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76 results for “grassland restoration”
Season of prescribed fire determines grassland restoration outcomes after fire exclusion and overgrazing
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Data from: The missing link in grassland restoration: arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation increases plant diversity and accelerates succession
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Data for: Barriers to seedling establishment in grasslands: Implications for Nothofagus forest restoration and migration
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Post-fire resilience of restored coastal sage scrub and grassland communities
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Data from: Community carbon and water exchange responses to warming and precipitation enhancement in sandy grassland along a restoration gradient
Temperature increasing and precipitation alteration are predicted to occur in arid and semi-arid lands, however, the response mechanism of carbon and water exchange at community level is still unclear in semi-arid sandy land. We investigated the responses of carbon and water exchanges to warming and precipitation enhancement along a sand-dune restoration gradient: mobile sand dunes (MD), semi-fixed sand dunes (SFD) and fixed sand dunes (FD). The average net ecosystem productivity (NEP) and evapotranspiration (ET) between May and August increased by 98% and 59%, respectively, from MD to SFD. While they had no significant differences between FD and the other two habitats. Warming inhibited ecosystem NEP, ET and water use efficiency (WUE) by 69%), 49% P<0.001 and 80%, respectively in SFD, while it nearly had no significant effects in MD and FD. However, precipitation addition by 30% nearly had no significant effects on community NEP, ET and WUE, except for warming treatment in FD. In general, precipitation addition of 30% may still not be enough to prevent drought stress for growth of plants, due to with low water-holding capacity and high evaporation rates in sandy land. Temperature increase magnified drought stress as it increased evapotranspiration rates especially in summer. In addition, community NEP, ET and WUE were usually influenced by interactions between habitats and temperature, as well as the interactions among habitats, temperature and precipitation. Species differences in each habitat along the restoration gradient may alter climate sensitivity of sandy land. These results will support in understanding and the prediction of the impacts of warming and precipitation change in semiarid sandy grassland.
Data from: Rapid buildup of genetic diversity in founder populations of the gynodioecious plant species Origanum vulgare after semi-natural grassland restoration
In most landscapes the success of habitat restoration is largely dependent on spontaneous colonization of plant species. This colonization process, and the outcome of restoration practices, can only be considered successful if the genetic makeup of founding populations is not eroded through founder effects and subsequent genetic drift. Here we used 10 microsatellite markers to investigate the genetic effects of recent colonization of the long-lived gynodioecious species Origanum vulgare in restored semi-natural grassland patches. We compared the genetic diversity and differentiation of fourteen recent populations with that of thirteen old, putative source populations, and we evaluated the effects of spatial configuration of the populations on colonization patterns. We did not observe decreased genetic diversity in recent populations, or inflated genetic differentiation among them. Nevertheless, a significantly higher inbreeding coefficient was observed in recent populations, although this was not associated with negative fitness effects. Overall population genetic differentiation was low (FST = 0.040). Individuals of restored populations were assigned to on average 6.1 different source populations (likely following the 'migrant pool' model). Gene flow was, however, affected by the spatial configuration of the grasslands, with gene flow into the recent populations mainly originating from nearby source populations. This study demonstrates how spontaneous colonization after habitat restoration can lead to viable populations in a relatively short time, overcoming pronounced founder effects, when several source populations are nearby. Restored populations can therefore rapidly act as stepping stones and sources of genetic diversity, likely increasing overall metapopulation viability of the study species.
Data from: Effects of water level and grassland management on alpha and beta diversity of wet grassland birds in restored wetlands
Nearly 60% of European wetlands have been lost to drainage or to the cessation of grassland management. Large amounts of resources are put into wetland restoration with the aim to recover biodiversity. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated effects of management, wetness and flooding dynamics on biodiversity of restored wetlands such as seasonally flooded wet grasslands. We inventoried bird communities over 4 years at 137 sites (each 3·1 ha) within five restored wet grassland areas in Sweden to investigate whether species richness and occurrence of 12 common wet grassland species were related to (i) local conditions such as management (grazing, mowing and unmanaged areas), basic wetness and spring flooding dynamics. Further, we investigated whether (ii) the composition of the adjacent landscape (20 ha) related to local bird diversity and (iii) species turnover (i.e. beta diversity) differed between sites characterized by their basic wetness, degree of flooding and predominant management regime. Local species richness was positively linked to degree of flooding and basic wetness of grasslands but not to type of grassland management. Species richness tended also to be negatively linked to proportion of forest at the landscape scale. Although variable, the same results were also true concerning the probability of the occurrence of a single species at the local scale. Species turnover between sites, and thus total species richness, was distinctly higher in (i) grazed as compared to mowed grasslands except in dry non-flooded grasslands and (ii) flooded as compared to non-flooded sites. Similar patterns held for the subset of 12 red-listed species. We suggest that the high beta diversity in grazed and flooded grasslands is driven by the heterogeneous vegetation structure, resulting in good conditions for foraging and nesting for several wet grassland bird species. Synthesis and applications. The selection of wetlands for conserving wet grassland birds should prioritize temporary flooded grasslands of moderate wetness, preferably far from forest edges. Restoration and management of wet grasslands should include water level management, removal of shrubs and trees, and low-intensity grazing, whereas mowing could be used in non-flooded grasslands of low basic wetness.
