Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland

Over the past century, changes in land use have led to large scale abandonment of semi-natural grasslands throughout northern Europe. During the ensuing succession species richness declines as grassland specialist plants are out-competed by a few dominant species. The aim of this study is to docu...

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Autor principal: Kohlström, Erik
Formato: M2
Lenguaje:sueco
Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2015
Materias:
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author Kohlström, Erik
author_browse Kohlström, Erik
author_facet Kohlström, Erik
author_sort Kohlström, Erik
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description Over the past century, changes in land use have led to large scale abandonment of semi-natural grasslands throughout northern Europe. During the ensuing succession species richness declines as grassland specialist plants are out-competed by a few dominant species. The aim of this study is to document extinction/survival rates of plants at the functional group and species levels. Factors tested for effect on species composition are time since abandonment, borders to forests/agricultural land and re-forestation model (spontaneous vs plantation). I surveyed 22 pastures in Västmanland, Sweden, abandoned either 1-13 or 14-27 years ago. A near significant tendency towards higher species richness was observed on newly abandoned sites. Otherwise, early and newly abandoned sites showed no significant differences in species representation. Nearly all pastures were dominated by Alopecurus pratensis, accompanied by Filipendula ulmaria, Ranunculus acris, Anthriscus sylvestris and Geranium sylvaticum. Early successional species were less likely to be found on five or more pastures than late successional species. However, small populations of grassland specialist species persisted on most pastures – mainly in dry, stony areas. When compared to surveys conducted in 1988 and 2002, some species, for example Galium verum, Pilosella officinarum and Anthoxanthum odoratum, were among the most likely to survive a period without management – whereas other species such as Bistorta vivipara, Antennaria dioica, Euphrasia sp. and Rhinanthus sp were unlikely to survive. Pastures surrounded mainly by forest had a significantly larger number of late successional species. Pastures where re-forestation after abandonment was spontaneous (rather than planted) showed a significantly higher number of grassland specialist plant species. The results indicate that restoration measures may be worthwhile even after two to three decades without management.
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spelling RepoSLU86432015-12-01T13:45:58Z Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland Plants on abandoned pastures : occurrence, survival and extinction at 21 sites in Västmanland, Sweden Kohlström, Erik växter betesmarker igenväxning restaurering utdöende överlevnad Over the past century, changes in land use have led to large scale abandonment of semi-natural grasslands throughout northern Europe. During the ensuing succession species richness declines as grassland specialist plants are out-competed by a few dominant species. The aim of this study is to document extinction/survival rates of plants at the functional group and species levels. Factors tested for effect on species composition are time since abandonment, borders to forests/agricultural land and re-forestation model (spontaneous vs plantation). I surveyed 22 pastures in Västmanland, Sweden, abandoned either 1-13 or 14-27 years ago. A near significant tendency towards higher species richness was observed on newly abandoned sites. Otherwise, early and newly abandoned sites showed no significant differences in species representation. Nearly all pastures were dominated by Alopecurus pratensis, accompanied by Filipendula ulmaria, Ranunculus acris, Anthriscus sylvestris and Geranium sylvaticum. Early successional species were less likely to be found on five or more pastures than late successional species. However, small populations of grassland specialist species persisted on most pastures – mainly in dry, stony areas. When compared to surveys conducted in 1988 and 2002, some species, for example Galium verum, Pilosella officinarum and Anthoxanthum odoratum, were among the most likely to survive a period without management – whereas other species such as Bistorta vivipara, Antennaria dioica, Euphrasia sp. and Rhinanthus sp were unlikely to survive. Pastures surrounded mainly by forest had a significantly larger number of late successional species. Pastures where re-forestation after abandonment was spontaneous (rather than planted) showed a significantly higher number of grassland specialist plant species. The results indicate that restoration measures may be worthwhile even after two to three decades without management. SLU/Dept. of Ecology 2015 M2 swe eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8643/
spellingShingle växter
betesmarker
igenväxning
restaurering
utdöende
överlevnad
Kohlström, Erik
Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title_full Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title_fullStr Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title_full_unstemmed Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title_short Växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i Västmanland
title_sort växter på övergivna betesmarker : förekomst, överlevnad och utdöende på 21 lokaler i västmanland
topic växter
betesmarker
igenväxning
restaurering
utdöende
överlevnad