Restoration of species-rich flood-plain meadows from abandoned arable fields in NE France

Attempts to restore species-rich flood-plain meadows from abandoned arable fields in the valley of the river Meuse, NE France, were studied. The study area was sown with a commercial seed mixture, composed of Phleum pratense, Festuca pratensis, Lolium perenne and Trifolium repens. The above-ground vegetation in the study area 1, 2 and 3 yr after restoration was compared to (1) the vegetation present during the previous 5-yr fallow stage and (2) target flood-plain meadows. Before restoration, the above-ground fallow vegetation was dominated by ruderal and annual species, while only very few meadow species were present. Sowing led to tall, dense vegetation, mainly dominated by the sown species. Ruderal and annual species had decreased 3 yr after restoration, but target species were still poorly represented. Species richness was significantly lower in the sown site than in the semi-natural target meadows and the vegetation had a different composition. Analysis of the soil seed bank of the restored meadow showed that only a few meadow species were present and that it was dominated by a few ruderal species.Three years after sowing, the vegetation of our experimental site is moving slowly towards the target communities but impoverished seed sources seem to limit the success of this restoration operation and will lead to under-saturated communities.