Natural Establishment of Specialist Plant Species after Topsoil Removal and Soil Perturbation in Degraded Calcareous Sandy Grassland
Olsson, Pål Axel LU and Ödman, Anja LU
(2014)
In Restoration Ecology
22(1).
p.49-56
- Abstract
- Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased soil pH and reduced nitrogen availability. We found early colonisztion of the perennial key species Koeleria glauca after both deep perturbation and topsoil removal, and high seedling establishment in topsoil removal plots 5 and 6years following the restoration treatment (2011-2012). After topsoil removal, overall vegetation composition in 2012 had... (More)
- Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased soil pH and reduced nitrogen availability. We found early colonisztion of the perennial key species Koeleria glauca after both deep perturbation and topsoil removal, and high seedling establishment in topsoil removal plots 5 and 6years following the restoration treatment (2011-2012). After topsoil removal, overall vegetation composition in 2012 had developed toward the undegraded community, with target species accounting for 20% of the community after topsoil removal, compared to 30% in the undegraded vegetation, and less than 1% in untreated controls. Deep perturbation led to 7% target species, while there were almost no effects of shallow perturbation 6years following treatment. These results demonstrate that topsoil removal can promote colonization of target species of calcareous sandy grassland and highlights the importance of considering the regeneration niche for target species when implementing restoration measures. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4327128
- author
- Olsson, Pål Axel
LU
and Ödman, Anja
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2014
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- disturbance, grassland restoration, lime, nutrient availability, pH, threatened plant species, vegetation
- in
- Restoration Ecology
- volume
- 22
- issue
- 1
- pages
- 49 - 56
- publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000329369400007
- scopus:84891627648
- ISSN
- 1061-2971
- DOI
- 10.1111/rec.12024
- project
- Disturbance regimes in dry sandy grasslands – past, present and future
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- bfde8490-88bf-4cad-99fd-ef74461c86ee (old id 4327128)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:33:53
- date last changed
- 2022-11-03 19:10:28
@article{bfde8490-88bf-4cad-99fd-ef74461c86ee,
abstract = {{Specialist plant species in calcareous sandy grasslands are threatened by acidification and high nutrient levels in the topsoil. We investigated whether topsoil removal and soil perturbation in degraded sandy grasslands could lead to establishment of specialist species belonging to the threatened xeric sand calcareous grassland habitat. Restoration actions performed in 2006 resulted in increased soil pH and reduced nitrogen availability. We found early colonisztion of the perennial key species Koeleria glauca after both deep perturbation and topsoil removal, and high seedling establishment in topsoil removal plots 5 and 6years following the restoration treatment (2011-2012). After topsoil removal, overall vegetation composition in 2012 had developed toward the undegraded community, with target species accounting for 20% of the community after topsoil removal, compared to 30% in the undegraded vegetation, and less than 1% in untreated controls. Deep perturbation led to 7% target species, while there were almost no effects of shallow perturbation 6years following treatment. These results demonstrate that topsoil removal can promote colonization of target species of calcareous sandy grassland and highlights the importance of considering the regeneration niche for target species when implementing restoration measures.}},
author = {{Olsson, Pål Axel and Ödman, Anja}},
issn = {{1061-2971}},
keywords = {{disturbance; grassland restoration; lime; nutrient availability; pH; threatened plant species; vegetation}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1}},
pages = {{49--56}},
publisher = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
series = {{Restoration Ecology}},
title = {{Natural Establishment of Specialist Plant Species after Topsoil Removal and Soil Perturbation in Degraded Calcareous Sandy Grassland}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rec.12024}},
doi = {{10.1111/rec.12024}},
volume = {{22}},
year = {{2014}},
}