InterRest

Interactive effects of local and landscape-scale restoration of semi-natural grasslands and agricultural fields on species interactions and ecosystem functions in different social-ecological systems

Abstract

Calcareous grasslands were created by traditional land use in European cultural landscapes and are one of the most species-rich habitat types. They harbour many rare and highly endangered species but are nowadays often threatened, mainly by abandonment and eutrophication. Hence, restoration measures are urgently needed. However, transnational restoration approaches are missing and evaluations within regional restoration schemes focus usually only on indicator species or species richness and ignore their biotic interactions, ecosystem functions and the landscape context. Especially species interactions are important indicators of restoration success as they are often more sensitive to environmental changes and determine vital functions that are necessary to stabilize ecosystems. InterRest will analyse and link multiple interaction networks representing different ecosystem functions (e.g. decomposition, pollination, predation) and social-ecological interactions.

Reference documents

For more details on the work plan and expected impact of the project and other projects funded in response to the BiodivRestore joint call consult:

Keywords: landscape restoration, restoration of interaction networks, plant-soil interactions, pollination, predation, metanetworks, multiple ecosystem functions, social-ecological networks, calcareous grasslands, agri-environment schemes