Floodplain meadow restoration revisited: Long-term success of large scale application of diaspore transfer with plant material in restoration practice

Rare and endangered floodplain meadows have been a focus of previous restoration projects, but knowledge about the long-term development of newly created meadows is scarce. We studied the long-term development of sites restored via the transfer of seed-containing plant material on former arable fields and former species-poor grassland. We analyzed the long-term development of the vegetation and tested the differences between former land-use types and former preparatory treatments. In former arable fields, we studied the influence of sowing with a grass seed mixture. In former species-poor grassland, we tested the effect of topsoil disturbance by rotovation to inhibit competition by the resident grassland vegetation.