Data from: Passive restoration of sub-tropical grassland after abandonment of cultivation
Passive restoration of grasslands after the abandonment of cultivation may be a viable restoration option where seed sources from remnant grasslands are available, and if the risk of deflected succession is low. Passive restoration of subtropical grassland in Queensland, Australia was evaluated along a chronosequence of abandoned cultivation (fallow) paddocks. Plant communities in fallow paddocks were compared with nearby remnant grassland. On average, species richness recovers after 60 years of abandonment and floristic composition shows affinities with nearby remnant grassland (Bray-Curtis ˜ 0·6). The risk of deflected succession, such as dominance by exotic grasses, has apparently been low in this ecosystem. Annual grasses and forbs are rapid colonizers of the abandoned fields, and richness of perennial forbs exhibits near-linear recovery. Perennial grasses are relatively slow to establish but all except two species have statistically insignificant differences in abundance between remnant grassland and fallow fields after 20 years. The perennial grasses that recover most rapidly in fallow paddocks have disseminules that are adorned with appendages for wind dispersal including the most important dominant grass, Dichanthium sericeum. The perennial grasses that are slowest to recover are probably less effective dispersers. Synthesis and applications. Passive restoration of grasslands after the abandonment of cultivation can be a viable contribution to grassland conservation where there is an adequate matrix of remnant grasslands in the vicinity of fallows, perennial exotic species do not monopolize fallows and the dominant native grasses are well dispersed.
Data from: Genetic differentiation within multiple common grassland plants supports seed transfer zones for ecological restoration
Ecological restoration of grasslands is increasingly based on regional seeds derived from predefined seed transfer zones. However, the degree and spatial pattern of genetic differentiation among provenances of different seed transfer zones is largely unknown. We assessed the genetic differentiation among eight out of 22 German seed transfer zones for seven common grassland species (Arrhenatherum elatius, Centaurea jacea, Daucus carota, Galium album, Hypochaeris radicata, Knautia arvensis and Lychnis flos-cuculi) using AFLP markers. We analysed genetic population structure with AMOVA and Bayesian cluster analysis and tested for isolation by distance and isolation by environment. In all of the investigated species, almost all pairs of provenances were genetically differentiated. Bayesian cluster analysis revealed species-specific numbers and spatial patterns of gene pools, with between two (Arrhenatherum) and eight clusters (Lychnis). Most investigated seed transfer zones represented a unique gene pool in the majority of the species. We found isolation by distance in four species, isolation by environment, driven by climatic seasonality, in three species, and a lack of both in three species. Thus, the observed genetic differentiation appears to be caused by both neutral and adaptive processes. Synthesis and applications. Our study shows that grassland plants are indeed strongly genetically differentiated across Germany supporting the strategy of seed transfer zones for ecological restoration. Although the predefined seed transfer zones are unlikely to match the exact genetic structure of many species, they serve their purpose by capturing a substantial amount of intraspecific genetic variation across species.
Restored legume acts as a 'nurse' to facilitate plant compensatory growth and biomass production in mown grasslands
<p>Legume restoration was conducted in a temperate grassland in Hulunbuir, northeastern Inner Mongolia, China, by reseeding native legumes. This process was followed by annual mowing and phosphorus (P) application over a seven-year period (2014–2020). Throughout this period, we measured aboveground biomass, plant diversity, and the relative biomass of five functional plant groups each year. In 2020, we assessed six functional traits of 15 common plant species in both legume-restored and naturally-restored grasslands, respectively. Using these trait values and relative biomass data, we calculated community-weighted means and functional diversity indices for each plot.</p> <p> </p>
Data from: Studying long-term, large-scale grassland restoration outcomes to improve seeding methods and reveal knowledge gaps
Studies are increasingly investigating effects of large-scale management activities on grassland restoration outcomes. These studies are providing useful comparisons among currently used management strategies, but not the novel strategies needed to rapidly improve restoration efforts. Here we illustrate how managing restoration projects adaptively can allow promising management innovations to be identified and tested. We studied 327 Great Plains fields seeded after coal mining. We modelled plant responses to management strategies to identify the most effective previously used strategies for constraining weeds and establishing desired plants. Then, we used the model to predict responses to new strategies our analysis identified as potentially more effective. Where established, the weed crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum L.) increased through time, indicating a need to manage establishment of this grass. Seeding particular grasses reduced annual weed cover, and because these grasses appeared to become similarly abundant whether sown at low or high rates, low rates could likely be safely used to reduce seeding costs. More importantly, lower than average grass seed rates increased cover of shrubs, the plants most difficult to restore to many grassland ecosystems. After identifying grass seed rates as a driver, we formulated model predictions for rates below the range managers typically use. These predictions require testing but indicated atypically low grass seed rates would further increase shrubs without hindering long-term grass stand development. Synthesis and applications. Designing management around empirically based predictions is a logical next step towards improving ecological restoration efforts. Our predictions are that reducing grass seed rates to atypically low levels will boost shrubs without compromising grasses. Because these predictions derive from the fitted model, they represent quantitative hypotheses based on current understanding of the system. Generating data needed to test and update these hypotheses will require monitoring responses to shifts in management, specifically shifts to lower grass seed rates. A paucity of data for confronting hypotheses has been a major sticking point hindering adaptive management of most natural resources, but this need not be the case with degraded grasslands, because ongoing restoration efforts around the globe are providing continuous opportunities to monitor and manage processes regulating grassland restoration outcomes.
