The roles of seed mass and persistent seed banks in gap colonisation in grassland

Gaps in grassland created by animals are often sites for species regeneration. The persistent seed banks of ant-hills and surrounding soils in a calcareous grassland in southern Britain were compared and analysed in terms of seed mass and longevity. The relative abundance of species on ant-hills compared to the pasture was highly correlated with seed abundance in ant-hill soil. The abundance of plant species on ant-hills compared to the pasture was significantly negatively correlated with seed mass, and positively correlated with seed longevity. These results suggest that germination from the seed bank in ant-hill soils, as well as limited seed dispersal and vegetative invasion, contributes to the distinctive ant-hill vegetation. The same may apply to other gaps created by animals in grasslands.     

黄土区荒草地和裸地土壤水分的循环特征

在人工、天然降雨条件下,研究了黄土高原地区荒草地和裸地土壤水分循环特征.结果表明,干旱年(天然降雨条件),荒草地和裸地剖面内土壤水分变异系数随土层深度的增加而降低,基于标准差和变异系数两个指标,采用聚类分析可以将土壤剖面水分垂直变化划分为4层.丰水年(人工降雨条件),由于持续降雨入渗和强烈的蒸发蒸腾作用,荒草地和裸地剖面内土壤水分变异系数随土层深度的增加呈现“降-升-降”的变化趋势,且表层土壤水分变异程度明显降低.与裸地相比,荒草地土壤水分循环深度和强度加剧,表现为活跃层、次活跃层深度和蒸散量增大.土壤水分的动态变化主要受降雨和蒸散过程的影响,尤其是浅层,而深层具有相对滞后性.土壤水分的动态变化具有明显的季节性,一般可划分为3个主要时期,如春季失墒期、夏秋增失交替期和冬季相对稳定期.干旱年,土壤水分收支负平衡,入渗雨量全为蒸发蒸腾所消耗;丰水年,土壤水分收支正平衡,但入渗雨量的大部分(＞80%)为强烈蒸发蒸腾所消耗.     

Restoration of a species‐rich meadow on arable land by transferring meadow blocks

Question: Does transplantation of small blocks of turfs contribute to restoration of species‐rich meadows on fallow land? What is the role of vegetative spread and seedling establishment of meadow plants in the neighbourhood of the transplanted turfs? Location: Bílé Karpaty Mountains, SE Czech Republic. Methods: Twenty‐five meadow blocks, 0.4 m × 0.4 m in size, were transplanted to fallow land (unfertile and dry) and species composition was monitored in the source area, in the transferred turfs and in their neighbourhood for 3 yr. Multivariate analyses were used to assess successional trends. Results: The transferred meadow blocks served as a source of diaspores for the seed‐limited fallow land. Out of 80 transplanted species 17 species spread to adjacent plots within 3 yr. The frequency of plants expanding from the transferred turfs, either vegetatively or by seeds, was relatively low and from 2002 to 2004 a total of 22 species declined in the transferred turfs before expanding to the neighbourhood. Successional trends in species composition of the plots adjacent to the transferred blocks were strongly significant compared with the vegetation of the source area despite the short‐term data used for the evaluation. The role of the seed bank in restoration was negligible. Conclusions: In infertile and dry environments, transplanted turfs may significantly speed up restoration, especially if natural sources of target plant seeds are not available in the neighbourhood. However, the restoration process is long‐term and not all transferred plants can be expected to establish in the fallow land.     

Effects of below-ground insects, mycorrhizal fungi and soil fertility on the establishment of Vicia in grassland communities

 The effects of, and interactions between, insect root feeders, vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and soil fertility on the establishment, growth and reproduction of Vicia sativa and V. hirsuta (Fabaceae) were investigated in an early-successional grassland community. Seeds of both species were sown into plots where soil insecticide (Dursban 5G), soil fungicide (Rovral) and soil fertiliser (NPK) were applied in a factorial randomised block design. Fertiliser addition reduced growth, longevity and reproduction of both Vicia species, due to the commonly recorded increase in the competitive advantage of the non-nitrogen-fixing species when nitrogen is added to the plant community. However, in plots where fertiliser was not applied, a reduction in root feeders and mycorrhizal infection led to an increase in seedling establishment and fruit production of V. sativa, and to an increase in flower production for both Vicia species. The interaction between all three soil treatments explained much of the variation in growth and longevity of V. sativa. Plants grew larger and survived longer in plots where natural levels of mycorrhizal infection and root feeders were low compared with plots where all the treatments were applied. This suggests that, although soil nutrient availability was a strong determinant of the performance of these two leguminous species, at natural levels of soil fertility biotic factors acting in the soil, such as mycorrhizal fungi and soil-dwelling insects, were important in shaping the competitive interactions between the two Vicia species and the plant community. Our results indicate that non-additive interactions between ecological factors in the soil environment may strongly affect plant performance. Received: 18 July 1995 / Accepted: 14 August 1996     

