In April, the team of researchers from the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia working on the project LIFE FOR SEEDS published a review article on methodology for grassland restoration in the journal Acta Biologica Slovenica, where information on this topic from numerous studies across Europe is gathered together in one place.
The review article mostly deals with the restoration of three priority grassland habitat types that will be subject to restoration in the project LIFE FOR SEEDS, but at the same time it also covers the restoration of some non-priority grassland habitat types, which will also be subject to restoration in this project.
The article first introduces general facts about grasslands and describes what types of grasslands there are, what their importance is, what factors threaten their existence, and also discusses the state of grasslands in Slovenia. Next, it deals with grassland restoration itself, describing the methods and practical examples of grassland restoration. This chapter also contains a more comprehensive table with the advantages and disadvantages of each of the discussed methods, as well as information on the applicability of the considered restoration methods for different grassland types.
This is followed by chapters on timeline of grassland restoration, the selection of suitable donor grasslands for restoration, the impact of soil fertility on grassland restoration, and the management of grasslands after their restoration. The latter chapter also contains a more comprehensive table, which includes the advantages and disadvantages of the discussed types of grassland management after the restoration process, as well as information on the applicability of certain types of management for different grassland types. Finally, there is a chapter on evaluation and comparison of grassland restoration methods and conclusions with the most essential information from the article.
