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International audience; The Schuddebeurze, a sub-recent decalcified dune complex on the Belgian coast, forms part of the Special Area of Conservation (SAC)“Dunes including IJzer estuary and Zwin”. It was mainly assigned as SAC for the presence of (degraded) acidified grey dunes (habitat type2130*) and a relic population of dune heath (2150*). The ponds contain a population of the Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus). As the abioticconditions are favorable for the restoration of these specific dune habitat types, the Flemish government investigates the feasibility of a naturerestoration project in the Schuddebeurze. Besides nature restoration to realise the conservation goals, attention will have to be paid to the culturalheritage elements of the First and Second World War on the site. Another challenge is that in more recent history, there have been extractionactivities for sand and/or clay in the Schuddebeurze, after which many of the pits were filled with waste. In this stage of the process, inventorystudies have been performed to investigate the feasibility of a nature restoration project and a preliminary masterplan has been developed.This plan needs refinement and discussion with the different administrations and the public.; Schuddebeurze, sur le littoral belge, est un complexe de dunes décalcifiées lors des périodes subrécentes et a été incorporé dans lazone spéciale de conservation “Dunes, incluant l’estuaire de l’IJzer et le Zwin”. L’incorporation dans la zone spéciale de conservation reposesur la présence de dunes grises acidifiées (dégradées) (code de l’habitat 2130*) et de reliques de landes dunaires (2150*). Les maresabritent une population de Triton crêté (Triturus cristatus). Du fait des conditions abiotiques favorables pour la restauration d’habitats detype dunaires, le gouvernement flamand étudie la faisabilité d’un projet de restauration des habitats naturels à Schuddebeurze. En plusde la restauration du milieu naturel afin de réaliser les buts de conservation, une attention particulière devra être apportée au patrimoinelié à la première et la deuxième guerre mondiale présent sur le site. Autre challenge à relever, les puits formés dans un passé récent parl’extraction de sable et d’argile, dont un grand nombre a été remblayé avec des déchets. A ce stade de développement, des études ontété réalisées afin d’évaluer la faisabilité du projet de restauration naturelle et un plan global préliminaire a aussi été établi. Ce plan mériteencore d’être affiné, après consultation auprès des différentes administrations impliquées et auprès du large public.

Species-rich semi-natural grasslands used to be widespread in Europe in the past, but have strongly degraded due to the land-use intensification of the last fifty years. Grassland restoration is therefore urgent, but is often opposed by high residual soil fertility, which benefits a few fast-growing generalist plant species. These subsequently outcompete the often subordinate, desired, specialist ones. To resolve the problem of high soil fertility, often expensive measures like soil stripping are needed. Grazing and hay-making may also decrease above-ground competition for light, but at a slow rate only. Therefore, the introduction of the root hemiparasite Samenvatting Summary CHAPTER 1 Introduction CHAPTER 2 Meta-analysis of standing crop reduction by Rhinanthus spp. and its effect on vegetation structure CHAPTER 3 Rhinanthus an effective tool in reducing biomass of road verges? An experiment along two motorways CHAPTER 4 Do Rhinanthus spp. affect community composition in different types of semi-natural grasslands? CHAPTER 5 Survival and performance of Rhinanthus angustifolius and R. minor after introduction in a range of semi-natural grasslands CHAPTER 6 Potential impact of Rhinanthus angustifolius and R. minor on restoration in a range of semi-natural grasslands CHAPTER 7 Long-term dynamics of the hemiparasite Rhinanthus angustifolius and its relationship with vegetation structure BOX 7-1 Impact of the micro-environment on R. angustifolius establishment CHAPTER 8 Impact of hemiparasitic Rhinanthus angustifolius and R. minor on nitrogen availability in grasslands CHAPTER 9 Conclusions References Publications Appendix Abstracts per Chapter Abbreviation List status: published