Eschen, René Mortimer, Simon R. Lawson, Clare S. Edwards, Andrew R. Brook, Alex J. Igual, José M. Hedlund, Katarina Schaffner, Urs 2006-10-10 <b>1.</b> Recent changes in European agricultural policy have led to measures to reverse the loss of species-rich grasslands through the creation of new areas on ex-arable land. Ex-arable soils are often characterized by high inorganic nitrogen (N) levels, which lead to the rapid establishment of annual and fast-growing perennial species during the initial phase of habitat creation. The addition of carbon (C) to the soil has been suggested as a countermeasure to reduce plant-available N and alter competitive interactions among plant species.<b>2.</b> To test the effect of C addition on habitat creation on ex-arable land, an experiment was set up on two recently abandoned fields in Switzerland and on two 6-year-old restoration sites in the UK. Carbon was added as a mixture of either sugar and sawdust or wood chips and sawdust during a period of 2 years. The effects of C addition on soil parameters and vegetation composition were assessed during the period of C additions and 1 year thereafter.<b>3.</b> Soil nitrate concentrations were reduced at all sites within weeks of the first C addition, and remained low until cessation of the C additions. The overall effect of C addition on vegetation was a reduction in above-ground biomass and cover. At the Swiss sites, the addition of sugar and sawdust led to a relative increase in legume and forb cover and to a decrease in grass cover. The soil N availability, composition of soil micro-organisms and vegetation characteristics continued to be affected after cessation of C additions.<b>4.</b><i>Synthesis and applications</i>. The results suggest that C addition in grassland restoration is a useful management method to reduce N availability on ex-arable land. Carbon addition alters the vegetation composition by creating gaps in the vegetation that facilitates the establishment of late-seral plant species, and is most effective when started immediately after the abandonment of arable fields and applied over several years. application/pdf https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/300184 https://folia.unifr.ch/documents/300184/files/schaffner_cav.pdf eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01240.x info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess License undefined Journal of Applied Ecology. - 2007, vol. 44, no. 1, p. 95–104 C addition grassland restoration habitat creation microbial immobilization N-enriched ex-arable soil info:eu-repo/classification/udc/57 Carbon addition alters vegetation composition on ex-arable fields http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501