Restaurering av grässandhedar genom aktiv markstörning - en jämförelse av florans kolonisation av plöjningar och sandblottor på Revingefältet utanför Lund

Sammanfattning: The conservation value of sandy habitats for a flora and fauna adapted to open, light, dry, warm, and often nutrient-poor conditions, is well recognized. Today this environment is threatened by lack of disturbance, fragmentation and exploitation, acidification and increased levels of nitrogen and phosphorus. Traditional management such as mowing and grazing have proven unsuitable for restoring populations of valuable species in formerly cultivated areas, and hence active soil disturbances such as ploughing or deep soil inversion have been introduced as procedures to mirror the historical disturbance regime. While previous research has mainly focused on calcareous sites, this study compares the floristic effects of two soil disturbance methods in an area with a more acidic, siliceous soil. Sand plots created with deep topsoil removal or inversion turned out to be more favourable than conventional ploughing for target species and in general for plant species characterized by high affinity for heat, light, drought, disturbance, and low nutrition levels. This difference agrees with results from calcareous habitats, confirms the importance of deep soil disturbance, and is most likely driven by reduced nutrition levels. In addition to these findings, other aspects of best restoration and management of grasslands on siliceous inland dunes, are briefly discussed.