Grassland habitat restoration: lessons learnt from long term monitoring of Swanworth Quarry, UK, 1997-2014.

ABSTRACT: Habitat restoration projects are often conducted when prior use or extraction of natural resources results in land degradation. The success of restoration programmes, however, is variable, and studies that provide evidence of long term outcomes are valuable for evaluation purposes. This study focused on the restoration of vegetation within a limestone quarry in Dorset, UK between 1997 and 2014. Using a randomised block design, the effect of seed mix and seed rate on the development of community assemblage was investigated in comparison to a nearby target calcareous grassland site. We hypothesised that seed mix composition and sowing rate would influence both the trajectory of the grassland assemblage and final community composition. We found that species composition (in relation to both ri

SUBMITTER: Smith BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5691784 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature