Grasslands in southeastern South America have been extensively converted to various land uses such as agriculture, threatening regional biodiversity. Active restoration has been viewed as a management alternative for recovery of degraded areas worldwide, although most studies are conducted in forests and none has evaluated the effect of active restoration of grasslands in southeastern South America. From 2015 through 2017 we monitored a federally owned tract of grassland from the beginning of the active‐restoration process. We compared the bird community in this active‐restoration area (AR) with a reference area (NG) in Pampa grasslands in southern Brazil. We sampled birds by point counts and surveyed vegetation structure in plots. Over the 3 years of active restoration, bird species richness and abundance were higher in AR (30 species, 171 individuals) than NG (22 species, 154 individuals). The species composition also differed between the two habitats. Grassland bird species were present in both AR and NG. The vegetation structure differed between AR and NG in five attributes: height, short and tall grasses, herbs, and shrubs. Since it has been found that active restoration is useful in promoting species diversity, we encourage studies of the use of long‐term restoration efforts. Our study, even on a local scale, showed a rapid recovery of the bird community in the active‐restoration compared to native grassland, and suggests the potential for recovery of the degraded grasslands of the Brazilian Pampa biome.

中文翻译：

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草原积极恢复的成功：以巴西南部鸟类为例

南美洲东南部的草原已广泛转变为各种土地用途，例如农业，威胁到区域生物多样性。尽管大多数研究都是在森林中进行的，而且还没有人评估南美洲东南部草地的主动恢复的效果，但主动恢复已被视为全球退化地区恢复的一种管理选择。从2015年到2017年，我们从积极恢复过程的开始就监控了联邦拥有的一片草地。我们将这个活跃恢复区（AR）中的鸟类群落与巴西南部潘帕草原的参考区（NG）进行了比较。我们通过点计数对鸟类进行采样，并在地块中调查植被结构。在积极恢复的3年中，AR中的鸟类物种丰富度和丰度较高（30种，171个个体）比NG（22个物种，154个个体）。两个生境之间的物种组成也有所不同。在AR和NG中都存在草原鸟类。AR和NG的植被结构在五个属性上有所不同：高度，矮矮的草丛，草药和灌木。由于已经发现主动恢复有助于促进物种多样性，因此我们鼓励研究长期恢复工作的使用。我们的研究，即使是在局部规模上，也显示出与天然草地相比，鸟类在活跃的恢复中迅速恢复，并表明了恢复巴西潘帕生物群系退化草地的潜力。AR和NG的植被结构在五个属性上有所不同：高度，矮矮的草丛，草药和灌木。由于已经发现主动恢复有助于促进物种多样性，因此我们鼓励研究长期恢复工作的使用。我们的研究，即使是在局部规模上，也显示出与天然草地相比，鸟类在活跃的恢复中迅速恢复，并表明了恢复巴西潘帕生物群系退化草地的潜力。AR和NG的植被结构在五个属性上有所不同：高度，矮矮的草丛，草药和灌木。由于已经发现主动恢复有助于促进物种多样性，因此我们鼓励研究长期恢复工作的使用。我们的研究，即使是在局部规模上，也显示出与天然草地相比，鸟类在活跃的恢复中迅速恢复，并表明了恢复巴西潘帕生物群系退化草地的潜力。