Management of semi-natural grasslands is essential to retain the characteristic diversity of flora and fauna found in these habitats. To maintain, restore or recreate favourable conditions for grassland species, knowledge regarding how they occur in relation to grazing intensity and soil nutrient availability is crucial. We focused on grassland plant species, i.e., species selected to indicate high natural values in semi-natural grasslands. Environmental monitoring data collected at 366 grassland sites in southern Sweden between 2006 and 2010 were used to relate the occurrence of indicator species to factors describing geographic location, local site conditions related to nutrients and moisture, and management. Site productivity, soil moisture and cover of trees and shrubs were the main structuring factors, while other factors related to management had a lesser effect (grass sward height, amount of litter, type of grazer). Not surprisingly, these patterns were also reflected in species-wise analyses of the 25 most commonly occurring indicator species, with almost all species negatively related to site productivity and most also to soil moisture. Furthermore, many species were negatively affected by increasing sward height and litter. In contrast, species-wise responses varied among species in relation to increasing cover of trees and shrubs. In comparison to cattle grazing, sheep grazing was detrimental to six species and beneficial to none, while horse grazing was detrimental to no species and beneficial to four species. When evaluating species traits, taller plant species were favoured when site productivity, grass sward height and the amount of grass litter were high. There were no strong patterns related to the flowering time, leaf arrangement, or nutrient and light requirements of species. These results highlight the importance of nutrient-poor and dry sites, e.g., when selecting sites for conservation, and the importance of the type of management executed.

半天然草原的管理对于保留这些栖息地中特有的动植物群至关重要。为了维持，恢复或重建草地物种的有利条件，关于它们如何与放牧强度和土壤养分利用率相关的知识至关重要。我们关注的是草地植物物种，即在半自然草地中被选择为具有高自然价值的物种。2006年至2010年间，在瑞典南部366个草地场收集的环境监测数据被用于将指示物种的发生与描述地理位置，与养分和水分有关的当地场境条件以及管理的因素联系起来。场地生产力，土壤湿度以及树木和灌木的覆盖率是主要的结构因素，而与管理相关的其他因素的影响较小（草皮高度，垫料数量，放牧者类型）。毫不奇怪，这些模式还反映在25种最常见的指示物种的物种分析中，几乎所有物种都与站点生产力负相关，而大多数也与土壤湿度负相关。此外，许多物种受到草皮高度和垫料增加的不利影响。相反，随着树木和灌木覆盖率的增加，不同物种之间的明智反应也有所不同。与放牧相比，放牧对六个物种有害，对牧羊无益，而放牧对任何物种无害，对四种动物无害。在评估物种性状时，较高的植物物种在站点生产力方面受到青睐，草皮高度和草屑量都很高。没有与开花时间，叶片排列或物种的营养和光照需求相关的强模式。这些结果突出了营养缺乏和干燥地区的重要性，例如，在选择保护地点时，以及执行的管理类型的重要性。