Abstract
Conversion of arable land into semi-natural grassland or heath
land is a major practice for restoring and conserving plant diversity,
but little is known about the restoration of taxonomic and functional
diversity in the soil. In a chronosequence of abandoned fields we
determined how plant and soil communities develop along a
secondary succession gradient. Plant community development
proceeded according to a clear succession towards the theoretical
plant associations Galio hercynici-Festucetum ovinae and Genisto
anglicae-callunetum. However, succession of the nematode
community was less well predictable. For nematodes, theoretical
references are far less well developed than for plants, but similarity
with a theoretical community indicative of arable land significantly
declined with time since abandonment. Moreover, regarding
similarity to natural reference sites, our results show that plant and
soil nematode communities have individual trajectories of
secondary succession after land abandonment. Therefore we
argue that besides plants soil organisms provide added value as
indicators for conservation and restoration success
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | XVII International Botanical Congress, Vienna, Austria, 17-23 July 2005 |
| Place of Publication | Vienna, Austria |
| Pages | 109 |
| Publication status | Published - 2005 |