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Renaturierungsökologie
(2019)
Im Rahmen des BMBF-Projekts ProSaum wurde ein Praxisleitfaden erstellt, der Informationen für die Neuanlage und Aufwertung von Säumen und Feldrainen in Agrarlandschaften und urbanen Räumen bereitstellt. Neben Hinweisen zur Planung von Ansaatmischungen mit Wildpflanzen, zur Bodenvorbereitung und zur Umsetzung der Maßnahme (Ansaatzeitpunkt, Ansaatmethode, Ansaatstärke) werden auch Empfehlungen zur Entwicklungs- und Folgepflege gegeben. Darüber hinaus werden Fördermöglichkeiten und vergaberechtliche Aspekte erörtert. Anhand von Praxisbeispielen werden bereits erfolgreich umgesetzte Maßnahmen aus Niedersachsen und Sachsen-Anhalt vorgestellt. Das Kapitel "Aus Fehlern lernen" zeigt kurz und prägnant, wie Misserfolge vermieden werden können. Insgesamt dokumentiert der Leitfaden, wie monotone Grasstreifen nach einer intensiven Bodenstörung, einer Ansaat mit zertifizierten, gebietseigenen Wildpflanzen und einer angepassten Entwicklungs- und Folgepflege erfolgreich in ausdauernde, blütenreiche Bestände umgewandelt werden können, die vielfältige Ökosystemdienstleistungen erfüllen und die Biodiversität erhöhen.
Grasslands are ubiquitous globally, and their conservation and restoration are critical to combat both the biodiversity and climate crises. There is increasing interest in implementing effective multifunctional grassland restoration to restore biodiversity concomitant with above- and belowground carbon sequestration, delivery of carbon credits and/or integration with land dedicated to solar panels. Other common multifunctional restoration considerations include improved forage value, erosion control, water management, pollinator services, and wildlife habitat provisioning. In addition, many grasslands are global biodiversity hotspots. Nonetheless, relative to their impact, and as compared to forests, the importance of preservation, conservation, and restoration of grasslands has been widely overlooked due to their subtle physiognomy and underappreciated contributions to human and planetary well-being. Ultimately, the global success of carbon sequestration will depend on more complete and effective grassland ecosystem restoration. In this review, supported by examples from across the Western world, we call for more strenuous and unified development of best practices for grassland restoration in three areas of concern: initial site conditions and site preparation; implementation of restoration measures and management; and social context and sustainability. For each area, we identify the primary challenges to grassland restoration and highlight case studies with proven results to derive successful and generalizable solutions.
Farmland bird populations are in a deep crisis across Europe. Agri-environment schemes (AES) were implemented by the European Union to stop and reverse the general decline of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. In Germany, flower strips are one of the most common AES. Establishing high-quality perennial wildflower strips (WFS) with species-rich native forb mixtures from regional seed propagation is a recent approach, for which the effectiveness for birds has not yet been sufficiently studied. We surveyed breeding birds and vegetation on 40 arable fields with WFS (20 with single and 20 with aggregated WFS) and 20 arable fields lacking WFS as controls across Saxony-Anhalt (Germany). Additionally, vegetation composition, WFS quantity and landscape structure (e.g. distance to nearest woody element) were considered in our analyses. All WFS were established with species-rich native seed mixtures (30 forbs) in agricultural practice as AES. Arable fields with WFS had a higher species richness and territory density of birds than controls, confirming the effectiveness of this AES. A forb-rich vegetation was the main driver promoting birds. Flower strip quantity at the landscape level had positive effects only on bird densities, but also single WFS achieved benefits. A short distance from WFS to woody elements increased total bird species richness. However, the density of farmland birds, which are target species of these AES, were negatively affected by the proximity and proportion of woody elements in the vicinity. The effect of the proportion of non-intensively used open habitats and overall habitat richness was unexpectedly low in the otherwise intensively farmed landscape. Species-rich perennial WFS significantly promoted breeding birds. Successful establishment of WFS, resulting in high-quality habitats, a high flower strip quantity as well as implementation in open landscapes were shown to maximise the effectiveness for restoring declining and AES target farmland birds.
Within the frame of the EU Common Agricultural Policy, most countries subsidise the establishment and maintenance of perennial flower strips on arable land within Agri-Environmental Schemes to provide foraging habitats and refuges for wildlife.
