Grassland restoration on former croplands in Europe: an assessment of applicability of techniques and costs |
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Authors: | Péter Török Enik? Vida Balázs Deák Szabolcs Lengyel Béla Tóthmérész |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Ecology, University of Debrecen, P. O. Box 71, 4010, Debrecen, Hungary 2. Hortobágyi National Park Directorate, Debrecen, Hungary
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Abstract: | Grasslands used to be vital landscape elements throughout Europe. Nowadays, the area of grasslands is dramatically reduced,
especially in industrial countries. Grassland restoration is widely applied to increase the naturalness of the landscape and
preserve biodiversity. We reviewed the most frequently used restoration techniques (spontaneous succession, sowing seed mixtures,
transfer of plant material, topsoil removal and transfer) and techniques used to improve species richness (planting, grazing
and mowing) to recover natural-like grasslands from ex-arable lands. We focus on the usefulness of methods in restoring biodiversity,
their practical feasibility and costs. We conclude that the success of each technique depends on the site conditions, history,
availability of propagules and/or donor sites, and on the budget and time available for restoration. Spontaneous succession
can be an option for restoration when no rapid result is expected, and is likely to lead to the target in areas with high
availability of propagules. Sowing low-diversity seed mixtures is recommended when we aim at to create basic grassland vegetation
in large areas and/or in a short time. The compilation of high-diversity seed mixtures for large sites is rather difficult
and expensive; thus, it may be applied rather on smaller areas. We recommend combining the two kinds of seed sowing methods
by sowing low-diversity mixtures in a large area and high-diversity mixtures in small blocks to create species-rich source
patches for the spontaneous colonization of nearby areas. When proper local hay sources are available, the restoration with
plant material transfer can be a fast and effective method for restoration. |
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