Young dry grassland ecosystems in Denmark

Dry grassland ecosystems are listed habitats in the EU Habitats Directive due to their high biodiversity. Such areas have declined drastically over the last 200 years but set-aside of agricultural areas in recent years has increased the extent of grassland areas with secondary succession. This paper explores the soil nutrient pools of 14 young dry grasslands and compares them to the nutrient pools on heathlands, forested and agricultural land. On two sites, the plant species composition is compared to characteristic species for the EU Habitats Directive in Denmark and the relationship between soil nutrient pools and underground biomass development is investigated. It was found that soil nutrient content was lower as compared to agricultural land but generally higher as compared to forested areas and heathland. The organic matter on the grassland sites after they have been laid fallow is becoming less decomposed and this indicates that an O horizon will eventually develop and hence provide an important nutrient pool as a replacement for the decline in nutrient content in the subsoil. Root density was high in this study and soil nutrient content appeared to be an important parameter determining root development

Agroforestry · Agronomy · Biodiversity · Biology · Biomass (ecology · Chronosequence · Ecosystem · Grassland · Habitat · Nutrient · Nutrient cycle · Soil water · Subsoil · Botany and Plant Ecology Studies · Ecology · Environmental Science · Peatlands and Wetlands Ecology · Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics · Soil Science

• Changes in Soil Profile Development and Nutrient Status due to the Afforestation of Agricultural Land

  Susanne Leth, Henrik Breuning-Madsen et al.•Geografisk Tidsskrift-Danish…•1992

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