Pollination and dispersal trait spectra recover faster than growth form spectrum during the spontaneous succession in sandy old-fields

Fantinato, Edy and Sonkoly, Judit and Silan, Giulia and Valkó, Orsolya and Tóthmérész, Béla and Deák, Balázs and Kelemen, András and Miglécz, Tamás and Del Vecchio, Silvia and Bettiol, Francesca and Buffa, Gabriella and Török, Péter (2019) Pollination and dispersal trait spectra recover faster than growth form spectrum during the spontaneous succession in sandy old-fields. APPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, 229 (3). pp. 435-443. ISSN 1402-2001

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Abstract

Question Spontaneous succession is the most natural and cost-effective solution for grassland restoration. However, little is known about the time required for the recovery of grassland functionality, i.e. for the recovery of reproductive and vegetative processes typical of pristine grasslands. Since these processes operate at different scales, we addressed the question: do reproductive and vegetative processes require different recovery times during spontaneous succession? Location Kiskunság sand region (Central Hungary). Methods As combinations of plant traits can be used to highlight general patterns in ecological processes, we compared reproductive (pollination- and dispersal-related) and vegetative (growth form) traits between recovered grasslands of different age (<10 yr old; 10–20 yr old; 20–40 yr old) and pristine grasslands. Results During spontaneous succession the reproductive trait spectra became similar to those of pristine grasslands earlier than the vegetative one. In arable land abandoned for ten years, pollination- and dispersal-related trait spectra did not show significant difference to those of pristine grasslands; anemophily and anemochory were the prevailing strategies. Contrarily, significant differences in the growth form spectrum could be observed even after forty years of abandonment; in recovered grasslands erect leafy species prevailed, while the fraction of dwarf shrubs and tussock-forming species was significantly lower than in pristine grasslands. Conclusions The recovery of the ecological processes of pristine grasslands might require different amounts of time, depending on the spatial scale at which they operate. Reproductive trait spectrum recovered earlier than the vegetative one, since reproductive attributes first determine plant species sorting at the regional level towards their respective habitats. The recovery of the vegetative trait spectrum needs more time as vegetative-based interactions operate on a smaller spatial scale. Thus, vegetative traits might be more effective in the long-term assessment of restoration success than the reproductive ones.

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