Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Diaspore and gap availability are limiting species richness in wet meadows

  • Published:
Folia Geobotanica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Species pool theory claims that diaspore and microsite availability limit species richness in plant communities. Wet meadows (Calthion) and litter meadows (Molinion, Caricion davallianae) belonging to the most species-rich meadows in the foothills of the Alps have suffered from a strong decrease since the 1970s. Restoration efforts including nutrient impoverishment and rewetting management after drainage and fertilization did not result in the re-establishment of the former species richness although the abiotic filter would have been appropriate for the re-colonization of many locally extinct species. In our experiment at four sites in the largest fen of Southwest-Germany we tested if the restoration success was seed- and gap-limited. We applied sowing and hay spreading (hay seed) as treatments to make seeds available and harrowing to increase gap availability. Sowing seeds or hay seed of species of the former meadow types increased species richness immediately. The proportion of re-established species was higher when additional harrowing was applied. Species richness could be increased not only in vascular plants but also in bryophytes when hay spreading was applied. The strongest re-development towards the target communities (defined through the abiotic filter and the species richness before drainage and fertilization) took place on those sites where hay spreading and harrowing were applied. Sowing seeds and hay seed were traditional techniques to establish e.g. litter meadows, both techniques have been applied for centuries. Even harrowing was described as early as the 19th century to increase the chance of establishing certain species. Therefore, the “application of the knowledge coming from the species pool theory” (although not named during this time) has been common practice since at least the 19th century.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abt K. (1991): Landschaftsökologische Auswirkungen des Agrarstrukturwandels im Württembergischen Allgäu.Schriftenreihe Stud. Agrarökol. 1: 1–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker J.P., Poschlod P., Strykstra R.J., Bekker R.M. &Thompson K. (1996): Seed banks and seed dispersal: important topics in restoration ecology.Acta Bot. Neerl. 45: 461–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bazzaz F.A. (1996):Plants in changing environments. Linking physiological, population, and community ecology. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biewer H. (1997): Regeneration artenreicher Feuchtwiesen. In:Biewer H. & Poschlod P. (eds.), Regeneration artenreicher Feuchtwiesen im Federseeried,Veröff. Projekt Angew. Ökol. 24: 3–323.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonn S. &Poschlod P. (1998):Ausbreitungsbiologie der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. Quelle & Meyer, Wiesbaden.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown R.L. &Fridley J.D. (2003): Control of plant species diversity and community invasibility by species immigration: seed richness versus seed density.Oikos 102: 15–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bullock J.M. (2000): Gaps and seedling colonization. In:Fenner M. (ed.),Seeds, The ecology of regeneration in plant communities, CABI Publishing, Oxon, New York, pp. 375–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke M.J.W. &Grime J.P. (1996): A experimental study on plant community invasibility.Ecology 77: 776–790.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cain M.L., Milligan B.G. &Strand A.E. (2000): Long-distance seed dispersal in plant populations.Amer. J. Bot. 87: 1217–1227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark J.S., Fastie C., Hurtt G., Jackson S.T., Johnson C., King G.A., Lewis M., Lynch J., Pacala S., Prentice C., Schupp E.W., Webb J. III &Wyckoff P. (1998): Reid’s paradox of rapid plant migration.BioScience 48: 13–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson A. (1998): Regional distribution ofThymus serpyllum: management history and dispersal limitation.Ecography 21: 35–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O. (1993): The species-pool hypothesis and plant community diversity.Oikos 68: 371–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson O. (1997): Colonization dynamics and relative abundance of three plant species (Antennaria dioica, Hieracium pilosella andHypochoeris maculata) in dry semi-natural grasslands.Ecography 20: 559–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foster B.L. (2001): Constraints on colonization and species richness along a productivity gradient: the role of propagule availability.Ecol. Letters 4: 530–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fowler N. (1988): What is a safe site? Neighbour, litter, germination date, and patch effects.Ecology 69: 947–961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frahm J.