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.

Biodiversity decreases world-wide in an unprecedented rate. In Europe many traditionally managed mountain grasslands are still species-rich, but a shift from the traditional, extensive land use to a more intensive use of well accessible sites and to a gradual abandonment of remote sites is threatening these habitats. In both cases, nutrient availability may change due to fertiliser or to litter...

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...