Vegetation dynamics following three decades of trophic rewilding in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen

Ditte Dalsgaard Ejrnæs; Bernard Olivier; Elisabeth Suzanna Bakker; Perry Cornelissen; Rasmus Ejrnæs; Christian Smit; Jens Christian Svenning

doi:10.1111/avsc.12805

Vegetation dynamics following three decades of trophic rewilding in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen

Ditte Dalsgaard Ejrnæs^* (Corresponding author), Bernard Olivier, Elisabeth Suzanna Bakker, Perry Cornelissen, Rasmus Ejrnæs, Christian Smit, Jens Christian Svenning

^*Corresponding author for this work

NIOO - Aquatic Ecology (AqE)

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

Abstract

Aim: There is increasing interest in open-ended restoration with the focus on restoring natural processes rather than static compositional goals. Here, we investigated vegetation dynamics in response to three decades of trophic rewilding with large herbivores in a recent anthropogenic, fertile 55-km² landscape on reclaimed marine sediments. This site provides important insights into plant community assembly in rewilded, young ecosystems. Location: Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands. Methods: Using field surveys and vegetation data spanning two decades, we investigate vegetation dynamics of the mesic grasslands in Oostvaardersplassen, a pioneer trophic rewilding site in the Netherlands. To identify the effects of grazing and other ecological processes, we include comparisons to an adjacent ungrazed control site and to the dark diversity, that is, missing species expected to be present given the environment and geography. Results: The impact of large herbivores has led to a more open and homogenous vegetation with higher plant species richness in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen compared to the ungrazed control. Compared to species in the dark diversity, the species present are more common in the region, more stress-tolerant, and less competitive, in line with joint effects of grazing and immigrational lag. Conclusions: The changes in vegetation composition and structure show that rewilding with large herbivores promotes the prevalence of stress-tolerant and low-statured plant species, which are in decline in the broader landscape while reducing the dominance of otherwise widespread, competition-adapted species. The absence of numerous rare species suggests that dispersal limitation poses an important constraint for the diversity build-up in anthropogenically isolated natural areas, necessitating active species introductions to mitigate this issue in the short to medium term.

Original language	English
Article number	e12805
Journal	Applied Vegetation Science
Volume	27
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12805
Publication status	Published - 01 Jul 2024

Keywords

dark diversity
ecosystem restoration
grazing
large herbivores
open-ended restoration
plant diversity
reintroductions
succession

Access to Document

10.1111/avsc.12805Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Vegetation dynamics following three decades of trophic rewilding in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen",

abstract = "Aim: There is increasing interest in open-ended restoration with the focus on restoring natural processes rather than static compositional goals. Here, we investigated vegetation dynamics in response to three decades of trophic rewilding with large herbivores in a recent anthropogenic, fertile 55-km2 landscape on reclaimed marine sediments. This site provides important insights into plant community assembly in rewilded, young ecosystems. Location: Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands. Methods: Using field surveys and vegetation data spanning two decades, we investigate vegetation dynamics of the mesic grasslands in Oostvaardersplassen, a pioneer trophic rewilding site in the Netherlands. To identify the effects of grazing and other ecological processes, we include comparisons to an adjacent ungrazed control site and to the dark diversity, that is, missing species expected to be present given the environment and geography. Results: The impact of large herbivores has led to a more open and homogenous vegetation with higher plant species richness in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen compared to the ungrazed control. Compared to species in the dark diversity, the species present are more common in the region, more stress-tolerant, and less competitive, in line with joint effects of grazing and immigrational lag. Conclusions: The changes in vegetation composition and structure show that rewilding with large herbivores promotes the prevalence of stress-tolerant and low-statured plant species, which are in decline in the broader landscape while reducing the dominance of otherwise widespread, competition-adapted species. The absence of numerous rare species suggests that dispersal limitation poses an important constraint for the diversity build-up in anthropogenically isolated natural areas, necessitating active species introductions to mitigate this issue in the short to medium term.",

keywords = "dark diversity, ecosystem restoration, grazing, large herbivores, open-ended restoration, plant diversity, reintroductions, succession",

author = "Ejrn{\ae}s, {Ditte Dalsgaard} and Bernard Olivier and Bakker, {Elisabeth Suzanna} and Perry Cornelissen and Rasmus Ejrn{\ae}s and Christian Smit and Svenning, {Jens Christian}",

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month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1111/avsc.12805",

language = "English",

volume = "27",

journal = "Applied Vegetation Science",

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Vegetation dynamics following three decades of trophic rewilding in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen. / Ejrnæs, Ditte Dalsgaard (Corresponding author); Olivier, Bernard; Bakker, Elisabeth Suzanna et al.
In: Applied Vegetation Science, Vol. 27, No. 3, e12805, 01.07.2024.

