A Coenotical Approach of Plant Population Viability Analysis on Successional and Afforested Calcarous Grassland Sites

Abstract

In South-West Germany, the reduction of sheep (and cattle) grazing since the last century, due to a lack of interest and economic incentives, has resulted in a decline in calcareous grassland areas. Until now, conservation of these areas has consisted of, in most cases, an artificial management strategy of annual cutting. However, this management strategy requires much time and money. Therefore, it cannot provide a long-term perspective on a large scale, but only on a local one. Two possibilities are discussed to manage or conserve these grassland sites in the future: Reintroduction of sheep on an economic basis or allow woodland succession, possibly sometimes combined with afforestations. In most cases the first possibility cannot be realized in the near future for many, often economic, reasons. Therefore, it is important to know what happens during succession (Neitzke 1991, Schreiber 1993) or afforestation (Mattern et al. 1992), and if it would be possible to restore these areas in the future if sheep grazing was to become economically viable once more.