Restoration of a Danish headwater stream: short-term changes in plant species abundance and composition
✍ Scribed by Annette Baattrup-Pedersen; Tenna Riis; Hans Ole Hansen; Nikolai Friberg
- Book ID
- 101278251
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 2000
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 130 KB
- Volume
- 10
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 1052-7613
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
This paper describes the short-term effects (2 years) of stream restoration on vascular plant communities in a 1.4 km upper reach of the River Gudena ˚, Denmark. The effects of restoration were assessed in terms of the abundance and composition of plant species in the stream, on the banks and in the stream valley.
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Total species richness was similar before and after restoration, and comprised approximately 150 species representing 12% of the entire Danish vascular plant flora.
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In the stream, total plant cover had not recovered to pre-restoration levels 2 years after restoration. Cover by submerged, amphibious and terrestrial species growing submerged decreased, as did the number of amphibious and terrestrial species growing submerged.
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On the banks, total plant cover almost attained pre-restoration levels the second year after restoration. The plant communities changed from dominance by non-riparian species to more diverse communities with a greater number and increased cover of riparian gramineous species requiring a higher soil moisture content.
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In the valley, the plant communities only changed slightly after restoration, although growth of riparian species was enhanced on the southern side of the stream.