Vegetation removal and seed addition contribute to coastal sandplain grassland establishment on former agricultural fields

Creating native‐species‐rich grasslands to replace agricultural grasslands can be an important strategy for supplementing the area of grasslands, which are in decline in many regions. In the northeastern United States, sandplain grasslands support a diverse plant community and rare plant and animal species that are declining because of reductions in historical disturbances such as fire and grazing. We designed an experiment on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to test methods of establishing native‐species‐rich coastal sandplain grassland on former agricultural land. We tested the efficacy of: (1) tilling, herbicide, hot foam, and plastic cover in removing initial nonnative vegetation, and (2) combinations of tilling and seeding for establishing native species. We measured native and nonnative species richness and percent cover before and for 5 years after treatment. Herbicide, plastic cover, and spring, summer, and fall tilling were about equally effective in reducing nonnative species cover and promoting native species cover. Tilling and seeding each increased native species richness and percent cover, and seeding and tilling together increased native species richness and cover more than either treatment alone. Combined seeding and disturbance also reduced the cover of nonnative species, but nonnative species cover remained higher than in adjacent reference sandplain grassland. Results indicated that native species establishment was enhanced by the availability of seeds and by reduction of initial nonnative plant cover. The most efficient method of converting coastal agricultural grasslands to sandplain grassland with a higher number and proportion of native species is a single season of plant removal and seeding.     

Fauna community trends during early restoration of alluvial open forest/woodland ecosystems on former agricultural land

Vertebrate fauna was studied over 10 years following revegetation of a Eucalyptus tereticornis ecosystem on former agricultural land. We compared four vegetation types: remnant forest, plantings of a mix of native tree species on cleared land, natural regeneration of partially cleared land after livestock removal, and cleared pasture land with scattered paddock trees managed for livestock production. Pasture differed significantly from remnant in both bird and nonbird fauna. Although 10 years of ecosystem restoration is relatively short term in the restoration process, in this time bird assemblages in plantings and natural regeneration had diverged significantly from pasture, but still differed significantly from remnant. After 10 years, 70 and 66% of the total vertebrate species found in remnant had been recorded in plantings and natural regeneration, respectively. Although the fauna assemblages within plantings and natural regeneration were tracking toward those of remnant, significant differences in fauna between plantings and natural regeneration indicated community development along different restoration pathways. Because natural regeneration contained more mature trees (dbh > 30 cm), native shrub species, and coarse woody debris than plantings from the beginning of the study, these features possibly encouraged different fauna to the revegetation areas from the outset. The ability of plantings and natural regeneration to transition to the remnant state will be governed by a number of factors that were significant in the analyses, including shrub cover, herbaceous biomass, tree hollows, time since fire, and landscape condition. Both active and passive restoration produced significant change from the cleared state in the short term.     

Effects of long‐term cutting in a grassland system: perspectives for restoration of plant communities on nutrient‐poor soils

Abstract. The upper courses of brook valley systems harbour Nardo‐Galion saxatilis communities characteristic of oligo‐trophic soils under low‐intensity farming. Most of these communities have disappeared under intensified farming i.e. application of fertilizers. We studied the possibilities of restoration i.e. re‐establishment of the former plant community by adopting various cutting regimes after the cessation of fertilization in 1972. The various cutting regimes revealed different effects after 25 yr. Regimes with cutting every second year with or without removal of the swath, and complete abandonment deviated from the other regimes that included annual haymaking with different frequency and timing. The latter group of cutting regimes came closer to the community of an adjacent field where fertilization stopped in 1967. This field in turn harboured several Nardo‐Galion species after 25 yr of annual cutting, and showed more resemblance with a local reference community (at a distance of 500 m) that had not been fertilized since the 1940s. The local reference still does not match poorly developed Nardo‐Galion saxatilis communities found in the region of ca. 50 km around the study area, and is far from well developed Nardo‐Galion communities in the same region. The study site still harbours several species characteristic of eutrophic soil and few species characteristic of oligotrophic soil after 25 yr of annual cutting and removal of the swath. The soil seed bank harbours only few target species. Although species characteristic of oligotrophic soil are present in an adjacent field and Nardo‐Galion saxatilis species occur at 500 m, they have not (yet) established in the target area.     

