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Establishment of Picea abies seedlings in a central European mountain grassland: an experimental study
Author(s) -
Prach K.,
Lepš J.,
Michálek J.
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3236379
Subject(s) - fencing , seedling , picea abies , topsoil , biomass (ecology) , grassland , vegetation (pathology) , litter , agronomy , environmental science , biology , woody plant , forestry , botany , ecology , geography , soil water , medicine , pathology , parallel computing , computer science
Abstract. Secondary meadows in the Krušné hory mountains, central Europe, are not colonized by woody species, although they have been abandoned for half a century and are surrounded by Picea abies (Norway spruce) forests. The causes of inhibition of establishment of Norway spruce seedlings in the meadows were tested experimentally. The experiment was started in a masting year to ensure sufficient seed input. Four treatments (vegetation cut; vegetation cut and litter removed; all above‐ground biomass and topsoil removed; control) were combined in a factorial design. The effect of browsing, mainly by deer, was assessed by fencing half of the experimental plots. Seedling establishment differed among treatments (all pair‐wise differences were significant) but was independent of fencing. In contrast, seedling survival was influenced both by the treatment and fencing. At the end of the second year, only the plots with all biomass and organic topsoil removed supported viable populations of spruce seedlings. Dense herb cover and a thick layer of slowly decaying litter are considered the main factors inhibiting the establishment of woody species.