasslands had a lower number of plant species at both the community and fine scales. Species number at the community scale was positively associated with the species number at the fine scale (irrespective of grassland type), but was not associated with fine-scale heterogeneity. This indicates the importance of fine-scale biotic interactions for overall species diversity. In support of this, in both grassland types, the species number was negatively associated with the cover of grasses, but only at the fine scale. Total cover (but not the biomass) was lower in restored grasslands, and was positively related with species number, particularly in restored grasslands. This indicates that the lower species number in the restored grasslands mainly resulted from deteriorated abiotic conditions. Such deterioration of the plant environment can be attributed particularly to the soil of the restored, formerly plowed grasslands. They had a lower soil organic matter content and a higher proportion of fine soil particles (silt and clay), indicating reduced soil water availability. The lower soil N content of restored grasslands was also reflected in the nutrient content of plant biomass, where lower N:P and N:K ratios indicated a limitation of plant growth by N-supply. Conclusion The species number was generally driven by fine-scale biotic interactions, which operated similarly in both grassland types. The reduced number of plant species in restored grasslands is the result of several factors among which altered soil conditions in the former arable land appears to be highly important.

Czech name

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Czech description

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Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

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OECD FORD branch

10611 - Plant sciences, botany

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA20-08900S" target="_blank" >GA20-08900S: Restoration of species rich grasslands: Do we miss intraspecific variability in our understanding to community assembly?</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

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

Name of the periodical

Applied vegetation science

ISSN

1402-2001

e-ISSN

1654-109X

Volume of the periodical

25

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

12

Pages from-to

e12665

UT code for WoS article

000799977800001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85132970379