The Power of Regeneration: Lessons from a Degraded Grassland |
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| Authors: | Verena Blanke Birgit Schulze Uta Gerighausen Silvia Küster Remo Rothe Heike Schulze Manuel Siñeriz |
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| Institution: | Institute of Ecology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; UFZ—Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department of Soil Ecology, 20 Halle/Saale, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, 07745 Jena, Germany; Institute of Geography, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; Institute of Nutrition Science, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; Institute of Microbiology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany; Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, 4000 Tucumán, Argentine; Both authors contributed equally to this paper. |
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| Abstract: | To gain insight into mechanisms controlling ecosystem regeneration, we investigated a grassland that was heavily polluted by a phosphate fertilizer factory between 1960 and 1990. Abiotic and biotic filters that influenced species assemblage and succession were monitored and restoration approaches assessed. Studies included the investigation of soil parameters, impact of abiotic stress on microbes and plants, plant succession, recolonization mechanisms, functional group interactions, mycorrhizal diversity and function, and food web analysis. Results indicate that after cessation of pollution, the system had high potential for self‐recovery. About 15 years of research are now summarized by interrelating the results of all projects and fitting them into one conceptual model. |
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| Keywords: | ecosystem functioning grassland industrial pollution regeneration restoration Steudnitz |
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