20 years of Baltic Boreal coastal meadow restoration: has it been long enough?

The restoration of a threatened type of seminatural grassland—the Baltic Boreal coastal meadows—began in Estonia in 1997. The main causes of degradation of these communities were land abandonment and overgrowth by reed. In 2015, we resurveyed 14 sites and classified as (1) permanently managed or (2) restored before 2005, or (3) after 2005. In 2015, all sites were managed under the EU agri‐environmental scheme and classified as permanently managed or restored before or after 2005. The resurvey focused on assessment of the long‐term success of restoration, comparing the vegetation parameters of restored meadows with permanently managed meadows (which were considered as reference). Our study revealed that historical management patterns have an impact on the species richness of these habitats, as more species were found in historically mown meadows, even if the sites were restored by grazing. However, species richness was not an important indicator of coastal meadow recovery. The best indicators of restoration success are evenness and coverage of low‐lying, light‐demanding, salt‐tolerant, wintergreen, cryptophyte, and hemicryptophyte plant species. Phragmites australis is a good indicator species for the habitat, as its abundance indicates poor habitat quality. The study indicated that the recovery of coastal meadow habitat from abandonment requires more than 15 years of restoration activities, and suggested the 3‐year restoration period covered by conservation measures and funds is not enough. Therefore, we recommend that agri‐environmental schemes should support additional restoration activities for recently restored meadows which are entering the management scheme.