Methods of limiting willow shrub re-growth after initial removal on fen meadows

Shrub removal is commonly used for management and restoration of species-rich fen meadows. A common problem after initial shrub cutting of willow is a vigorous re-sprouting and quick re-growth. In this paper we test experimentally what is an effective management option, limiting the re-growth of willow after cutting, on peat soils. In this experiment (split-plot set-up) we tested mowing of different intensity, removal of young shoots by hand and herbicide application, to find out which of them effectively limits willow re-growth. All applied treatments limited re-sprouting, but to different extents. We found that mowing had a strong, negative effect on increase in height of the shoots and on increase of the number of leaves, while an application of Roundup strongly limited the number of new shoots, in comparison with control. When all measured characteristics were accounted for, the combination of Roundup use and annual mowing was most effective. If the use of herbicide is to be avoided, intensive mowing in the first years (×2 or ×3) should be applied, followed by annual mowing. We concluded that removal of young shoots by hand did not have a stronger effect in weakening the willow re-growth than mowing. The treatment with herbicide application alone was not effective

Can we balance the high costs of nature restoration with the method of topsoil removal? Case study from Poland

Topsoil removal is an effective, but also expensive method of nature restoration on fens and fen meadows. The high cost is a factor limiting the application of this method, especially in Central European countries, where investments in nature restoration are low. Can we partly balance the high costs of restoration with the method of topsoil removal, by utilising the degraded soil? We explore and roughly assess the benefits from re-using the removed soil. The cost limitation lies mainly in the transport. This is due to the difficulties of moving the soil within the project site and the often high costs of transporting and storing soil out of the site. The soil substrate can be utilised in forestry or horticulture, but is of rather poor quality, compared to commercially sold garden soil. In general, the respondents were not willing to pay for the substrate, pay much less than the price of commercial soil or they were not directly interested in using it. The assessment of possible gains in our case study indicated that, even if the soil is utilised in some way, the high costs cannot be fully balanced