Prediction of grassland quality for environmental management

Fifty plots on grassland on well-drained soil were investigated for land use history and analysed for the species composition of vascular plants, macrofungi, bryophytes, lichens, hepatics and for 20 environmental variables. A DCA ordination showed an overall influence of land use history on species composition. DCA axis 1 was strongly correlated with species diversity of vascular plants. High species diversity is proposed to result from the combined action of high pH, high CaCO3 content, high age of turf, grazing and absence of fertilization. A DCCA ordination lead to the proposal of 22 species as indicators of old, unameliorated grasslands in Denmark.