Dry Heathland Restoration in the Zlatnice Nature Reserve (Czech Republic): An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Grazing and Sod-Cutting
2015
Dostálek, Jiří | Frantík, Tomáš
The vegetation of low-altitude dry heathlands in Central Europe (Euphorbio cyparissiae-Callunion vulgaris) has declined because the abandonment of traditional management has resulted in gradual overgrowth by woody species and because nutrient inputs have changed. Low-intensity grazing and sod-cutting, which are traditionally recommended to regenerate heather (Calluna vulgaris) vegetation from the seed bank, were introduced to restore stands of heather that had disappeared. The study was conducted in the Zlatnice Nature Reserve, located in the northwestern part of Prague (Czech Republic). A system of 1 m2 permanent plots was used to collect the data. Both grazing and sod-cutting were effective for the restoration of the Calluna vulgaris vegetation. During the two years after the introduction of grazing, the greatest increase in the heather cover occurred in the grazed areas. The heather cover in the areas managed by sod-cutting started to increase significantly in the third year following the removal of sods and reached values comparable with the grazed areas. Regular grazing hindered the increase in the cover of herbs; the increase in the herb cover was higher after single sodcutting. Sod-cutting facilitated the expansion of mosses. The experiment suggests that non-intensive sheep and goat grazing is most likely the most appropriate tool to restore dry heathland on shallow poor soils when more than 20 years have elapsed since the disappearance of the heathland. The use of sod-cutting itself is more demanding and brings a higher risk of overgrowth by unwanted herbs and woody species, resulting in repeated degradation of the Calluna vulgaris vegetation.
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