Original data comes from a project which takes or took place as part of the DFG priority program "Exploratories for large-scale and long-term functional biodiversity research". The data is stored together with descriptive metadata, in combination called a dataset, in the project repository (https://www.bexis.uni-jena.de). Species information was extracted from that original dataset. The second paragraph is part of the metadata of the original dataset. In this project we investigate seed bank and bryophyte propagule content in top soil in grasslands.
Ecological processes resulting from global change, such as more frequent extreme summer drought or increased propagule pressure of exotic species, often affect plant communities gradually at time scales of years or decades and may therefore not often be distinctly recognized. The effects of potential interactions of such processes are largely unknown. Interactions may partly compensate single effects and contribute to constancy of communities and ecosystems. However, ecologists are increasingly concerned about potentially adverse interactions that may stimulate cascades of species extinctions. Over the last decade sowing experiments have found reliable evidence for seed-availability related effects on the local occurrence of species, the size of populations and the richness and productivity of communities. This implies that processes influencing the production and dispersal of seeds and/or the establishment of seedlings are important for the functioning of ecosystems. Although major cases of adverse invasions have not occurred so far, we suspect that species-rich meadows that show a high seedling turnover are potentially susceptible to invasion. Current invasibility theory predicts increased invasion during temporary resource pulses that could be associated with increased variability of rainfall. Successful invasion may primarily depend on the propagule pressures of local resident and potential invader species. A new multi-factorial seed-addition experiment will investigate hypotheses concerning the main and interactive effects of productivity, summer drought, origin of species, and propagule pressure. The experiment will be started in 2010 in meadows covering a wide productivity gradient in different Swiss regions. The knowledge gained from this experiment will be used to predict grassland invasibility in Switzerland.