Heathlands are highly threatened ecosystems with high conservation value. Montane heathlands have suffered from widespread habitat loss due to land-use abandonment and afforestation. The aim of our study was to analyse the long-term effects of montane heathland restoration, nine to ten years after restoration, on vegetation in the Rothaar Mountains (Central Germany). We compared vegetation composition in four vegetation types: (i) early-successional heathland stages on sod cut sites or ski pistes (hereafter referred to as EARLY), (ii) late-successional (old-growth) heathland stages (LATE), (iii) restored heathlands on former spruce forests where seed transfer by hydroseeding or the application of chopper material (crushed aboveground biomass from donor heathland site including seeds) had been applied (RESTORED) and (iv) windthrows with salvage logging (WIND). In every vegetation type, ten vegetation relevés were carried out and the cover of all vascular plant, bryophyte and terricolous lichen species were analysed. Furthermore, soil samples were taken in every relevé and measured with respect to soil acidity as well as carbon, nitrogen, phosphate and potassium contents.

Our study demonstrated that the restoration plots were characterised by chemical soil conditions comparable to those of existing heathland communities. RESTORED was the hotspot of phytodiversity. Species richness of vascular plants, threatened vascular plants and target species peaked on RESTORED, followed by EARLY. Additionally, EARLY was characterised by the highest number of terricolous lichen species and threatened bryophyte species.

The applied restoration measures were successful in establishing montane-heathland and acidic-grassland vegetation on former spruce forests. However, two usually dominant species of montane heathlands, Vaccinium myrtillus and Vaccinium vitis-idaea, had hardly established. Both species are slow colonisers and require specific microsites characterised by high moisture and organic content of the soil for generative reproduction. Additionally, the study demonstrated that early- to mid-successional stages of montane heathlands play a vital role for the conservation of cryptogams and low-competitive plant species.

荒地是高度受威胁的生态系统，具有很高的保护价值。由于土地利用的废弃和植树造林，山地荒地遭受了广泛的栖息地丧失。我们研究的目的是分析山地荒地恢复（恢复后 9 到 10 年）对 Rothaar 山脉（德国中部）植被的长期影响。我们比较了四种植被类型的植被组成：（i）草皮切割场地或滑雪道上的早期连续荒地阶段（以下称为早期），（ii）晚期连续（老生长）荒地阶段（L​​ATE），(iii) 在以前的云杉林上恢复了荒地，其中通过水力播种或应用切碎机材料（来自捐助荒地地点的粉碎的地上生物量，包括种子）进行了种子转移（恢复）和（iv）风投与补救伐木（WIND）。在每种植被类型中，进行了 10 次植被相关性分析，并对所有维管植物、苔藓植物和陆生地衣物种的覆盖度进行了分析。此外，在各个层面都采集了土壤样本，并测量了土壤酸度以及碳、氮、磷酸盐和钾含量。

我们的研究表明，恢复地块的化学土壤条件与现有荒地社区的土壤条件相当。RESTORED 是植物多样性的热点。维管植物、受威胁维管植物和目标物种的物种丰富度在 RESTORED 达到顶峰，其次是 EARLY。此外，EARLY 的特点是数量最多的 terricolous 地衣物种和受威胁的苔藓植物物种。

应用的恢复措施成功地在原云杉林上建立了山地荒地和酸性草地植被。然而，两种通常占优势的山地荒地物种，桃金娘和牛痘，几乎没有建立。这两个物种都是缓慢的殖民者，需要特定的微型场地，其特点是土壤水分和有机含量高，以进行生殖繁殖。此外，该研究表明，山地荒地的早期至中期演替阶段对保护隐花植物和低竞争力植物物种起着至关重要的作用。