Wetland restoration by natural succession in abandoned pastures with a degraded soil seed bank
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Published source details
Morimoto J., Shibata M., Shida Y. & Nakamura F. (2017) Wetland restoration by natural succession in abandoned pastures with a degraded soil seed bank. Restoration Ecology, 25, 1005-1014.
Published source details Morimoto J., Shibata M., Shida Y. & Nakamura F. (2017) Wetland restoration by natural succession in abandoned pastures with a degraded soil seed bank. Restoration Ecology, 25, 1005-1014.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Abandon cropland: allow freshwater marshes or swamps to recover without active intervention Action Link |
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Abandon cropland: allow freshwater marshes or swamps to recover without active intervention
A site comparison study in 2012 on a floodplain in Hokkaido, Japan (Morimoto et al. 2017) found that pastures abandoned for 5–25 years developed a plant community more like natural marshes or swamps than current pastures, typically with more wetland and habitat-characteristic species. The overall plant community composition in abandoned pastures was intermediate between that of natural wetlands and pastures still in use – but was more similar to marshes and swamps than to bogs (data reported as a graphical analysis). Pastures abandoned for the longest time had the most similar community to natural wetlands. Compared to current pastures, abandoned pastures contained more wetland plant species in four of four comparisons (abandoned: 1.2–2.0; current: 0.2 species/m2) and more species indicative of local marshes or swamps in seven of eight comparisons (abandoned: 0.4–0.7; current: <0.1 species/m2). Abandoned pastures retained a similar number of pasture species to current pastures in three of four comparisons (for which abandoned: 0.5–0.7; current: 0.8 species/m2). Methods: In July and September 2012, cover of vascular plant species was surveyed in 88 quadrats (each 4 m2) across a floodplain. There were 55 quadrats in abandoned pastures (drained, ploughed and sown for approximately 17 years, but abandoned for 5, 12, 14 or 25 years; water table 37–52 cm below surface, on average, in late summer–autumn), 14 quadrats in pastures still being cultivated (water table 96 cm below surface), and 19 quadrats in remnant patches of marsh, swamp or bog.
(Summarised by: Nigel Taylor)
