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La Tour du Valat

Institut de recherche pour la conservation des zones humides méditerranéennes

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Titre :	Historical cultivation in the Crau: the potential of characteristic coussous species to re-establish after abandonment
Auteurs :	Christine Roemermann, Auteur ; Markus Bernhardt, Auteur ; Thierry Dutoit, Auteur ; Peter Poschlod, Auteur ; Christiane Rolando, Auteur
Type de document :	Article
Dans :	Ecologia Mediterranea (30(1, Sp. Iss. SI) 2004)
Article en page(s) :	47-70
Résumé :	In Europe, the present landscape has been mainly influenced by human activities. Especially for dry semi-natural grasslands, agricultural intensification led to a considerable habitat loss and fragmentation. In the Crau, large parts of the former 60,000 ha semi-natural steppe vegetation (coussous) have been transformed into arable, industrial and military land during the 20th century. However, in the 1980s, most of the cereal and melon fields have been abandoned and sheep grazing has been reintroduced.The current study investigates the effects of historical melon and cereal cultivation on the steppe vegetation and the potential of characteristic coussous species to re-establish after abandonment.At four sites of central Crau, vegetation sampling has been carried out on the different vegetation types (coussous, melon and cereal fallows) using the frequency method Soil samples were taken and analysed. At one site, seed bank studies were performed As related to seed bank persistence, dormancy traits were examined for 26 characteristic steppe species.Decades after abandonment, the vegetation of coussous, abandoned cereal and abandoned melon fields are still very different from each other. Due to former fertiliser application, ex-cultivated cereal and melon fields still showed enhanced nutrient levels (N, P, K, Ca, pH). The seed bank of the coussous is dominated by transient species while abandoned field seed banks are dominated by persistent seeds of ruderal species. The germination studies confirmed the absence of dormancy mechanisms for seeds of most coussous species.The successful reestablishment of coussous species in abandoned fields seemed to be hampered by still modified abiotic conditions. More, most coussous species do not build up a persistent soil seed bank and can, therefore, not survive cultivation periods. Species dispersal between coussous and adjacent ex-cultivated fields appeared to be a limiting factor, too. For following studies complete species lists of ex-cultivated fields and the coussous are provided

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