The role of past and present management in the seed dispersal of grassland plants in the rural landscape

Abstract: The destruction and fragmentation of semi-natural grasslands due toagricultural industrialisation during the past 150 years has had seriousconsequences for biodiversity in the rural landscape. Currently, plantcommunities are usually better explained by historical than by presentday landscape configurations, and the ability for plant species todisperse in space and in time, within and between remaining habitatfragments or to restoration sites will be an important factor in thefuture diversity in the landscape. Here, I present a landscape scaleseed bank and seed rain experiment covering semi-natural grasslands,pastures on former arable fields, abandoned grasslands and smallremnant habitats. The results suggest that in addition to grasslandspecialists remaining in the field layer of abandoned grasslands,remnant seed banks have the potential to be important contributors tothe future diversity of the rural landscape. However, unsuitablegrazing intensities in current pastures are limiting the potential fordispersal of target species across the landscape. Despite large changesin agricultural practice, there still exists the opportunity for human-mediated seed dispersal to increase functional connectivity infragmented landscapes, and I also present a review article in which Iassess past and present human-mediated seed dispersal vectors, andgive recommendations for management and further research.