Effects of wetland liming on vegetation in south-west Sweden

• Seven wetland areas treated with coarse grain (Ø = 0-3 mm) lime in 1998 and seven reference areas with the same vegetation type were invented for vascular plants and mosses in the summer of 2003. The inventory was made using twenty 0.5 * 0.5 m2 plots, evenly distributed along a transect. The vascular plants and mosses showed a high degree of similarity between treated and reference areas (Sørensen´s index = 0.83 and 0.75 for vascular plants and mosses, respectively). The difference in vegetation composition (weakly significant) between treated and reference according to χ2 test, was most probably not caused by liming. No signs of lime related injuries were observed on the vascular plants. However, Sphagnum mosses showed substantial (14% of all plots) visible injury in all lime treated areas, but no such injuries in any of the reference areas. This kind of injury on Sphagnum mosses was severe and the mosses were largely dead and in a state of decomposition. It is concluded from the present study that Sphagnum mosses are significantly and negatively affected by the kind of lime used. Vascular plants were unaffected, but five years may be an in sufficient duration of time for effects to become established. However, it seems most likely that mosses are much more sensitive to wetland liming than vascular plants.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

wetland liming

wetland inventory

lime related injuries

vegetation composition

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kon (subject category)