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Updated: Nov 16, 2025
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JenaTron - An Experimental Approach to Study the Effects of Plant History and Soil History on Grassland Ecosystem Functioning
Published on: March 21, 2025
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Evaluating long-term success in grassland restoration: an ecosystem multifunctionality approach
Monika Carol Resch1, Martin Schütz1, Nina Buchmann2
1Community Ecology, Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland.
Summary
Restoration efforts can rebuild biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality. Higher intervention intensity improved grassland multifunctionality, with plant species richness being a cost-effective indicator of success.
Area of Science:
- Ecological restoration
- Ecosystem multifunctionality
- Biodiversity recovery
Background:
- Restoring biodiversity is assumed to enhance ecosystem functioning.
- Simultaneous rebuilding of biodiversity and ecosystem multifunctionality by restoration is rarely evaluated.
- Grassland restoration effectiveness varies with intervention intensity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the long-term effects of different restoration intensities on grassland ecosystem multifunctionality.
- To compare restored grasslands with intensively managed and seminatural grasslands.
- To identify cost-efficient indicators of restoration success.
Main Methods:
- Assessed 13 biotic and abiotic properties 22 years post-restoration.
- Compared three restoration methods: harvest only, topsoil removal, and topsoil removal + propagule addition.
- Evaluated restoration success based on ecosystem multifunctionality and indicator properties.
Main Results:
- All restoration methods improved multifunctionality compared to intensive management.
- Higher intervention intensity achieved multifunctionality targets of seminatural grasslands.
- Plant species richness was the most accurate and cost-efficient indicator of multifunctionality.
Conclusions:
- Restoration intensity influences the recovery of ecosystem multifunctionality.
- Topsoil removal accelerated biotic and aboveground property recovery without negative long-term effects.
- Cost-efficient monitoring using plant species richness and other key properties can guide restoration success assessment.
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