Recreating Grasslands in Swedish Rural Landscapes – Effects of Seed Sowing and Management History |
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Authors: | Regina Lindborg |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Botany, Stockholm University, SE-106 91 Stockholm, Sweden |
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Abstract: | Recent loss of plant species richness in Swedish semi-natural grasslands has led to an increase in grassland recreation and
restoration. To increase the establishment of declining species favoured by grazing and to re-establish original species richness,
seed sowing has been discussed as a conservation tool. In this study, I examined to what extent seed sowing in former arable
fields increases species richness and generates a species composition typical of semi-natural grasslands. Six grassland species
favoured by grazing (target species) and six generalist species favoured by ceased grazing, were studied in a seed-addition
experiment. Four different seed densities were used on four different grassland categories, two grazed former arable fields,
one continuously grazed grassland and one abandoned grassland. Target and generalist species emerged in all grassland categories,
but seedling emergence was higher in the grazed than in the abandoned grassland. Target species had higher emergence in the
two grasslands with the longest grazing continuity. Seedling emergence and frequency of established plants of each target
species were positively associated. The largest fraction of seeds germinated at an intermediate sowing density, 20–50 seeds/dm2, suggesting that aggregation of seeds positively affects emergence up to a certain threshold. In conclusion, artificial seed
sowing may induce the recreation of typical grassland communities on former arable fields, which may be an important contribution
to increase the total grassland area and species richness in the landscape. |
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Keywords: | Diversity Grassland recreation Grazing Restoration Seed sowing Semi-natural grasslands |
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