ESTABLISHMENT OF PICEA-ABIES SEEDLINGS IN A CENTRAL-EUROPEAN MOUNTAINGRASSLAND - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

Secondary meadows in the Krusne hory mountains, central Europe, are no t colonized by woody species, although they have been abandoned for ha lf a century and are surrounded by Picea abies (Norway spruce) forests . The causes of inhibition of establishment of Norway spruce seedlings in the meadows were tested experimentally. The experiment was started in a masting year to ensure sufficient seed input. Four treatments (v egetation cut; vegetation cut and litter removed; all above-ground bio mass and topsoil removed; control) were combined in a factorial design . The effect of browsing, mainly by deer, was assessed by fencing half of the experimental plots. Seedling establishment differed among trea tments (all pair-wise differences were significant) but was independen t of fencing. In contrast, seedling survival was influenced both by th e treatment and fencing. At the end of the second year, only the plots with all biomass and organic topsoil removed supported viable populat ions of spruce seedlings. Dense herb cover and a thick layer of slowly decaying litter are considered the main factors inhibiting the establ ishment of woody species.