Applied Vegetation Science最新文献

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148080894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148080893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Seed Traps Differ in Species Numbers, Seed Densities and Contamination but Mostly Do Not Reflect Grazing in a Pampa Grassland","authors":"Alois Fundneider,&nbsp;Giovanni Peratoner,&nbsp;Dana Aylen Rodriguez,&nbsp;Diego Bambozzi,&nbsp;Maria Cecilia Scarfó,&nbsp;Camilla Wellstein,&nbsp;Alejandro Loydi","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70071","DOIUrl":"10.1111/avsc.70071","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Questions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Seed traps, as a common tool for measuring the seed rain, are often used, but a comparative evaluation of the effectiveness is rarely addressed. Therefore, we tested four different seed trap types under two contrasting grassland managements concerning: (1) their effectiveness in catching seeds (species number, seed density), (2) characterising the seed production of the aboveground vegetation and (3) the contamination of non-seed material (arthropods, plant parts, soil).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Location</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Pampa grassland (Argentina).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We assessed the effectiveness of two ground-type (hereafter ground) traps (funnel, pot) and two adhesive-type (hereafter adhesive) traps (glue, sticky) in a grazed and an unmanaged natural grassland. Additionally, we described the aboveground vegetation including the estimated seed production (ESP). The latter was compared with the seed rain measured by traps to assess which trap type can best characterise it.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In the aboveground vegetation, no significant differences in cover and species richness were found depending on the management, whilst differences for most of the investigated parameters were detected for the ESP. Adhesive traps exhibited the highest contamination with arthropods, funnel traps that with plant parts. Both ground seed traps had considerable contamination with soil. Concerning the effectiveness, the highest seed density was provided by ground traps and the highest species richness by pot traps. Likewise, ground traps more closely resembled the ESP according to the qualitative Jaccard and quantitative Bray–Curtis similarity index. A significant Mantel correlation between measured seed rain and ESP was found for the pot traps only. However, no seed trap type was able to account for differences of ESP depending on the management.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Overall, pot and funnel traps seem to be the most suitable tool to measure seed rain in natural grassland irrespective of the management. All traps failed to detect most differences between grazed and unmanaged areas regarding ESP.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70071","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147696234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Identification of Vegetation Communities Using Segmentation of Aerial Images","authors":"José Salas-Cáceres,&nbsp;Riccardo Balia,&nbsp;Marcos Salas-Pascual,&nbsp;Javier Lorenzo-Navarro,&nbsp;Modesto Castrillón-Santana","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70070","DOIUrl":"10.1111/avsc.70070","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Aims&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Vegetation mapping remains a slow and costly process, as traditional approaches rely heavily on expert fieldwork. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop an efficient and scalable methodology for generating vegetation maps by leveraging computer vision techniques on aerial imagery.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Location&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The study focused on the island of Gran Canaria, an ecologically rich territory with heterogeneous environments where vegetation mapping is essential for environmental conservation, ecosystem monitoring, and biodiversity assessment.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Methods&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Deep semantic segmentation techniques were employed to delineate vegetation communities from high-resolution aerial imagery. A comparative analysis was conducted between widely used segmentation architectures. The methodology incorporated transfer learning with various backbones and evaluated performance across two versions of the dataset: One focused exclusively on vegetation communities and another that additionally included some non-ecological classes such as shadows, roads, and water bodies. Finally, an aggregation of the vegetation communities was performed based on biological similarity.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Results&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The results obtained revealed clear performance differences between models, with Feature Pyramid Network (FPN) consistently achieving the highest Dice and IoU scores across all dataset configurations, reaching approximately 70% Dice and 59% IoU in both aggregated versions of the dataset. The analysis also highlighted the benefits of class aggregation for improving segmentation quality in highly fragmented vegetation types. A final discussion examined these findings and outlined the methodological limitations and practical implications for ecological mapping.