The effects of management on vegetation trajectories during the early‐stage restoration of previously arable land after hay transfer

The restoration of floodplain grasslands has benefited from many studies of the underlying mechanisms. Among the operational tools that resulted, hay transfer is now used increasingly to alleviate the effects of limited seed dispersal and recruitment. To improve this method, we still need to understand how it can affect restoration trajectories, and particularly their direction and magnitude during the early stages of restoration. Based on concepts from the field of community ecology theory, we investigated the effects of early‐stage management through grazing or mowing on restoration trajectories after soil harrowing and hay transfer. We established a randomized block design experiment and quantified several community‐related metrics to formalize restoration trajectories for 3 years after hay transfer on a previously arable alluvial island in southwestern France. Whatever the management treatment, the species richness and evenness were significantly higher in hay‐inoculated than in control plots. This effect was linked to the recruitment of species originating not only from the reference grassland through hay transfer, but also from the seed bank, a well‐known effect of soil harrowing. Although generally oriented toward the reference grassland, the origin, direction, and magnitude of the trajectory of hay‐inoculated plots all depended on the management applied. Sheep grazing applied at the same time as hay transfer enhanced the recruitment of reference species as from the first experimental year, because it controlled aboveground competition and maintained the window of opportunity open for a sufficiently longer period of time. Our findings show that the type of management applied simultaneously to hay transfer influences the origin of a grassland trajectory, while its direction and magnitude are dependent on the management applied in subsequent years. Grazing immediately after hay transfer may be appropriate to accelerate the recruitment of species from the reference grassland.     

Small seed bank in grasslands and tree plantations in former grassland sites in the South Brazilian highlands

The soil seed bank can be an important source for vegetation regeneration, and data on the similarity between aboveground vegetation and the seed bank can provide information about successional pathways after disturbances or land-use change. We conducted this study in natural grasslands in the subtropical highland region in southern Brazil. We evaluated the effect of silviculture on richness, density, and composition of the seed bank at former grassland sites converted to pine plantations 25 years ago. We worked at six grassland sites and three pine plantation sites and used the seedling emergence method. Seed bank density and richness in grasslands were lower than those reported in similar environments in other regions. Species richness and density varied considerably within each vegetation type; therefore, richness and density were not statistically significant, while composition varied among vegetation types. In terms of species, the pine plantation seed bank was a small subset of the grassland seed bank. Seeds of typical grassland species were missing in the pine plantation, but also had only low abundances in the grassland, and similarity of seed bank and vegetation were low (less than 20%). The low seed density found in this study, including in grasslands areas, indicates that regeneration of species from the soil seed bank likely is of a limited role for the maintenance of plant populations after disturbances in this system. Our data further suggest that natural regeneration after tree planting in grasslands is reduced due to seed limitation.     

Germinable soil seed banks of anthropogenic native grasslands and grassy forest remnants in temperate south-eastern Australia

Soil seed banks of anthropogenic native grassland and grassy forest remnants on the Gippsland Plain in south-eastern Australia were studied using the seedling emergence method. Intact examples of both ecosystems are rare, owing to extensive agricultural development. Both ecosystems are assumed to have been derived since European settlement from the same original, grassy forest ecosystem. It was hypothesised that species now restricted to grassland remnants might persist in the soil seed bank of forest remnants, and vice versa. This hypothesis was not supported. In total, 25554 seedlings of at least 155 species emerged from forest and grassland seed banks collectively. Small-seeded, annual and perennial herbs were most abundant. Forest seedbanks differed substantially in composition from grassland seedbanks, and both essentially contained a subset of the species in the vegetation. Forest seedbanks contained significantly more species and individuals of annual and perennial native dicotyledons than grassland seedbanks. Seedbanks made a major contribution to local diversity, since many species in the seed bank at each quadrat were not recorded from the vegetation, but only a minor contribution to regional diversity. Species in the seedbank that were absent from all vegetation samples were recorded at few quadrats, except Juncus species, which were widespread and abundant in the seedbank. The apparent absence from forest seed banks of species that are best represented in grassland remnants (and vice versa), suggests that there is little opportunity of recruiting grassland-restricted species in forest remnants by instigating grassland management practices.     

