Why some species cannot colonize restored habitats? The effects of seed and microsite availability

peer reviewed ; Restoration of calcareous grasslands was promoted as a conservation strategy to reduce the risks imposed by habitat loss and fragmentation. Restoration already provided promising results for several taxa, however some specialist species still fail at colonizing restored habitats. We aimed at explaining this lack of colonization success for three calcareous grasslands specialist species in Southern Belgium: Pulsatilla vulgaris, Trifolium montanum and Veronica prostrata. We studied: (i) Germination in control and outdoor conditions (cold, heat, smoke and litter effects); (ii) In-... Mehr ...