| dc.description.abstract | 1. The grim fact is that biodiversity in ecosystems across the globe are rapidly declining due to anthropogenic activities. On the other hand, focus on actions that may halt this loss is on the rise. Ecological restoration is frequently used as a management tool to increase the quality of degraded habitats. Management actions used in ecological restoration are numerous, though invasive plant removal is the most common target. However, due to lack of documentation, there is still little knowledge of what the outcome from management actions are, and this presents a global knowledge gap in most of the earth’s ecosystems.
2. In this thesis I have investigated how monitoring methods can be used to detect effects from management actions in localities of dry calcareous grassland, in the inner Oslofjord region, Norway. I have through four monitoring methods analyzed difference in locality condition and biodiversity between ten managed- and ten unmanaged localities. In addition, I also visited four localities that underwent first-time management actions summer of 2022.
3. The four different monitoring methods (NatStat, NiN, calcareous grassland reduced, and calcareous grassland complete) vary in the level of detail and scale variables are estimated. Two of the methods detected significant results in locality condition; higher abundance of invasive species in the unmanaged localities. Further significant results were found in biodiversity; one method detected higher richness of habitat-specific species in the managed localities and another method found the same for red listed species.
4. Results from this thesis points to the importance of adapting scale of sampling to type of effect wished to study. Both number- and size of sampling plots influence the result. Limiting monitoring of effects to variables management actions have targeted and doing so in a practical spatial scale, may not only provide more useable data for management, but also reduce the financial costs and contribute to sustainable monitoring of effect programs. Closing the gap between scientific research and practical management actions, may provide a key solution to increase documentation of management work and effects from such actions. | |