The contribution of persistent soil seed banks and flooding to the restoration of alluvial meadows

Restoration of species-rich flood meadows impoverished by agricultural intensification is an important challenge. The relationships between flooding regime and soil seed bank were compared in three successive meadow communities (hygrophilic, mesohygrophilic and mesophilic) distinguished along a topographic and hydric gradient. Differences in flood duration and frequency between the three associations allowed the study of the contribution of floods to soil seed bank richness and density. No significant difference was found in species richness among the three soil seed banks, whereas the densities were significantly higher in the wettest community. The three seed bank compositions were clearly distinguished along the hydric gradient. In fact, the three seed bank types constituted a species poor version of the meadow communities to which they belong. Flood contributions appear to play a minor role in seed bank enrichment. Thus, seed dispersal by flood water would probably be insufficient to enable the restoration of alluvial meadows.     

植被恢复对洪雅县近15年景观格局的影响

退耕还林和天然林保护等重大林业生态工程的实施对我国西部地区生态环境建设起到了积极的推动作用。植被的重建、恢复和保护,不仅改变了景观的类型组成,也强烈地影响着景观的空间构造。以四川盆地山地丘陵区边缘的四川省洪雅县为研究对象,采用景观生态学原理和方法,对工程实施前后15年来（1994—2009）洪雅县景观格局的变化进行分析,探讨了植被恢复对景观格局的影响。结果显示,林地增加、耕地和草地减少,是15年间洪雅县景观变化的主要特点。耕地的减少和林地的增加主要集中于人为活动影响更为强烈的海拔1000 m以下区域,反映了退耕还林对景观类型组成改变的巨大推动作用;海拔1500 m以上区域,更多地受到天然林保护和自然因素影响,面积变化相对稳定,景观格局空间构造方面的变化更为显著;海拔1000—1500 m区域,两种工程实施的影响交错,过程相对复杂。坡度≤5 ?的平缓地中,人为活动影响强烈,林地增加明显;而在坡度25 ?附近的坡地中,耕地较多,退耕还林潜力较大,耕地—林地转换相对其他坡度区段更为明显。总体上,林地向低海拔、缓坡度区域扩张,斑块间空隙还林面积较多,有连片发展趋势;而耕地在面积减少的同时,向低海拔、缓坡度区域收缩,斑块规模更小,格局更加破碎。     

黄土丘陵区小流域土地利用和植被恢复对土壤质量的影响

土壤质量的维护和提高是全球生物圈可持续发展的重要因素之一．对黄土丘陵小流域持续利用25年后的荒草地、山杏林地、农地、油松林地、灌木林地和撂荒地土壤性状的研究结果表明,不同土地利用方式和植被恢复类型对土壤质量有很大影响;植被恢复重建和农地撂荒将增加土壤有机质含量,提高土壤质量;粗放的农业耕作措施将降低土壤质量并引起土壤退化;灌丛有明显的肥力岛屿作用;撂荒在一定程度上可以培肥土壤。随着“西部大开发”、“退耕还林还草”和生态重建工程的开展,在半干旱黄土丘陵沟壑区,建植灌木、种植牧草、农地撂荒和自然恢复是较好的生态重建和植被恢复方式。     

可获得种子量和种子出苗对草地裸沙斑植被恢复的相对制约

以科尔沁沙化草地的裸斑为研究对象,布设种子捕捉器监测生长季传播到裸斑的种子数量、物种组成,并人工播种监测裸斑中出苗情况,研究可获得种子数量和出苗对裸斑植被恢复的制约.结果表明:沙生植物3种,种子数为71 ～623粒·m-2,非沙生植物9种,种子数为73 ～410粒·m-2;裸斑中沙生植物的出苗数(9.3 ～22.3株·m-2)高于非沙生植物(0 ～3.4株·m-2);沙生植物在裸斑的出苗率最高为沙蓬(12.2％ ～34.1％),其次是乌丹蒿(4.5％ ～10.3％),小叶锦鸡儿(0～0.5％),非沙生植物狗尾草出苗率为0～6％,蒲公英为0 ～0.4％,其余植物种出苗率为0;沙生植物裸斑出苗数(9.3 ～22.3株·m-2)高于植被区(7.7株·m-2),而非沙生植物在裸斑的出苗数(0～3.4株·m-2)低于植被区(4.5株·m-2).可见,裸斑植被恢复中,沙生植物的可获得种子量制约高于出苗制约;非沙生植物的可获得种子量制约与出苗制约相当.     

