DOI: 10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1b
title: Data from: Grassland restoration drives strong multitrophic biodiversity recovery, but climate extremes jeopardize drought-sensitive species

description: Semi-natural grasslands, Europe’s most biodiverse ecosystems, are rapidly
 declining due to agricultural intensification, abandonment, and
 afforestation, leading to biodiversity loss and reduced ecosystem
 function. Despite their ecological value, grasslands are often overlooked,
 while afforestation, for instance, is prioritized for climate mitigation.
 This study assessed the effects of grassland abandonment, afforestation,
 and ecological restoration on multitrophic species richness and soil
 conditions. We used Estonian semi-natural calcareous grasslands (alvars)
 as a model system. We surveyed different taxa in proximity to a fixed,
 permanently marked point, which was chosen to be reflective of the average
 subsite condition. Results showed that historical overgrown and afforested
 grasslands recover fast and rapidly become species-rich after woody plant
 removal and low-intensity grazing reinstatement. These grasslands also
 serve as stable carbon sinks, storing soil carbon at levels comparable to
 afforested grassland areas, with restoration having no negative impact on
 carbon storage. Multitrophic species richness responded to restoration in
 three main ways: fast responders (plants, pollinators, birds) recovered
 relatively quickly, slow responders (lichens, bryophytes, soil fungi)
 showed little to no short-term change, and drought-sensitive species
 (ground-dwelling arthropods) declined due to prolonged drought, which also
 potentially overshadowed the impact of restoration. Grassland restoration
 is vital for biodiversity, sustainable supply of ecosystem services, and
 climate resilience, with long-term monitoring needed to track recovery.
description: # Data from: Grassland restoration drives strong multitrophic biodiversity
 recovery, but climate extremes jeopardize drought-sensitive species
 Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1b](10.5061/dryad.pg4f4qs1b) ##
 Description of the data and file structure In connection with the LIFE to
 alvars (LIFE13 NAT/EE/000082) restoration project, a monitoring scheme was
 established with the intent to track the long-term ecological consequences
 of overgrowing, afforestation, and grassland restoration. In this dataset,
 you can find the results of the first two ecological surveys conducted as
 part of this monitoring scheme - one survey of different organism groups
 and soil properties done before grassland restoration (2014-2016) another
 survey done after the restoration (2019). The monitoring scheme included
 29 restoration sites, where restoration was implemented, and 7 unrestored
 comparison sites with no restoration actions performed - altogether 36
 study sites. Before the restoration, three different grassland condition
 classes (subsites) were selected according to their degradation level in
 each study site: *Open*, *Overgrown*, and *Afforested* grassland.
 Additionally, a *Control* subsite near the restoration site, outside the
 restoration project boundaries, was selected. The organism groups that
 were monitored: vascular plants, bryophytes, ground and epiphytic
 lichens, arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, bumblebees, butterflies,
 ground-dwelling spiders, myriapods, and birds. ### Files and variables
 #### File: Prangel-etal_Data_for_fishare_1.xlsx Description: In the data,
 there are 15 tabs containing information on sites, different organism
 groups, and soil properties. **"Sites"** - information on the
 selected sites and subsites. \ code_master -the subsite code\ site_type -
 the type of the site, restoration site, or unrestored comparison site. \
 Subsites- type of the subsite: open, overgrown, afforested, or control\
 sampled_before; sampled_after - if the subsite was sampled both before and
 after restoration. **"Soil_data"** - information on the soil
 properties.\ code_master - subsite code\ period - the timeline of the
 survey, the survey conducted before or after restoration.\ soil_PH - the
 measured soil pH levels\ soil_P, soil_K, soil_Mg, soil_Ca - the measured
 content (mg/kg) of soil phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and
 calcium (Ca).\ soil_OM - the soil organic matter %. The following 7 tabs
 share the general structure **"All_plants"** - information on
 the vascular plant species, table in the long format.\
 **"Grassland_plants"** -information on the grassland specialist
 vascular plant species, table in the long format.\
 **"Alvar_specialist_plants"** -information on the alvar
 grassland specialist vascular plant species, table in the long format.\
 **"All_mosses"** -information on the bryophyte species, table in
 the long format.\ **"Open_area_mosses"** -information on the
 grassland specialist bryophyte species, table in the long format.\
 **"Ground_lichens"**-information on the ground lichen species,
 table in the long format.\ **"Epiphytic_lichens"**-information
 on the epiphytic lichen species, table in the long format. code_master -
 subsite code\ period - the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted
 before or after restoration.\ data_sampling - date when the sampling was
 carried out on the specific subsites.\ species - all vascular
 plant/bryophyte/lichen species recorded\ sp_presence - the presence and
 absence data on each subsite **"AM_fungi"** - information on the
 arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, table in long format\ code_master -
 subsite code\ period - the timeline of the survey, whether conducted
 before or after restoration.\ data_sampling - date when the sampling was
 carried out on the specific subsites.\ Virtual_taxon - AM fungal sequences
 were matched against virtual taxa (phylogenetically defined taxonomic
 units) in the MaarjAM database (Pik et al., 2010).\ no_sequences - the
 abundance of AM as the number of sequences **"Bumblebees"**
 -information on the bumblebee (*Bombus*) species, table in the long
 format.\ code_master - subsite code\ period - the timeline of the survey,
 the survey conducted before or after restoration.\ data_sampling - date
 when the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.\ species - all
 species recorded\ sp_occurrences- the bumblebee abundance data on each
 subsite **"Butterflies"** - information on the butterfly
 species, table in the long format.\ code_master - subsite code\ period -
 the timeline of the survey, the survey conducted before or after
 restoration.\ Species - all butterfly species recorded\ sp_occurrences -
 the butterfly abundance data on each subsite. **"Spiders"** and
 **"Myriapods"** - information on spider and myriapod species.\
 code_master - subsite code\ period - the timeline of the survey, the
 survey conducted before or after restoration.\ data_sampling - year when
 the sampling was carried out on the specific subsites.\
 no_retrieved_pitfall_traps - how many pitfall traps remained (were not
 destroyed by wildlife or grazing animals) after 10 days.\ species - all
 spider or myriapod species recorded\ sp_occurrences - the spider/myriapod
 abundance data on each subsite **"Birds"**- information on bird
 species.\ code_master - subsite code\ period - the timeline of the survey,
 whether before or after restoration.\ Species - all bird species
 recorded. \ sp_occurrences - the bird abundance data on each subsite.\
 habitat_preference - what habitat the bird species is more specialized on,
 open (grassland) or closed (forest).