First year woody survival supports feasibility of forest-steppe reconstruction as an alternative to landscaping in industrial areas

Abstract

Urban-industrial restoration of complex native vegetation, such as grassland-forest mosaics could counteract land degradation and help develop methodology for larger scale complex restorations. We have studied the impact of grassland reconstruction techniques, the resulting biotic conditions, plus abiotic conditions on early woody survival in a forest-steppe reconstruction at an urban-industrial site. The study area is situated at the factory of the LEGO Group, Nyíregyháza in the acidic inland sand dune region of Nyírség, NE Hungary, Europe. Over 10,000 undercut 1-2-year-old saplings of 16 tree and shrub species were planted in patches of various size in November 2015 at ca. 20% of the restoration area. Specific plans were developed for each woody patch within the restored grassland. Tree and shrub survival was counted for all saplings in all patches in the summer of 2016. Vegetation height, cover of herb-layer, and elevation a.m.s.l. were estimated for each woody patch and soils were characterized for each restoration parcel. First year woody survival rates ranged between 4 and 66% for the different species. Only vegetation height had an overall negative impact on woody survival and seven species reflected some (often contradictory) impacts of the studied environmental variables. In our interpretation this shows that woody survival was basically independent of the grassland reconstruction techniques, but also that the management of the herb-layer of new woody plantations can be crucial in long-term maintenance. Our results support that the reconstruction of complex native habitats with a park-like appearance is a viable alternative to landscaping in industrial areas that can counteract land degradation and increase green infrastructure connectivity. The methods applied can be transferred to larger-scale restoration with modifications.