Abstract Semi-natural grassland habitats have declined significantly throughout Europe. To halt the decline, grassland conservation measures have been included in most European agri-environment schemes. This is the first study to compare the botanical composition of grassland habitats managed under the Irish Agri-Environment Options Scheme (AEOS). Sixty fields on drystock pastoral farms in receipt of agri-environment payments for grassland conservation were surveyed, with 20 fields being enrolled in each of the following AEOS options: Traditional Hay Meadow (THM), Species-Rich Grassland (SRG) and Natura 2000 species-rich grassland (Natura). The vegetation quality of sites enrolled in the Natura measure was higher than the quality of those enrolled in the THM and SRG measures. Natura sites had the greatest species richness, with a mean >40 species per site, which included approximately 17 species indicative of high botanical quality. Traditional Hay Meadows sites had the lowest species richness (mean: 29 species per site) and were dominated by species associated with improved grassland. Some THM sites had good levels of botanical richness and were similar in composition to Natura sites, with some Natura sites having lower vegetation quality, more similar to that of THM sites. Species-Rich Grassland had botanical richness that was intermediate between THM and Natura sites. A thorough assessment of the effectiveness of these measures was confounded by a lack of quantitative objectives for the target community composition to be attained. We discuss limitations and potential opportunities regarding the design, targeting, implementation and cost-effectiveness of these agri-environment measures.

中文翻译：

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三种农业环境保护措施对草地植被的比较

摘要 整个欧洲的半自然草原栖息地显着减少。为了阻止这种下降，大多数欧洲农业环境计划都包含了草原保护措施。这是第一项比较爱尔兰农业环境选择计划 (AEOS) 管理的草原栖息地的植物组成的研究。对接受草原保护农业环境付款的干畜牧业农场的 60 个田地进行了调查，其中 20 个田地被登记在以下每个 AEOS 选项中：传统干草草甸 (THM)、物种丰富的草原 (SRG) 和自然 2000 种- 丰富的草原（Natura）。在 Natura 措施中登记的站点的植被质量高于在 THM 和 SRG 措施中登记的那些站点的质量。Natura 站点的物种丰富度最高，平均 > 每个地点 40 种，其中包括大约 17 种表明具有高植物品质的物种。传统的 Hay Meadows 站点的物种丰富度最低（平均：每个站点 29 种），主要是与改良草地相关的物种。一些 THM 站点具有良好的植物丰富度，并且在组成上与 Natura 站点相似，一些 Natura 站点的植被质量较低，与 THM 站点更相似。物种丰富的草原具有介于 THM 和 Natura 站点之间的植物丰富度。由于缺乏要实现的目标社区组成的量化目标，因此无法对这些措施的有效性进行彻底评估。我们讨论了有关设计、定位、