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Article Dans Une Revue Applied Vegetation Science Année : 2014

Topsoil removal improves various restoration treatments of a Mediterranean steppe (La Crau, south-eastern France)

Résumé

Question: Can topsoil removal improve restoration efficiency of several ecological engineering techniques (nurse species seeding, hay transfer and soil transfer) for restoring a Mediterranean steppe, species-rich plant community? Location: La Crau area, southeast France (Provence). Methods: After the rehabilitation of a 357-ha herbaceous, sheep-grazed range-land suitable for threatened steppe birds in a formerly abandoned industrial orchard in the last French Mediterranean steppe (La Crau area), four experimental treatments were applied, with or without topsoil removal. Topsoil was removed on a 5000-m² area and the four treatments (control, nurse species seeding, hay transfer and soil transfer) were applied within this area where top-soil was removed and within the area where topsoil was not removed. Three years later, soil chemistry, soil seed bank, vegetation cover and height, plant species richness, composition and diversity were compared. Results: Removing topsoil partly restored soil conditions and significantly reduced the non-target seed bank. Moreover, species richness and similarity to the reference steppe was significantly increased with topsoil removal. Topsoil removal, combined with soil transfer and hay transfer, created a community that most closely resembled the reference during the study period. Conclusion: In order to restore plant community composition, topsoil removal is a relevant method to increase the efficiency of other ecological restoration techniques, especially those that strengthen dispersal processes.

Dates et versions

hal-01329386 , version 1 (09-06-2016)

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Renaud Jaunatre, Elise Buisson, Thierry Dutoit. Topsoil removal improves various restoration treatments of a Mediterranean steppe (La Crau, south-eastern France). Applied Vegetation Science, 2014, ⟨10.1111/avsc.12063⟩. ⟨hal-01329386⟩
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