Successional change after grassland abandonment

摘要

The present agricultural landscape reflects a long history of changing land-use and farming practices, caused by e.g. technological development, urbanization processes and climate changes. A deeper understanding of how agricultural practices have altered the landscape is essential for the management of biodiversity and conservation of semi-natural grasslands. In this study, we explore the influence that changes in agricultural land-use, and grassland abandonment, have on successional changes in vegetation. Ihc distribution, patch size, and plant species composition of semi-natural grasslands in a Central Norwegian agricultural landscape were mapped during two summers. Semi-natural grassland species decreased from managed grasslands to late regrowthsuccessional phase, while number of forest species increased. Structural changes, e.g. increasing litter and tree cover, were also seen along the succession. Variation in species composition was related to management intensity and successional phase along the main gradient.