Abstract
A 2 m wide uncultivated border along streams is a statutory requirement in Denmark, as this is meant to stabilise the stream bank physically, to protect streams from surface water runoff and soil loss from the fields. In order to evaluate these benefits and to assess nature quality of non-forested border ecotones, a multidisciplinary project was initiated. This paper assesses the impact of agricultural land use of the bordering neighbour field on the botanical quality of the vegetation of stream border ecotones. Botanical quality is also evaluated in relation to distance to fields in annual crop rotation. In comparison with reference ecotones bordering permanent natural grassland, the border ecotones of fields in annual crop rotation had poorer species richness, especially among the Phreatophyte species. The remaining species were more often associated with eutrophic and productive biotopes. The impacts may be a consequence of nutrient load, pesticide drift and physical disturbance from the fields in rotation. The differences in botanical quality were more pronounced for the vegetation of the stream border than of the stream bank. This is a consequence of the borders being closer to the fields in rotation than the banks.
Published Version
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