Species richness and distribution in relation to light in wooded meadows and pastures in southern Sweden

Hay meadows and unfertilised pastures are of great importance for floral an d faunal conservation work since a number of rare species are confined to t hem. Traditional meadows in Scandinavia have shrub and tree layers which ha ve to be managed in order to maintain an appropriate composition and densit y of shrubs and trees. We examined how light affects the distribution of sp ecies in wooded meadows and pastures in southern Sweden. Herbaceous species were recorded in square-metre plots along 60 light gradients. Species comp osition varied significantly with light availability. Species typical for o pen areas tended to be confined to them but species characteristic of shade d areas also grew in unshaded plots. Species richness increased with light availability but was not related to grass sward density. The use of the lat ter as an indicator of management status is therefore questionable, and lig ht availability might be a better tool for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation management and restoration practices involving species-rich me adows or pastures.