Effect of long-term cutting versus abandonment on the vegetation of a mountain hay meadow (Polygono-Trisetion) in Central Europe

The aim of this study was to identify changes in the plant species richness, diversity and composition of a mountain hay meadow (alliance Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis) after abandonment in comparison with a control cut once per year. The experiment was carried out from 1999 to 2008 in a mountain hay meadow in the Bukovec nature reserve in the north-eastern part of the Jizera Mountains (Jizerské hory, Góry Izerskie, Isergebirge), Czech Republic.The number of vascular plants species with cover greater than or equal to 1% remained almost the same throughout the study period; however, the total number of vascular plants was higher in the cut treatment after the first four years of the study. The cover of Festuca rubra, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Briza media and Trifolium repens was positively affected by cutting. On the other hand, the cover of Cirsium heterophyllum, Geranium sylvaticum, Hypericum maculatum, Trisetum flavescens and Luzula luzuloides was higher on the abandoned treatment plots.The main effect of the abandonment on plant species composition was the shift in cover of the dominant species. Despite ten years of contrasting management, changes in the vegetation were relatively small with no shift to a different plant community. Therefore the cutting regime combined with several years of no management may be a suitable management strategy for the maintenance of Polygono-Trisetion grasslands and will not be detrimental to the preservation of the target vegetation.