Université de Fribourg

Sawdust addition reduces the productivity of nitrogen-enriched mountain grasslands

Spiegelberger, Thomas ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Matthies, Diethart ; Schaffner, Urs

In: Restoration Ecology, 2008///10.1111/j.1526-100X.2008.00424.x

Anthropogenic nutrient enrichment of mountain grasslands has boosted grasses and fast-growing unpalatable plants at the expense of slow-growing species, resulting in a significant loss in biodiversity. A potential tool to reduce nutrient availability and aboveground productivity without destroying the perennial vegetation is carbon (C) addition. However, little is known about its suitability...

Université de Fribourg

Land use, soil nutrient availability and conservation of biodiversity on mountain grasslands

Spiegelberger, Thomas ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz (Dir.)

Thèse de doctorat : Université de Fribourg, 2006 ; Nr. 1512.

Weltweit geht der Artenreichtum mit nie zuvor gesehener Geschwindigkeit zurück. In Europa sind viele traditionell bewirtschafteten Berggebiete noch artenreich, aber eine Verschiebung von der traditionellen, extensiven Nutzung zu einer intensiveren Nutzung von gut zugänglichen Gebieten und eine schrittweise Aufgabe von abgelegenen Flächen bedroht diese Habitate. In beiden Fälle könnte sich...

Université de Fribourg

Scale-dependent effects of land use on plant species richness of mountain grassland in the European Alps

Spiegelberger, Thomas ; Matthies, Diethart ; Müller-Schärer, Heinz ; Schaffner, Urs

In: Ecography, 2006, vol. Volume 29, p. 541-548

Traditionally managed mountain grasslands in the Alps are species-rich ecosystems that developed during centuries of livestock grazing. However, changes in land use including fertilisation of well accessible pastures and gradual abandonment of remote sites are increasingly threatening this diversity. In five regions of the Swiss and French Alps we assessed the relationship between land use, soil...