Direct topsoil transfer to already planted reforestation sites increases native plant understory and not ruderals

Abstract

Forests restored passively or by tree planting can take many decades to be recolonized by native forest understory plant species, if at all. Our study tested (1) the ability of forest topsoil transfer to accelerate the recovery of native forest plant communities in post‐agricultural reforestation sites after tree‐planting and without previous topsoil removal and (2) the effect of adding combinations of woody debris (WD), shrub plantings, and shade shelters (SS) on top of the transferred topsoil. Five 12.5 × 10 m treatment blocks were established in each of three recipient sites, which included two post‐agricultural reforestation sites, and one abandoned gravel pit site. Each treatment blocks received forest topsoil and a combination of additional treatments. Treatment and control plots were sampled for all vascular species in spring and summer. Native forest plant species richness in topsoil recipient plots was similar (p > 0.05) to that of mature donor forest sites, and significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of passive control plots in the recipient sites. The plant community composition of all topsoil recipient plots had also become more like the donor forests and less like recipient site controls. Only the unplanted gravel pit‐site increased in non‐native ruderal plant species after topsoil transfer. The addition of WD, shrub plantings, or SS had no significant effect after two growing seasons. We recommend that topsoil should when possible be added where trees have already been planted, allowing for shorter time to canopy closure and thereby higher survival of shade‐adapted understory species.