Abstract Calcareous grasslands harbor specialized species and are cultural relics. Therefore, they are prime habitates for conservation and restoration, but negative effects of inappropriate management, eutrophication and fragmentation continue to exist. These effects also influence grasslands which serve as target for restoration. Unfortunately, monitoring of long-term vegetation dynamics in calcareous grassland is rare. Here, we studied such changes over 35 years in the nature reserve ‘Garchinger Heide’, which is well known for its high abundance of rare species. Furthermore, it has been managed for conservation for more than 100 years. Therefore, species composition, total species richness, numbers of habitat specialists, red-list species and the proportion of graminoids were examined in 42 plots with frequency recording (1984–2018), and in 40 plots based on vegetation releves (2003–2018). Ellenberg indicator values, specific leaf area, seed mass, and canopy height were analysed to detect patterns in trait response to environmental change. Within 35 years there were considerable vegetation dynamics. Specialist plants of calcareous grassland and red list species decreased, and insect-pollinated species declined in contrast to wind-pollinated species. Ellenberg N as well as graminoid abundance, canopy height, seed mass, and multi-trait functional dispersion increased, while specific leaf area showed no such change. Our results suggest that environmental change like deposition of atmospheric nitrogen, management regime, pollinator decline or isolation could be correlated with vegetation dynamics, while these correlations would need experimental confirmation. The grassland management certainly helped achieving several conservation goals, although it was not able to stop a decrease of rare species. The results show that also in nature reserves with long-term conservation management monitoring is essential to detect vegetation dynamics and to adjust the management to these changes.

中文翻译：

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德国100年石灰质草原保护区植被监测

摘要 钙质草原是特化物种，是文物。因此，它们是保护和恢复的主要栖息地，但管理不当、富营养化和破碎化的负面影响仍然存在。这些影响也会影响作为恢复目标的草原。不幸的是，对钙质草地长期植被动态的监测很少见。在这里，我们研究了自然保护区“Garchinger Heide”35 年来的这种变化，该保护区以其丰富的稀有物种而闻名。此外，它已被管理为保护超过 100 年。因此，通过频率记录（1984-2018）在42个地块中检查了物种组成、物种总丰富度、栖息地专家的数量、红色名录物种和禾本科植物的比例，以及基于植被相关性的 40 个地块（2003-2018 年）。分析 Ellenberg 指标值、比叶面积、种子质量和冠层高度，以检测性状对环境变化的响应模式。在 35 年内出现了相当大的植被动态。与风媒植物相比，石灰质草原和红名单物种的特殊植物减少，昆虫授粉物种减少。Ellenberg N 以及禾本科丰度、冠层高度、种子质量和多性状功能分散增加，而比叶面积没有这种变化。我们的研究结果表明，大气氮沉积、管理制度、传粉媒介减少或隔离等环境变化可能与植被动态相关，而这些相关性需要实验证实。草原管理当然有助于实现几个保护目标，尽管它无法阻止稀有物种的减少。结果表明，在具有长期保护管理监测的自然保护区中，对于检测植被动态并根据这些变化调整管理是必不可少的。