Zullen bosplantenpopulaties zich ooit vestigen in jonge bossen op voormalige landbouwgronden?

After the afforestation of agricultural land, forest herbs need to colonize the recent forest site from source populations. Whereas dispersal is the first bottleneck that limits colonization, (a)biotic legacies from former agricultural land use can subsequently hamper the establishment of forest herbs. In two introduction experiments, we found that the different life stages (germination, recruitment, survival) of forest herbs were directly and indirectly hampered by nutrient enrichment from former fertilization (mainly phosphorus). We concluded that the strong fertilization legacies in recent forests represent – just like in other vegetation types – a persistent limitation for the development of a diverse herbaceous vegetation