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The transfer of freshly cut seed-containing plant material is a widely applied method to re-establish grassland of high biodiversity. Still, the amount of plant material applied varies greatly across restoration projects. Therefore, we set up a two-year common garden experiment where we assessed the effect of plant material amount (0, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 g m −2 ) and relative seed position (on top and beneath a litter layer) on seedling establishment, seedling fate and seedling fitness of eight target species for restoration of alluvial meadows. Most seedlings (85.6%) emerged within the first year. Cumulative seedling emergence and final seedling establishment across all species were highest on control plots and low litter plots but were very low or failed completely, at 1600 and 3200 g m −2 , respectively. In general, large-seeded species were significantly more successful than smaller seeded species. Relative seed position had only a small impact on seedling emergence and establishment but was decisive for seedling survival at high litter quantities. Across all species, seedlings that died had a significantly lower relative height than surviving seedlings. Interestingly, co-occurring resident grassland vegetation had a neutral rather than negative impact on the response variables. Our results suggest an upper threshold of 1000 g m −2 for the amount of plant material applied in grassland restoration, since higher amounts will inhibit seedling establishment. The prompt emergence of most seedlings during the first vegetation period highlights the importance of creating optimal conditions for seedling establishment already in the early phase of vegetation development on restoration sites.

The accumulation of biomass and of dead plant remains is a direct consequence of grassland abandonment. Litter can occupy potential microsites for seed germination and seedling establishment, and thus decrease species diversity in the long-term. This effect can be more accentuated in dry grassland of open structure where species are adapted to excessive light and bare surfaces during the recruitment phase. We conducted a field experiment with litter removal alone or in combination with vegetation cutting and studied germination and seedling survival during 2 years in two abandoned steppe sites. With our experimental treatments we intended to create microsites and to activate the seed bank, with the aim to enhance recruitment of dry-grassland species; potentially also those already absent from the established vegetation. Our results show, that while both treatments significantly increased recruitment by enhancing seed germination in the first year of the study, only litter removal combined with vegetation cutting significantly promoted seedling survival during both years. Our experiment demonstrated that even after 40 years of abandonment the applied measures favoured the re-emergence of target species that were very rare or absent from the above-ground vegetation of continental steppe-like grassland. Thus, management prescriptions which comprise removal of dead and even living biomass, such as mowing or grazing, are considered beneficial for this habitat type of high nature conservation priority.