-P. &Frey W. (1988):Moosflora. Ulmer, Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson C.W.D., Watt T.A. &Brown V.K. (1987): The use of sheep grazing to recreate species-rich grasslands from abandoned arable land.Biol. Conservation 42: 165–183.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grime J.P., Hodgson J.G. &Hunt R. (1988):Comparative plant ecology. A functional approach to British species. Unwin Hyman, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Häfener F. (1847):Der Wiesenbau in seinem ganzen Umfange nebst Anleitung zum Nivellieren, zur Erbauung von Schleußen, Wehren, Brücken usw. Reutlingen, Leipzig.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harvey H.J. &Meredith T.C. (1981): Ecological studies ofPeucedanum palustre and their implications for conservation management at Wicken Fen, Chambridgeshire. In:Synge H. (ed.),The biological aspects of rare plant conservation, Wiley, Chichester, pp. 365–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hitchmough J.D. (2003): Effects of sward height, gap size, and slug grazing on emergence and establishment ofTrollius europaeus (globeflower).Restoration Ecol. 11: 20–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hulme P.E. (1994): Seedling herbivory in grassland: relative impact of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores.J. Ecol. 82: 873–880.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huston M.A. (1999): Local processes and regional patterns: appropriate scales for understanding variation in the diversity of plants and animals.Oikos 86: 393–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacquemyn H., Butaye J., Dumortier M., Hermy M. &Lust N. (2001a): Effects of age and distance on plant species composition of mixed deciduous forest fragments in an agricultural landscape.J. Veg. Sci. 12: 635–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacquemyn H., Butaye J. &Hermy M. (2001b): Forest plant species richness in small, fragmented mixed deciduous forest patches: the role of area, time and dispersal limitation.J. Biogeogr. 28: 801–812.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jensen K. &Schrautzer J. (1999): Consequences of abandonment for a regional fen flora and mechanisms of successional change.Appl. Veg. Sci. 2: 79–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahmen S., Poschlod P. &Schreiber K.-F. (2002): Conservation management of calcareous grasslands. Changes in plant species composition and response of functional traits during 25 years.Biol. Conservation 104: 319–328.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahmen S. &Poschlod P. (2004): Plant functional trait responses to grassland succession over 25 years.J. Veg. Sci. 15: 21–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalamees R. &Zobel M. (2002): The role of the seed bank in gap regeneration in a calcareous grassland community.Ecology 83: 1017–1025.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapfer A. (1988): Versuche zur Renaturierung gedüngten Feuchtgrünlandes — Aushagerung und Vegetationsentwicklung.Diss. Bot. 120: 1–144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kapfer A. (1994): Erfolgskontrolle bei Renaturierungsmaßnahmen im Feuchtgrünland.Schriftenreihe Landschaftspflege Naturschutz 40: 125–142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keddy P.A. (1992) Assembly and response rules: two goals for predictive community ecology.J. Veg. Sci. 3: 157–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Konold W. (1991): Wasser, Wiesen und Wiesenwässerung im Allgäu. Ein Beitrag zur Agrar- und Stadtgeschichte.Schriftenreihe Verein Gesch. Bodensees & Umgebung 109: 161–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Konold W. &Popp S. (1994): Zur Geschichte der Wiesenwässerung im Bereich der Württembergischen Donau. In:Konold W. (Hrsg.),Historische Wasserwirtschaft im Alpenraum und an der Donau, Wittwer, Stuttgart, pp. 377–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korneck D., Schnittler M., Klingenstein F., Gerhard L., Takla M., Bohn U. &May R. (1998): Warum verarmt unsere Flora? Auswertung der Roten Liste der Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Deutschlands.Schriftenreihe Vegetationsk. 29: 299–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotorová I. &Lepš J. (1999): Comparative ecology of seedling recruitment in an oligotrophic wet meadow.J. Veg. Sci. 10: 175–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kupferschmid A.D., Stampfli A. &Newbery D.M. (2000): Dispersal and microsite limitation in an abandoned calcareous grassland of the southern Prealps.Folia Geobot. 35: 125–141.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mouquet N., Leadley P., Meriguet J. &Loreau M. (2004): Immigration and local competition in herbaceous plant communities: a three year seed-sowing experiment.Oikos 104: 77–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller M. the older called Hohentwieler (1752):Gründlicher Bericht, wie aus des Erdbodens Beschaffenheit vorlängstens unweit Ulm, zwischen Grimmelfingen und Gögglingen, in dem sogenannten Tauben Riedt, dass unfehlbar Turf oder Torf vorhanden seyn müssen, beurtheilet .... Ulm.

