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Seed regeneration as driver of vegetation changes in grazed grasslands
Kladivová, Anna ; Münzbergová, Zuzana (advisor) ; Dostál, Petr (referee)
Despite its long tradition in our country, livestock grazing almost disappeared from Czech landscape. This form of land use has winded down in the middle of 20th century, when compulsory co-operative farming was introduced. Decrease of pasturage is especially visible on fragmented areas of steep slopes and in dry places. These areas are often highly valuable and protected for its nature richness. When a grazing management is introduced, its effects on plant species communities are not clear. Also the exact mechanisms of vegetation changes caused by grazing are often unknown. In 2005, administration of PLA Český kras reinstated grazing management as a mean of preservation of dry grassland ecosystems. As part of this project I studied, how generative regeneration contributes to vegetation changes. The aim of the present study is to ascertain: a) how is seedling recruitment and survival affected by grazing, b) what are limitations of generative reproduction, and c) what is the contribution of soil seed bank to vegetation changes. In 2005, monitoring of seedling recruitment and survival had started, repetitive sowing experiment was performed and species composition of persistent seed bank was analyzed. Grazing had a positive effect on seedling - both numbers of seedling and their species composition....
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