Curriculum vitae

              

GRASSWORKS – What works and why in grassland restoration in Germany? A multi-region social-ecological assessment and pilot implementation of successful approaches

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Johannes Kollmann

Species-rich grassland, which only a few decades ago was an essential part of Germany's cultural landscape, is in massive decline, and the corresponding range of ecosystem services (e.g. pollination) disappear. Thus, an integral part of landscape multifunctionality is endangered.

Since species-rich meadows are ecosystems of anthropogenic origin, they can only be preserved by low-intensity management, i.e. regular mowing with low frequency and no or little fertilisation. Transformation into highly productive but species-poor grassland, as well as abandonment, that results in woody encroachment, are the main reasons for the wide-spread decline of species-rich grasslands. The deeper cause lies in a lack of economic viability of low-intensity management regimes in modern agriculture. Taking into account not only ecological aspects but also the socio-economic circumstances is therefore crucial for grassland restoration, which is currently gaining in importance as a complementary measure to the preservation of existing species-rich sites. Only such an integrative approach is able to ensure both biodiversity and ecosystem functions, and an adequate payment of farmers.

This issue is addressed by the project GRASSWORKS (https://www.leuphana.de/en/institutes/institute-of-ecology/team/vicky-temperton/grassworks.html [mw1] ), which is based on a collaboration of researchers in ecological, economic and social sciences to analyse which factors lead to successful restoration of grasslands. Which ecological and social parameters favour restoration of species-rich multifunctional grassland, and which parameters inhibit it? The goal is a new, evidence-based state-of-the-art for grassland restoration.

GRASSWORKS operates in three model regions in North, Central and South Germany, each with different natural and socio-economic contexts. At the Chair of Restoration Ecology we work on ecological multifunctionality of grasslands in the Danube and Isar region in Lower Bavaria. Two approaches are used:

1.       Post-hoc examination of existing restoration sites: We conduct surveys on vegetation, soil, wild bees and butterflies on 30 restored meadows. These are complemented with socio-economic surveys. Using a comparison with positive and negative reference sites, i.e. original species-rich meadows and degraded grasslands, restoration success will be determined and correlated with environmental parameters as well as socio-economic conditions.

2.       Transdisciplinary realisation of a restoration project in a living lab: The model implementation of restoration projects allows us to document ecological progresses in real time as well as to develop new integrative concepts, and to cross-link different stakeholders and other interested parties.

GRASSWORKS is a collaborative project of Leuphana University Lüneburg, Anhalt University of Applied Sciences and Technical University Munich, as well as other research and practice partners. Funding is provided by the German FEdA initiative, a BMBF research initiative on conservation of biodiversity.