  • Oberdorfer E. (1983):Pflanzensoziologische Exkursionsflora. Ulmer, Stuttgart.

    Google Scholar 

  • Overbeck G., Kiehl K. &Abs C. (2003): Seedling recruitment ofSuccisella inflexa in fen meadows: Importance of seed and microsite availability.Appl. Veg. Sci. 6: 97–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pärtel M., Zobel M., Liira J. &Zobel K. (2000): Species richness limitations in productive and oligotrophic communities.Oikos 90: 191–193.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pärtel M., Zobel M., Zobel K. &van der Maarel E. (1996): The species pool and its relation to species richness: evidence from Estonian plant communities.Oikos 75: 111–117.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patzelt A. &Pfadenhauer J. (1998): Keimungsbiologie und Etablierung von Niedermoor-Arten bei Ansaat durch Mähgutübertragung.Z. Ökol. Naturschutz 7: 1–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfadenhauer J. &Maas D. (1987): Samenpotential in Niedermoorböden des Alpenvorlandes bei Grünlandnutzung unterschiedlicher Intensität.Flora 179: 85–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfadenhauer J. &Grootjans A.P. (1999): Wetland restoration in Central Europe: aims and methods.Appl. Veg. Sci. 2: 95–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P. &Bloch D. (1998): Verbreitung, Nutzungsgeschichte und heutige Situation der Moore in Baden-Württemberg. In:Weisser H. &Renner F. (eds.),Zehn Jahre Projekt Wurzacher Ried, Margraf, Weikersheim, pp. 173–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P. &Bonn S. (1998): Changing dispersal processes in the central European landscape since the last ice age — an explanation for the actual decrease of plant species richness in different habitats.Acta Bot. Neerl. 47: 27–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P., Kleyer M., Jackel A.-K., Dannemann A. &Tackenberg O. (2003): BIOPOP — A database of plant traits and internet application for nature conservation.Folia Geobot. 38: 263–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P., Kiefer S., Tränkle U., Fischer S. &Bonn S. (1998): Plant species richness in calcareous grasslands as affected by dispersability in space and time.Appl. Veg. Sci. 1: 75–90.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poschlod P., Tackenberg O. &Bonn S. (2004): Plant dispersal potential and its relation to species frequency and coexistence In:van der Maarel E. (ed.),Vegetation ecology, Oxford, Blackwells, pp. 147–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds H.L., Packer A., Bever J.D. &Clay K. (2003): Grassroots ecology: plant-microbe-soil interactions as drivers of plant community structure and dynamics.Ecology 84: 2281–2291.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryser P. (1993): Influence of neighbouring plants on seedling establishment in limestone grassland.J. Veg. Sci. 4: 195–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt W. (1974): Bericht über die Arbeitsgruppe für Sukzessionsforschung auf Dauerflächen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Vegetationskunde.Vegetatio 29: 69–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schütz W. (2000): The importance of seed regeneration strategies for the persistence of species in the changing landscape of central Europe.Z. Ökol. Naturschutz 9: 73–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Silvertown J.W. &Lovett Doust J. (1993):Introduction to plant population biology. Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • SPSSInc. (1991):SPSS statistical algorithms. Ed. 2. SPSS Inc., Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stampfli A. &Zeitler M. (1999): Plant species decline due to abandonment of meadows cannot easily reversed by mowing. A case study from the southern Alps.J. Veg. Sci. 10: 151–164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stebler F.G. (1898):Die besten Streuepflanzen. IV. Teil des schweizerischen Wiesenpflanzenwerkes. Wyß, Bern.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stender S., Poschlod P., Vauk-Henzelt E. &Dernedde T. (1997): Die Ausbreitung von Pflanzen durch Galloway-Rinder.Verh. Ges. Ökol. 27: 173–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strykstra R.J., Bekker R.M &Verweij G.L. (1996): Establishment ofRhinanthus angustifolius in a successional hayfield after seed dispersal by mowing machinery.Acta Bot. Neerl. 45: 557–562.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ter Heerdt G.J.N., Verweij G.L., Bekker R.M. &Bakker J.P. (1996): An improved method for seed-bank analysis: seedling emergence after removing the soil by sieving.Funct. Ecol. 10: 144–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K. &Grime J.P. (1983): A comparative study of germination responses to diurnally-fluctuating temperatures.J. Appl. Ecol. 20: 141–156.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D. (1982):Resource competition and community structure. Monographs in Population Biology 17. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D. (1988):Dynamics and structure of plant communities. Monographs in Population Biology 26. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilman D. (1997): Community invasibility, recruitment limitation, and grassland biodiversity.Ecology 78: 81–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Titus J.H. &Lepš J. (2000): The response of arbuscular mycorrhizae to fertilization, mowing and removal of dominant species in a diverse oligotrophic wet meadow.Amer. J. Bot. 87: 392–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van der Maarel E. &Sykes M. T. (1993): Small-scale plant species turnover in a limestone grassland: the carousel model and some comments on the niche concept.J. Veg. Sci. 4: 179–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Veit R. (1849):Anleitung zum Futterbau, mit einem Anhang über Streugewinnung. München.