Data from: Severance of arbuscular mycorrhizal networks in restoration grasslands enhances seedling biomass
<p>1. Establishment and growth of grassland plant species is generally promoted by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) when grown in isolation. However, in grassland communities AMF form networks that may connect individual plants of different ages within and between species. Here, we use an in-growth core approach to examine how mycorrhizal networks influences performance of seedlings in grasslands.</p> <p>2. We selected 4 grass and 4 forb species with known negative or neutral-positive plant-soil feedback and grew them individually in steel mesh cores filled with living field soil. Cores were placed in six restored grasslands, three grasslands were of relatively young and three were of older successional age.</p> <p>3. Ingrowing mycorrhizal fungal hyphae were severed twice a week in half of all cores, which resulted into reduced AMF colonisation and increased seedling biomass, irrespective of the fields' succession stage, and the plants' grass/forb group, or plant-soil feedback type. In the control cores, root colonization by AMF was negatively correlated to seedling biomass, whereas there was no such relationships in the cores that had been lifted.</p> <p>4. We conclude that connections to arbuscular mycorrhizal networks of surrounding plants had a negative impact on biomass of establishing forb and grass seedlings.</p>
Post-restoration grassland management overrides the effects of restoration methods in propagule-rich landscapes
<p>Grassland restoration is gaining momentum worldwide to tackle the loss of biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Restoration methods and their effects on ecological community reassembly have been extensively studied across various grassland types, while the importance of post-restoration management has so far received less attention. Grassland management is an important surrogate for natural disturbances, which most ancient grasslands have co-evolved with. Thus, without the reintroduction of management-related disturbance, restoration targets are unlikely to be achieved in restored grasslands. In this study, we aimed to explore how 20 years of management by mowing once a year or light cattle grazing, affects restoration success in Palearctic meadow-steppe grasslands restored by either sowing native grasses ('sown sites'), applying Medicago sativa as a nurse plant ('Medicago sites'), or allowing spontaneous succession ('spontaneous sites'). We found that following mowing, sown sites maintained long-lasting establishment limitation, while Medicago sites seemed to have experienced a delay in succession. These limitations resulted in low total and target species richness, low functional redundancy and distinct species and functional composition compared to reference data from ancient grasslands. Spontaneous sites that were mowed reached a more advanced successional stage, although they did not reach reference levels regarding most vegetation descriptors. Sown and Medicago sites that were grazed had higher total and target species richness than those that were mowed, and showed restoration success similar to that of spontaneous sites, on which grazing had only moderate further positive effects. Grazed sites, irrespective of the restoration method, were uniformly species rich, functionally diverse and functionally redundant, and thus became important biodiverse habitats with considerable resilience. We conclude that an optimally chosen post-restoration management may have an impact on long-term community reassembly comparable to the choice of restoration method. Restoration planners may, therefore, need to put more emphasis on future management than on the initial restoration method. However, our findings also imply that if local constraints, such as potentially high invasive propagule pressure, necessitate the application of restoration methods that could also hinder the establishment of target species, the long-term recovery of the grassland can still be ensured by wisely chosen post-restoration management.</p>
Data for: Evidence for a high carbon uptake potential in degraded grasslands through restoration
<p>Almost half of grasslands worldwide are degraded due to overgrazing or other forms of mismanagement, causing a severe decline in carbon uptake capacity. Therefore, through restoration, degraded grasslands are expected to have a high potential for carbon uptake. However, the strength of carbon uptake rate in degraded grasslands with effective restoration measures, such as nutrient amendment, is poorly evaluated. By combining a meta-analysis of nutrient effects on carbon fluxes in degraded vs. non-degraded grasslands in China with a nutrient amendment experiment in a degraded grassland, we evaluated the carbon uptake potential in degraded grasslands. </p>
Data from: Rapid buildup of genetic diversity in founder populations of the gynodioecious plant species Origanum vulgare after semi-natural grassland restoration
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Data from: Genetic differentiation and regional adaptation among seed origins used for grassland restoration: lessons from a multispecies transplant experiment
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Data from: Intraspecific variation of a dominant grass and local adaptation in reciprocal garden communities along a US Great Plains’ precipitation gradient: implications for grassland restoration with climate change
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Data from: Community carbon and water exchange responses to warming and precipitation enhancement in sandy grassland along a restoration gradient
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Data from: Associations between plant and pollinator communities under grassland restoration respond mainly to landscape connectivity
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Data from: Genetic differentiation within multiple common grassland plants supports seed transfer zones for ecological restoration
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Allen Brain Atlas
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Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
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