Grasslands don't grow back the same, even after 100 years
Nerlekar AN, Giles A, Hölzel N, Cava M, Piqueray J
Native Plants
The wildflower meadow you're restoring in your backyard or local park may never fully return to its original mix of plants, so protecting existing old-growth patches matters more than trying to recreate them later.
Scientists looked at 742 plant species from grasslands around the world to compare old, undisturbed grasslands with ones that grew back after being plowed up or dug for mining. The plants that recolonize disturbed grassland tend to be taller, leafier, and faster-growing, while old-growth grassland plants are tougher and more efficient with nutrients. Surprisingly, these differences don't disappear even after a hundred years, meaning once you destroy an old grassland, you can't just wait for it to become the same place again.
Key Findings
Analyzed trait data from 742 plant species across 24 studies on six continents, comparing old-growth versus secondary (recovering) grassland species.
Secondary grassland plants were taller, had higher leaf nitrogen and specific leaf area, and lower leaf dry-matter content than old-growth grassland plants, indicating a shift toward faster, more resource-acquisitive growth strategies.
These trait differences persisted for over a century of recovery, suggesting altered plant communities and nutrient cycling can last decades to centuries after old-growth grassland destruction.
chevron_right Technical Summary
When old-growth grasslands are destroyed and left to regrow, the plants that come back stay different from the originals for a century or more, growing faster and less resource-efficient than the deep-rooted, slow-growing species they replaced.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Grassland destruction causes shifts in plant traits that persist during recovery.
Old-growth grasslands assemble over millennia and support high biodiversity and many ecosystem services, but continue to undergo widespread destruction for production of crops, timber, and minerals...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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