  • Vogt K., Rasran L. &Jensen K. (2004): Water-borne seed transport and seed deposition during flooding in a small river-valley in Northern Germany.Flora 199: 377–388.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilby A. &Brown V.K. (2001): Herbivory, litter and soil disturbance as determinants of vegetation dynamics during early old-field succession under set-aside.Oecologia 127: 259–265.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wildi O. (1986): Analyse vegetationskundlicher Daten. Theorie und Einsatz statistischer Methoden.Veröff. Geobot. Inst. ETH Stiftung Rübel, Zürich 90: 1–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Willems J. (2001): Problems, approaches and results in restoration of Dutch calcareous grasslands during the last 30 years.Restoration Ecol. 9: 147–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zobel M. (1997): The relative role of species pools in determining plant species richness: an alternative explanation of species coexistence.Trends Ecol. Evol. 12: 266–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zobel M. &Kalamees R. (2005): Diversity and dispersal — can the link be approached experimentally?Folia Geobot. 40: 3–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zobel M., Moora M. &Haukioja E. (1997): Plant coexistence in the interactive environment: arbuscular mycorrhizae should not be out of mind.Oikos 78: 202–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zobel M., Otsus M., Liira J., Moora M. &Möls T. (2000): Is small-scale species richness limited by seed availability or microsite availability?Ecology 81: 3274–3282.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zobel M., van der Maarel E. &Dupré C. (1998): Species pool: the concept, its determination and significance for community restoration.Appl. Veg. Sci. 1: 55–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, Faculty of Biology, University of Regensburg, D-94040, Regensburg, Germany

    Peter Poschlod & Heiner Biewer

Authors
  1. Peter Poschlod
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Heiner Biewer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Poschlod.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Poschlod, P., Biewer, H. Diaspore and gap availability are limiting species richness in wet meadows. Folia Geobot 40, 13–34 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803041

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02803041

Keywords

Nomenclature

Electronic appendix (www.ibot.cas.cz/folia)

Search

Navigation