In a replicated field experiment, we studied the effects of different types of seed mixtures on the establishment and maintenance of perennial flower strips on fertile arable land in the federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany over seven years. The seed mixtures were commonly applied within recent Common Agricultural Policy funding periods: (1) a low-diversity cultivar standard seed mixture (CULTIVAR), (2) a high-diversity cultivar and native plant mixture (MIX), and (3) a high-diversity native plant mixture (WILDFLOWER). All plots were mulched every year in March and at the beginning of August.
The low success of CULTIVAR triggered the massive encroachment of spontaneously established perennial grasses. In MIX, too, cultivars have disappeared after the first year. Both wildflower variants were successful in maintaining a high cover of sown perennial native forbs and a high ratio of established sown species, even after seven years. WILDFLOWER always tended to show better values than MIX. Furthermore, spontaneously establishing species began to spread their cover in MIX in the fifth year, with a very strongly increasing tendency, whereas in WILDFLOWER cover of spontaneously immigrating species stayed satisfyingly low.
Using native wildflowers to establish perennial wildflower strips was very effective in maintaining high species diversity within the Agri-Environmental Schemes funding period of five years and beyond. WILDFLOWER was especially successful. On the other hand, CULTIVAR failed completely. On fertile soils in regions with rather low yearly precipitation, mulching twice a year supported the maintenance of perennial wildflower strips.
1. Flower strips are a fundamental part of agri-environment schemes (AESs) introduced by the European Union to counteract the loss of biodiversity and related ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes. Although vegetation composition of the strips is essential for most fauna groups, comprehensive studies analysing vegetation development and influencing factors are rare.
2. From 2017 to 2019, we investigated the vegetation composition of 40 perennial wildflower strips (WFSs) implemented in 2015 or 2016, and 20 cereal fields without WFS across Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. We analysed environmental factors on plot (cover of grasses, shading, soil fertility) and four landscape-scale levels (habitat diversity, proportion of WFS and open habitats). The provision of nectar and pollen resources was estimated by the newly developed Pollinator Feeding Index (PFI). All strips had been implemented by farmers as AES with species- rich seed mixtures comprising 30 native forbs.
3. In all study years, forb species richness, cover and related nectar and pollen supply were much higher on WFSs than on controls, confirming the effectiveness of this AES. Although sown native forbs contributed the most to the high PFI values, spontaneously established forbs expanded the total range of species considerably, especially in winter and spring. While sown forb communities remained similar over time, spontaneous forbs showed a higher species turnover. Altogether, shading and grass cover had the greatest negative effect on the performance of the sown forbs. Landscape variables had only minor effects and were inconsistent in their importance across scale levels and years.
4. Synthesis and applications. Successfully established perennial wildflower strips (WFSs) sown with species-rich native seed mixtures provided a forb-rich and diverse vegetation throughout the AES funding period of 5 years. By supplying feeding resources for pollinators under various landscape situations, WFSs have significant potential to promote farmland biodiversity and related ecosyste services. We recommend the mandatory use of species-rich wildflower mixtures for perennial flower strips and to avoid their creation in heavily shaded field edges. Advisory services for farmers are necessary to prevent failures in WFS implementation and management and to improve their ecological effectiveness.
m Rahmen des BMBF-Projekts ProSaum wurde ein Praxisleitfaden erstellt, der Informationen für die Neuanlage und Aufwertung von Säumen und Feldrainen in Agrarlandschaften und urbanen Räumen bereitstellt. Neben Hinweisen zur Planung von Ansaatmischungen mit Wildpflanzen, zur Bodenvorbereitung und zur Umsetzung der Maßnahme (Ansaatzeitpunkt, Ansaatmethode, Ansaatstärke) werden auch Empfehlungen zur Entwicklungs- und Folgepflege gegeben. Darüber hinaus werden Fördermöglichkeiten und vergaberechtliche Aspekte erörtert. Anhand von Praxisbeispielen werden bereits erfolgreich umgesetzte Maßnahmen aus Niedersachsen und Sachsen-Anhalt vorgestellt. Das Kapitel "Aus Fehlern lernen" zeigt kurz und prägnant, wie Misserfolge vermieden werden können. Insgesamt dokumentiert der Leitfaden, wie monotone Grasstreifen nach einer intensiven Bodenstörung, einer Ansaat mit zertifizierten, gebietseigenen Wildpflanzen und einer angepassten Entwicklungs- und Folgepflege erfolgreich in ausdauernde, blütenreiche Bestände umgewandelt werden können, die vielfältige Ökosystemdienstleistungen erfüllen und die Biodiversität erhöhen.