Key issues in North-western Mediterranean dry grassland restoration

Autor: Christel Vidaller, Jean-François Alignan, Cannelle Moinardeau, Francis Isselin-Nondedeu, Olivier Blight, Elise Buisson, Daniel Pavon, Armin Bischoff, Tiago Shizen Pacheco Toma, Truman P. Young, Thierry Dutoit, François Mesléard, Tania De Almeida, André Jardim Arruda, Aure Durbecq, Renaud Jaunatre, Manon C.M. Hess
Přispěvatelé: Institut méditerranéen de biodiversité et d'écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), Avignon Université (AU)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Univ Calif Davis, Dept Plant Sci, Davis, CA 95616 USA, Partenaires INRAE, Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes, ECO-MED (Ecologie & Médiation), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais [Belo Horizonte] (UFMG), NGE-GUINTOLI, Cités, Territoires, Environnement et Sociétés (CITERES), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours, Laboratoire des EcoSystèmes et des Sociétés en Montagne (UR LESSEM), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), University of California [Davis] (UC Davis), University of California, Department of Plant Sciences [Univ California Davis] (Plant - UC Davis), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Université de Tours (UT)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of California (UC), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UMR237-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Avignon Université (AU), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Tours (UT)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Restoration Ecology
Restoration Ecology, Wiley, 2021, 29, pp.37. ⟨10.1111/rec.13258⟩
Restoration Ecology, 2021, 29, pp.37. ⟨10.1111/rec.13258⟩
ISSN: 1061-2971
1526-100X
Popis: Dry grasslands of the Northwestern Mediterranean Basin are seminatural species‐rich ecosystems, composed of many annual species and some structuring perennial species. As these grasslands have been used as rangelands for centuries, human management (grazing; fire regimes) is one of their main ecological and evolutionary drivers, along with the Mediterranean climate. Despite EU conservation policy, damage to such grasslands still occurs and efficient ecological restoration is needed. This article reviews restoration constraints, effective techniques, and research perspectives for restoring them in the light of their ecological characteristics. Major restoration constraints specifically include (1) a poor contribution of the internal (seed bank) and external (seed rain) species pools, and (2) low establishment of some perennial species. The latter may be the result of the low seed quantity or quality of perennial species, stochastic or extended droughts, high soil nutrient content that may lead to competition (e.g. between weed and target species), inappropriate grazing management or fire regimes leading to shrub encroachment, or the death of target species seedlings in early stages of restoration. Successful restoration techniques include seeding, transplanting, hay transfer, and timely soil transfer, all of which have to be adapted to regional plant phenology and to local Mediterranean climate. They must be combined with appropriate grazing or fire management. Their success may depend on years with particular rainfall amounts or patterns or on particular target plant species. We discuss research perspectives contributing to a better understanding of seed dispersal, seedling recruitment, and soil processes and suggest the benefits of using ecosystem engineer species.
Databáze: OpenAIRE