Dynamic of grassland vegetation degradation and its quantitative assessment in the northwest China

Grasslands, one of the most widespread land cover types in China, are of great importance to natural environmental protection and socioeconomic development. An accurate quantitative assessment of the effects of inter-annual climate change and human activities on grassland productivity has great theoretical significance to understanding the driving mechanisms of grassland degradation. Net primary productivity (NPP) was selected as an indicator for analyzing grassland vegetation dynamics from 2001 to 2010. Potential NPP and the difference between potential NPP and actual NPP were used to represent the effects of climate and human factors, respectively, on grassland degradation. The results showed that 61.49% of grassland areas underwent degradation, whereas only 38.51% exhibited restoration. In addition, 65.75% of grassland degradation was caused by human activities whereas 19.94% was caused by inter-annual climate change. By contrast, 32.32% of grassland restoration was caused by human activities, whereas 56.56% was caused by climatic factors. Therefore, inter-annual climate change is the primary cause of grassland restoration, whereas human activities are the primary cause of grassland degradation. Grassland dynamics and the relative roles of climate and human factors in grassland degradation and restoration varied greatly across the five provinces studied. The contribution of human activities to grassland degradation was greater than that of climate change in all five provinces. Three outcomes were observed in grassland restoration: First, the contribution of climate to grassland restoration was greater than that of human activities, particularly in Qinghai, Inner Mongolia, and Xinjiang. Second, the contribution of human activities to grassland restoration was greater than that of climate in Gansu. Third, the two factors almost equally contributed to grassland restoration in Tibet. Therefore, the effectiveness of ecological restoration programs should be enhanced whenever climate change promotes grassland restoration.     

Predicting the establishment success of introduced target species in grassland restoration by functional traits

Species‐rich semi‐natural grasslands are highly endangered habitats in Central Europe and numerous restoration efforts have been made to compensate for the losses in the last decades. However, some plant species could become more easily established than others. The establishment success of 37 species was analyzed over 6 years at two study sites of a restoration project in Germany where hay transfer and sowing of threshing material in combination with additional sowing were applied. The effects of the restoration method applied, time since the restoration took place, traits related to germination, dispersal, and reproduction, and combinations of these traits on the establishment were analyzed. While the specific restoration method of how seeds were transferred played a subordinate role, the establishment success depended in particular on traits such as flower season or the lifeform. Species flowering in autumn, such as Pastinaca sativa and Serratula tinctoria, became established better than species flowering in other seasons, probably because they could complete their life cycle, resulting in increasingly stronger seed pressure with time. Geophytes, like Allium angulosum and Galium boreale, became established very poorly, but showed an increase with study duration. For various traits, we found significant trait by method and trait by year interactions, indicating that different traits promoted establishment under different conditions. Using a multi‐model approach, we tested whether traits acted in combination. For the first years and the last year, we found that models with three traits explained establishment success better than models with a single trait or two traits. While traits had only an additive effect on the establishment success in the first years, trait interactions became important thereafter. The most important trait was the season of flowering, which occurred in all best models from the third year onwards. Overall, our approach revealed the potential of functional trait analysis to predict success in restoration projects.     

The role of soil seed banks in the restoration of dry acidic dune grassland after burning of Ulex europaeus scrub

Question: Can the seed bank play a significant role in the restoration of plant communities of dry acidic dune grassland where fire has destroyed Ulex europaeus scrub? Location: Northern French Atlantic coast. Methods: One year after the fire, the seed bank and vegetation were sampled in 1 m × 1 m plots along three transects from the oldest scrub vegetation towards the grassland. Differences in species richness, seed density and contribution of ecological groups in the seed bank and vegetation along the transects were analysed. Results: Seed density and species richness in the seed bank decreased significantly from the grassland towards the centre of the scrub vegetation; 50% of the seed bank consisted of core species of the target plant community, such as Carex arenaria, Aira praecox, Rumex acetosella and Agrostis capillaris. Seeds of these species were also found in the deeper soil layers beneath the oldest scrub vegetation, indicating that they can be considered to be long‐term persistent. Beneath the youngest scrub vegetation, seeds of rare satellite target species also occurred. However, no target species were established on the burned site after one year, resulting in a large discrepancy between seed bank and vegetation. Conclusions: Although the seeds present in the soil indicate that restoration of the acidic grassland based on the seed bank is possible, additional management actions such as mowing and soil disturbance may be necessary to restrict resprouting of Ulex and to stimulate the germination of seeds of target species in the deeper soil layers.