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Conclusions&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;The findings confirmed that deep learning-based semantic segmentation enables the efficient generation of vegetation maps, even in ecologically complex territories. Although performance remained constrained by data availability and class complexity, the results demonstrated that these models can provide accurate and biologically meaningful representations of plant communities. The proposed framework therefore offers a solid foundation for supporting large-scale ecological monitoring and for guiding future developments toward more detailed, scalable, and data-rich veg","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-04-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70070","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147696300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel Approaches to Invasive Annual Grass Management: Assessing Efficacy and Impacts on Target Species and Plant Diversity","authors":"Erin B. Teichroew,&nbsp;Jane M. Mangold,&nbsp;Lilly Sencenbaugh,&nbsp;Lisa J. Rew","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70068","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aims</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The management of invasive species is a global concern that requires a paradigm shift away from only assessing control efficacy to also including impacts to the diversity of the surrounding plant community. Many rangelands in the western United States are invaded by annual grasses like <i>Bromus tectorum</i> (cheatgrass). Current management of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) relies heavily on herbicides and their efficacy in targeting IAGs. However, this approach often does not consider the response of the surrounding plant community. Evaluations of alternative management options and the efficacy of all approaches on target and desired vegetation are needed. We assessed four management options and a restoration seeding split treatment to control <i>B. tectorum</i> and restore the desired plant community.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Location</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Semi-arid grasslands, southwestern Montana, United States.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We monitored vegetation for three growing seasons after management treatment application (non-treated control, mustard seed meal (MSM), NutraFix, and indaziflam) and restoration seeding (native grasses) with spatial (3) and temporal (2) replication, assessing changes in <i>B. tectorum</i> cover, species richness, alpha and beta diversity, and rank abundance.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The MSM provided control for 1 year but also reduced species richness, and <i>B. tectorum</i> was highly dominant 2 and 3 years after treatment. NutraFix provided control for 2 years and had no meaningful impacts on species richness or alpha diversity. Indaziflam provided 3 years of <i>B. tectorum</i> control, reduced species richness, and facilitated a shift toward a <i>Pascopyrum smithii</i> (western wheatgrass) dominated community. Restoration seeding did not affect <i>B. tectorum</i> cover nor beta diversity but did increase richness and alpha diversity.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study demonstrates the importance of a paradigm shift away from evaluating only management efficacy of the target species to include other species and metrics that support recovery of the desired plant community.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70068","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147615352","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel Approaches to Invasive Annual Grass Management: Assessing Efficacy and Impacts on Target Species and Plant Diversity","authors":"Erin B. Teichroew,&nbsp;Jane M. Mangold,&nbsp;Lilly Sencenbaugh,&nbsp;Lisa J. Rew","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70068","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70068","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aims</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The management of invasive species is a global concern that requires a paradigm shift away from only assessing control efficacy to also including impacts to the diversity of the surrounding plant community. Many rangelands in the western United States are invaded by annual grasses like <i>Bromus tectorum</i> (cheatgrass). Current management of invasive annual grasses (IAGs) relies heavily on herbicides and their efficacy in targeting IAGs. However, this approach often does not consider the response of the surrounding plant community. Evaluations of alternative management options and the efficacy of all approaches on target and desired vegetation are needed. We assessed four management options and a restoration seeding split treatment to control <i>B. tectorum</i> and restore the desired plant community.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Location</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Semi-arid grasslands, southwestern Montana, United States.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We monitored vegetation for three growing seasons after management treatment application (non-treated control, mustard seed meal (MSM), NutraFix, and indaziflam) and restoration seeding (native grasses) with spatial (3) and temporal (2) replication, assessing changes in <i>B. tectorum</i> cover, species richness, alpha and beta diversity, and rank abundance.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The MSM provided control for 1 year but also reduced species richness, and <i>B. tectorum</i> was highly dominant 2 and 3 years after treatment. NutraFix provided control for 2 years and had no meaningful impacts on species richness or alpha diversity. Indaziflam provided 3 years of <i>B. tectorum</i> control, reduced species richness, and facilitated a shift toward a <i>Pascopyrum smithii</i> (western wheatgrass) dominated community. Restoration seeding did not affect <i>B. tectorum</i> cover nor beta diversity but did increase richness and alpha diversity.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study demonstrates the importance of a paradigm shift away from evaluating only management efficacy of the target species to include other species and metrics that support recovery of the desired plant community.