Regeneration of sandy old-fields-a new method to assess recovery success

摘要: Abandoned agricultural fields are potential sites for the regeneration of semi-natural vegetation, and the newly developed vegetation can counteract biodiversity loss. We studied the vegetation of 161 old-fields in the Kiskunság, central Hungary. Old-fields were categorized into three age groups based on historical aerial photographs: fields abandoned 1-7, 8-20, and 21-57 years ago. The recovery success on old-fields was assessed by using potential target communities (open and closed grasslands and forest) as references. Species richness and cover of characteristic species of natural habitats were used as regeneration indicators. In our paper we present a new selection method for defining species groups and the results of the comparison based on these species groups.