Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

6.7 Restoring fen meadow
Many former fen meadows across Europe have been lost through drainage and
fertilisation for intensive agriculture. In their review of attempts to re-establish fen
meadows on drained agricultural land, Grootjans et al. (2002) found that although
grazing and cutting regimes helped to re-establish the target vegetation, results
were generally poor if there had been long-term fertiliser use. It was possible to
restore rich-fen vegetation where only fertiliser had been used, without drainage,
by resuming mowing for hay and light grazing by livestock without the addition of
fertilisers. Cropping the vegetation and rearing young animals on these sites made
it possible to reduce nutrient levels in the vegetation and soils (Bakker & Olff 1995).
A fen meadow community of importance (Cirsio-Molinietum) has
been restored on agriculturally improved mesotrophic grassland sites
(Holcus lanatus–Juncus effusus rush-pasture) that had not received
inorganic fertiliser for more than 13 years. This was achieved through
a combination of treatments (straw and/or lignitic-clay) to reduce the
availability of nutrients, primarily phosphate. Cropping the vegetation
over a number of years or applying an organic material with very low
concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus encourages soil microorganisms
to temporarily remove these nutrients. However, the most
effective measure was to strip-off some of the topsoil (15-20 cm)
thereby removing the nutrient-enriched surface layers (Tallowin & Smith
2001). Where the topsoil was not removed, the vegetation became
dominated by a handful of competitive species; few of the planted
Cirsio-Molinietum species were still present after four years.
6.8 References
Bakker & Olff 1995. Nutrient dynamics during restoration of fen meadows by hay
making without fertiliser application. In: Restoration of Temperate Wetlands (eds.
Wheeler, B.D., Shaw, S.C, Fojt, W.J. & Robertson, R.A.), pp. 143-166. John
Wiley, Chichester.
Broads Authority, 2004. A supplement to the Fen Management Strategy, Incorporating
the Fen Audit. Prepared by Sue Stephenson, edited by Sandie Tolhurst.
English Nature, 2003. The Scrub Management Handbook: Guidance on the
Management of Scrub on Natural Conservation Sites. IN124. English Nature,
Peterborough.
Grootjans, A.P., Bakker, J.P., Jansen, A.J.M. & Kemmer, R.H. 2002. Restoration of
brook valley meadows in the Netherlands. Hydrobiologia 478, 149-170.
Hawke, C.J. & José, P.V. 1996. Reedbed Management for Commercial and Wildlife
Interests. Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy.
Johnson, K.W. & Valppu, S.H. 2003. Fen restoration final project report. Natural
Resources Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Duluth.
Maas, D. & Schopp-Guth, A. (1995). Seed banks in fen areas and their potential
use in restoration ecology. In: Restoration of Temperate Wetlands (eds. B.D.
Wheeler, S.C. Shaw, W.J. Fojt & R.A. Robertson), pp. 189-206. John Wiley &
Sons, Chichester.
Tallowin, J.R.B. & Smith, R.E.N. 2001. Restoration of a Cirsio-Molinietum Fen Meadow
on an Agriculturally Improved Pasture. Restoration Ecology 9, 167-178.
Tolhurst, S., 1997. Investigation into the use of domestic herbivores for fen grazing
management: a document for discussion. Broads Authority/English Nature/
Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
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