Multiple targeted grassland restoration interventions enhance ecosystem service multifunctionality.

Area of Science:

• Ecological restoration
• Ecosystem services
• Sustainable land management

Background:

• Grassland degradation threatens ecosystem services globally.
• Achieving ecosystem service multifunctionality in restoration is challenging due to service trade-offs.
• Restoring species-poor, agriculturally improved grasslands is a key sustainability priority.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess how increasing the number of grassland restoration treatments impacts ecosystem service multifunctionality.
• To investigate the role of trade-offs in limiting multifunctionality.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of combined interventions for grassland restoration.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a long-term multifactor grassland restoration experiment (established 1989).
• Applied various treatments: manure, inorganic fertilizer, seed mixture, and nitrogen-fixing legume (Trifolium pratense).
• Measured 26 ecosystem service indicators between 2011 and 2014 to assess multifunctionality.

Main Results:

• Single restoration interventions typically resulted in trade-offs among ecosystem services, limiting multifunctionality.
• Ecosystem service multifunctionality significantly increased with a greater number of applied restoration interventions.
• Trade-offs among services were reduced when multiple interventions were combined.

Conclusions:

• Combined use of multiple, targeted restoration interventions is crucial for enhancing ecosystem service multifunctionality in degraded grasslands.
• This approach can potentially be applied to restore other degraded ecosystems.
• Integrated restoration strategies offer a promising pathway for sustainable grassland management.