Research output: Contribution to journal/periodical › Article › Scientific › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Vegetation dynamics following three decades of trophic rewilding in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen

AU - Ejrnæs, Ditte Dalsgaard

AU - Olivier, Bernard

AU - Bakker, Elisabeth Suzanna

AU - Cornelissen, Perry

AU - Ejrnæs, Rasmus

AU - Smit, Christian

AU - Svenning, Jens Christian

N1 - Data archiving: no NIOO data

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N2 - Aim: There is increasing interest in open-ended restoration with the focus on restoring natural processes rather than static compositional goals. Here, we investigated vegetation dynamics in response to three decades of trophic rewilding with large herbivores in a recent anthropogenic, fertile 55-km2 landscape on reclaimed marine sediments. This site provides important insights into plant community assembly in rewilded, young ecosystems. Location: Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands. Methods: Using field surveys and vegetation data spanning two decades, we investigate vegetation dynamics of the mesic grasslands in Oostvaardersplassen, a pioneer trophic rewilding site in the Netherlands. To identify the effects of grazing and other ecological processes, we include comparisons to an adjacent ungrazed control site and to the dark diversity, that is, missing species expected to be present given the environment and geography. Results: The impact of large herbivores has led to a more open and homogenous vegetation with higher plant species richness in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen compared to the ungrazed control. Compared to species in the dark diversity, the species present are more common in the region, more stress-tolerant, and less competitive, in line with joint effects of grazing and immigrational lag. Conclusions: The changes in vegetation composition and structure show that rewilding with large herbivores promotes the prevalence of stress-tolerant and low-statured plant species, which are in decline in the broader landscape while reducing the dominance of otherwise widespread, competition-adapted species. The absence of numerous rare species suggests that dispersal limitation poses an important constraint for the diversity build-up in anthropogenically isolated natural areas, necessitating active species introductions to mitigate this issue in the short to medium term.

AB - Aim: There is increasing interest in open-ended restoration with the focus on restoring natural processes rather than static compositional goals. Here, we investigated vegetation dynamics in response to three decades of trophic rewilding with large herbivores in a recent anthropogenic, fertile 55-km2 landscape on reclaimed marine sediments. This site provides important insights into plant community assembly in rewilded, young ecosystems. Location: Oostvaardersplassen, the Netherlands. Methods: Using field surveys and vegetation data spanning two decades, we investigate vegetation dynamics of the mesic grasslands in Oostvaardersplassen, a pioneer trophic rewilding site in the Netherlands. To identify the effects of grazing and other ecological processes, we include comparisons to an adjacent ungrazed control site and to the dark diversity, that is, missing species expected to be present given the environment and geography. Results: The impact of large herbivores has led to a more open and homogenous vegetation with higher plant species richness in the mesic grasslands of Oostvaardersplassen compared to the ungrazed control. Compared to species in the dark diversity, the species present are more common in the region, more stress-tolerant, and less competitive, in line with joint effects of grazing and immigrational lag. Conclusions: The changes in vegetation composition and structure show that rewilding with large herbivores promotes the prevalence of stress-tolerant and low-statured plant species, which are in decline in the broader landscape while reducing the dominance of otherwise widespread, competition-adapted species. The absence of numerous rare species suggests that dispersal limitation poses an important constraint for the diversity build-up in anthropogenically isolated natural areas, necessitating active species introductions to mitigate this issue in the short to medium term.

KW - dark diversity

KW - ecosystem restoration

KW - grazing

KW - large herbivores

KW - open-ended restoration

KW - plant diversity

KW - reintroductions

KW - succession

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DO - 10.1111/avsc.12805

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85203595999

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JO - Applied Vegetation Science

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ER -