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70068","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147615353","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Restoration Debt Remains: Topsoil Removal and Different Mowing Regimes Reach Desired States of Calcareous Grassland but Do Not Match the Reference","authors":"Sina Appeltauer,&nbsp;Malte Knöppler,&nbsp;Maren Teschauer,&nbsp;Johannes Kollmann,&nbsp;Markus Bauer","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70067","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Questions&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Restoring calcareous grasslands on former arable land can help to increase the area and connectivity of remnants. Long-term restoration experiments with green hay transfer or topsoil removal on ex-arable land can be combined with different mowing either in early summer or autumn. We investigated which of these treatment combinations achieves the highest efficacy, as measured by similarity to old-growth reference grasslands.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Location&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Nature reserve “Garchinger Heide” in southern Germany and restored calcareous grasslands in the surroundings.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Methods&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Vegetation surveys were conducted in 62 old-growth and 85 restored grassland plots. Furthermore, we added plots from former surveys of the old-growth grassland. We assessed species richness, functional plant traits, species composition, and classified the plots into EUNIS habitat types. Topsoil was removed in 1993, 1996, and 2003 (30 plots). Since 2020, some sites had been mown in late summer (25 plots) or in autumn (30 plots).&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Results&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;None of the restoration methods lead to a “carbon copy” of the reference grassland. Topsoil removal resulted in different outcomes compared to mowing, while mowing date had no effect. More than half of the plots on the restored sites could be classified as the target EUNIS habitat. Compared to the reference, mowing supported a higher number of lowland hay meadow species, while topsoil removal had not only fewer specialists of calcareous grasslands but also fewer non-target species. At mowed sites without topsoil removal, the prevailing species had greater height and a larger specific leaf area compared to the respective species at reference sites. By comparison, species at sites with topsoil removal had a lower seed mass and specific leaf area.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Topsoil removal and mowing regimes produced different restoration outcomes in calcareous grassland, and neither reached the species composition of the old-growth reference. This recovery gap emphasizes the limitations of calcareous grassland restoration and the need to prioritize conservation of old-growth grassland remnants. However, most restored sites of any approach achieved the status of EUNIS habitat types, which is why different outcomes can be seen as a beneficial increase in spatial heterogeneity for plant diversity.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70067","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Restoration Debt Remains: Topsoil Removal and Different Mowing Regimes Reach Desired States of Calcareous Grassland but Do Not Match the Reference","authors":"Sina Appeltauer,&nbsp;Malte Knöppler,&nbsp;Maren Teschauer,&nbsp;Johannes Kollmann,&nbsp;Markus Bauer","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70067","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Questions&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Restoring calcareous grasslands on former arable land can help to increase the area and connectivity of remnants. Long-term restoration experiments with green hay transfer or topsoil removal on ex-arable land can be combined with different mowing either in early summer or autumn. We investigated which of these treatment combinations achieves the highest efficacy, as measured by similarity to old-growth reference grasslands.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Location&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Nature reserve “Garchinger Heide” in southern Germany and restored calcareous grasslands in the surroundings.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Methods&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Vegetation surveys were conducted in 62 old-growth and 85 restored grassland plots. Furthermore, we added plots from former surveys of the old-growth grassland. We assessed species richness, functional plant traits, species composition, and classified the plots into EUNIS habitat types. Topsoil was removed in 1993, 1996, and 2003 (30 plots). Since 2020, some sites had been mown in late summer (25 plots) or in autumn (30 plots).&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Results&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;None of the restoration methods lead to a “carbon copy” of the reference grassland. Topsoil removal resulted in different outcomes compared to mowing, while mowing date had no effect. More than half of the plots on the restored sites could be classified as the target EUNIS habitat. Compared to the reference, mowing supported a higher number of lowland hay meadow species, while topsoil removal had not only fewer specialists of calcareous grasslands but also fewer non-target species. At mowed sites without topsoil removal, the prevailing species had greater height and a larger specific leaf area compared to the respective species at reference sites. By comparison, species at sites with topsoil removal had a lower seed mass and specific leaf area.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 &lt;/section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;section&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;h3&gt; Conclusion&lt;/h3&gt;\u0000 \u0000 &lt;p&gt;Topsoil removal and mowing regimes produced different restoration outcomes in calcareous grassland, and neither reached the species composition of the old-growth reference. This recovery gap emphasizes the limitations of calcareous grassland restoration and the need to prioritize conservation of old-growth grassland remnants. However, most restored sites of any approach achieved the status of EUNIS habitat types, which is why different outcomes can be seen as a beneficial increase in spatial heterogeneity for plant diversity.