The role of species richness for recruitment in a seminatural grassland

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Abstract
I examined two aspects of how recruitment is influenced by species richness in a seminatural grassland: effects of species richness among colonisers in a seed mixture, and effects of species richness, ramet density, grass and moss cover in the colonised vegetation. The results suggest that recruitment is higher in more species‐rich seed mixtures (for three of the four target species: Anthyllis vulneraria, Centaurea jacea, Filipendula vulgaris and Primula veris ). Average recruitment of the target species was negatively related to ramet density in the colonised vegetation, but not affected by grass or moss cover. The results imply that mechanisms other than interspecific competition among species are important in structuring the community during the recruitment phase. The negative effects of ramet density and the positive effects of species richness may be a result of strong intra‐specific competition, or species‐independent competition in combination with diversity effects enhancing microsite variability.

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