Long-term exclosure of sheep-grazing from an ancient wood: Vegetation change after a sixty-year experiment

0547206 - BÚ 2022 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Vild, Ondřej - Rotherham, I. D.
Long-term exclosure of sheep-grazing from an ancient wood: Vegetation change after a sixty-year experiment.
Applied vegetation science. Roč. 24, č. 1 (2021), č. článku e12543. ISSN 1402-2001. E-ISSN 1654-109X
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-09283S
EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 278065 - LONGWOOD
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : ecological succession * forest management * grazing intensity * herbaceous layer * long-term change * species diversity * tree regeneration * vegetation monitoring
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 3.431, year: 2021
Method of publishing: Limited access
https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12543

We demonstrated a progressive decline in the number of mature oaks and birch in the old enclosure although they still regenerated successfully. Only a few individuals of beech and rowan appeared. Herb layer species composition differed between the subareas but since the 1980s, the temporal change in the old enclosure was negligible. The new enclosure followed a similar pattern in both canopy and herb layer as observed in the early years in the old enclosure. However, the control subarea had no regeneration of woody species and limited ground flora. After nearly 60 years, the replacement of light-demanding dominants by shade-tolerant trees was still limited, probably by low pH and stable light conditions. The findings are pertinent to the impacts of large herbivore grazing (domestic stock or wild) on woodland dynamics.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0325186