&lt;/p&gt;\u0000 ","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/avsc.70067","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147566402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation Responses to Experimental Prescribed Burning and Cutting of Heather on Blanket Peat Sites Managed as Grouse Moors in Northern England","authors":"Sian C. Whitehead,&nbsp;Nicholas J. Aebischer,&nbsp;David Baines","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70066","DOIUrl":"10.1111/avsc.70066","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aims</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To contribute to an evidence-based position on the effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting of heather-dominated swards on blanket bog vegetation recovery. We tested our primary hypothesis that management reduces heather <i>Calluna vulgaris</i> dominance and subsequently increases the cover of vegetation, enhancing peat formation such as <i>Sphagnum</i> mosses and <i>Eriophorum vaginatum</i>.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Location</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Pennine Hills in northern England.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We established a randomised plot-based before-after-control-impact (BACI) experiment, replicated over four blocks at each of five blanket bog peatland sites managed for red grouse <i>Lagopus scotica</i> shooting. The experiment compared the effects of prescribed vegetation burning and two cutting methods (brash left and brash removed) on the composition and structure of moorland vegetation with those on no-management (control) plots. We describe post-management changes in the first 5 years following management implementation relative to pre-management (baseline) measures in the same plots and to spatial no-management controls.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Management interventions reduced both heather cover and vegetation height relative to pre-management measures and no-management controls. Heather reduction was associated with increases in <i>E. vaginatum</i>, <i>Sphagnum</i> and other ericaceous species. Management initially reduced moss depth and was linked with increases in acrocarpous moss cover following burning and pleurocarpous moss cover following cutting. Leaving cut brash slowed the rate of <i>Sphagnum</i> cover recovery and may increase the risk of wildfire.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Management reduced heather cover and promoted peat-forming species associated with carbon sequestration. Cutting produced comparable results to burning and formed an additional tool for managing vegetation on blanket peat. All managements reduced fuel loads, but leaving cut brash added to the litter layer and may increase the risk of wildfire ignition. Further and longer-term research on cutting needs to help define best practices that reduce impacts on the moss layer and peat surface and their relation to wildfires. Our results have broad implications for heathland and peatland habitat restoration beyond those in the United Kingdom.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation Responses to Experimental Prescribed Burning and Cutting of Heather on Blanket Peat Sites Managed as Grouse Moors in Northern England","authors":"Sian C. Whitehead,&nbsp;Nicholas J. Aebischer,&nbsp;David Baines","doi":"10.1111/avsc.70066","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.70066","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aims</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To contribute to an evidence-based position on the effects of prescribed burning and mechanical cutting of heather-dominated swards on blanket bog vegetation recovery. We tested our primary hypothesis that management reduces heather <i>Calluna vulgaris</i> dominance and subsequently increases the cover of vegetation, enhancing peat formation such as <i>Sphagnum</i> mosses and <i>Eriophorum vaginatum</i>.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Location</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Pennine Hills in northern England.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We established a randomised plot-based before-after-control-impact (BACI) experiment, replicated over four blocks at each of five blanket bog peatland sites managed for red grouse <i>Lagopus scotica</i> shooting. The experiment compared the effects of prescribed vegetation burning and two cutting methods (brash left and brash removed) on the composition and structure of moorland vegetation with those on no-management (control) plots. We describe post-management changes in the first 5 years following management implementation relative to pre-management (baseline) measures in the same plots and to spatial no-management controls.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Management interventions reduced both heather cover and vegetation height relative to pre-management measures and no-management controls. Heather reduction was associated with increases in <i>E. vaginatum</i>, <i>Sphagnum</i> and other ericaceous species. Management initially reduced moss depth and was linked with increases in acrocarpous moss cover following burning and pleurocarpous moss cover following cutting. Leaving cut brash slowed the rate of <i>Sphagnum</i> cover recovery and may increase the risk of wildfire.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Management reduced heather cover and promoted peat-forming species associated with carbon sequestration. Cutting produced comparable results to burning and formed an additional tool for managing vegetation on blanket peat. All managements reduced fuel loads, but leaving cut brash added to the litter layer and may increase the risk of wildfire ignition. Further and longer-term research on cutting needs to help define best practices that reduce impacts on the moss layer and peat surface and their relation to wildfires. Our results have broad implications for heathland and peatland habitat restoration beyond those in the United Kingdom.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55494,"journal":{"name":"Applied Vegetation Science","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.6,"publicationDate":"2026-03-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147564149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}