The recovery of plant community composition following passive restoration across spatial scales

Abstract Human impacts have led to dramatic biodiversity change which can be highly scale‐dependent across space and time. A primary means manage these changes is via passive (here, the removal of disturbance) or active (management interventions) ecological restoration. The recovery biodiversity, following disturbance, often incomplete relative some kind reference target. magnitude systems disturbance depends on landscape matrix many contingent factors. Inferences about after depend temporal spatial scales at measured. We measured species composition over 33 years in 17 temperate grasslands abandoned agriculture different points time, collectively forming a chronosequence since abandonment from 1 80 years. compare sites with known agricultural land‐use histories never‐disturbed as benchmarks. specifically aspects diversity local plot‐scale (α‐scale, 0.5 m 2 ) site‐scale (γ‐scale, 10 ), well within‐site heterogeneity (β‐diversity) among‐site variation (turnover nestedness). At our α‐scale, recovering only had 70% plant richness (and ~30% evenness), compared never‐ploughed sites. Within‐site β‐diversity recovered around 90% This effect, however, was not enough lead γ‐scale. Richness ~65% that remnant presence characteristic increased through Forb legume cover declines abandonment, graminoid Synthesis. found that, during old fields did recover level any scale. more than α‐scale Plant recovered, but completely, groups their others. Patterns degraded ecosystems long time‐scales inform targeted restoration interventions perhaps, better outcomes.