Data from: Grassland restoration drives strong multitrophic biodiversity recovery, but climate extremes jeopardize drought-sensitive species
Data files
Oct 07, 2025 version files 1.22 MB
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Prangel-etal_Data_for_fishare_1.xlsx
1.22 MB
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README.md
5.60 KB
Abstract
Semi-natural grasslands, Europe’s most biodiverse ecosystems, are rapidly declining due to agricultural intensification, abandonment, and afforestation, leading to biodiversity loss and reduced ecosystem function. Despite their ecological value, grasslands are often overlooked, while afforestation, for instance, is prioritized for climate mitigation. This study assessed the effects of grassland abandonment, afforestation, and ecological restoration on multitrophic species richness and soil conditions. We used Estonian semi-natural calcareous grasslands (alvars) as a model system. We surveyed different taxa in proximity to a fixed, permanently marked point, which was chosen to be reflective of the average subsite condition. Results showed that historical overgrown and afforested grasslands recover fast and rapidly become species-rich after woody plant removal and low-intensity grazing reinstatement. These grasslands also serve as stable carbon sinks, storing soil carbon at levels comparable to afforested grassland areas, with restoration having no negative impact on carbon storage. Multitrophic species richness responded to restoration in three main ways: fast responders (plants, pollinators, birds) recovered relatively quickly, slow responders (lichens, bryophytes, soil fungi) showed little to no short-term change, and drought-sensitive species (ground-dwelling arthropods) declined due to prolonged drought, which also potentially overshadowed the impact of restoration. Grassland restoration is vital for biodiversity, sustainable supply of ecosystem services, and climate resilience, with long-term monitoring needed to track recovery.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1b
Description of the data and file structure
In connection with the LIFE to alvars (LIFE13 NAT/EE/000082) restoration project, a monitoring scheme was established with the intent to track the long-term ecological consequences of overgrowing, afforestation, and grassland restoration. In this dataset, you can find the results of the first two ecological surveys conducted as part of this monitoring scheme - one survey of different organism groups and soil properties done before grassland restoration (2014-2016) another survey done after the restoration (2019).
The monitoring scheme included 29 restoration sites, where restoration was implemented, and 7 unrestored comparison sites with no restoration actions performed - altogether 36 study sites.
Before the restoration, three different grassland condition classes (subsites) were selected according to their degradation level in each study site: Open, Overgrown, and Afforested grassland. Additionally, a Control subsite near the restoration site, outside the restoration project boundaries, was selected.
The organism groups that were monitored: vascular plants, bryophytes, ground and epiphytic lichens, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, bumblebees, butterflies, ground-dwelling spiders, myriapods, and birds.
Files and variables
File: Prangel-etal_Data_for_fishare_1.xlsx
Description: In the data, there are 15 tabs containing information on sites, different organism groups, and soil properties.
"Sites" - information on the selected sites and subsites.
code_master -the subsite code
site_type - the type of the site, restoration site, or unrestored comparison site.
Subsites- type of the subsite: open, overgrown, afforested, or control
sampled_before; sampled_after - if the subsite was sampled both before and after restoration.
"Soil_data" - information on the soil properties.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.
soil_PH - the measured soil pH levels
soil_P, soil_K, soil_Mg, soil_Ca - the measured content (mg/kg) of soil phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and calcium (Ca).
soil_OM - the soil organic matter %. The following 7 tabs share the general structure
"All_plants" - information on the vascular plant species, table in the long format.
"Grassland_plants" -information on the grassland specialist vascular plant species, table in the long format.
"Alvar_specialist_plants" -information on the alvar grassland specialist vascular plant species, table in the long format.
"All_mosses" -information on the bryophyte species, table in the long format.
"Open_area_mosses" -information on the grassland specialist bryophyte species, table in the long format.
"Ground_lichens"-information on the ground lichen species, table in the long format.
"Epiphytic_lichens"-information on the epiphytic lichen species, table in the long format.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.
data_sampling - date when the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.
species - all vascular plant/bryophyte/lichen species recorded
sp_presence - the presence and absence data on each subsite
"AM_fungi" - information on the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, table in long format
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, whether conducted before or after restoration.
data_sampling - date when the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.
Virtual_taxon - AM fungal sequences were matched against virtual taxa (phylogenetically defined taxonomic units) in the MaarjAM database (Pik et al., 2010).
no_sequences - the abundance of AM as the number of sequences
"Bumblebees" -information on the bumblebee (Bombus) species, table in the long format.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.
data_sampling - date when the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.
species - all species recorded
sp_occurrences- the bumblebee abundance data on each subsite
"Butterflies" - information on the butterfly species, table in the long format.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.
Species - all butterfly species recorded
sp_occurrences - the butterfly abundance data on each subsite.
"Spiders" and "Myriapods" - information on spider and myriapod species.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.
data_sampling - year when the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.
no_retrieved_pitfall_traps - how many pitfall traps remained (were not destroyed by wildlife or grazing animals) after 10 days.
species - all spider or myriapod species recorded
sp_occurrences - the spider/myriapod abundance data on each subsite
"Birds"- information on bird species.
code_master - subsite code
period - the timeline of the survey, whether before or after restoration.
Species - all bird species recorded.
sp_occurrences - the bird abundance data on each subsite.
habitat_preference - what habitat the bird species is more specialized on, open (grassland) or closed (forest).