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The thousands of kilometers of forest steppes in Eurasia belong to the most threatened ecosystems thanks to habitat loss. We have limited knowledge on the recolonization ability of forest steppe species to date, which is the reason we examined the textural and structural changes in these species during secondary succession in areas of different former land use. The species number, cover, and diversity of forest steppe species, especially those of the Festuco-Brometea group, became significant for all three types in the oldest fallows. The number and proportion of forest steppe species have been steadily increasing in abandoned vineyards and arable land, indicating that forest steppe species are able to rapidly recolonize. The increase in the number and cover of forest steppe species in abandoned grasslands reveals that the replacement of the species pool of these grasslands is not necessarily accompanied by degradation, but also by the appearance and spread of valuable natural species if the habitat is sufficiently patchy. The proportions of habitat categories level off in abandoned vineyards and arable land as abandonment progresses. The cover rates of disturbed habitats species were negligible for all three types for the third decade after abandonment, indicating a change in the quality of the species pool. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Areas abandoned for various reasons are widespread on Earth, with a significant proportion in some regions of Europe. Our knowledge of vegetation dynamics in abandoned lands is incomplete, in part because research comparing types abandoned from different cultivars is limited. This paper compared the textural and structural changes of previously extensively treated vineyards, arables, and grasslands over a 30-year timescale in secondary succession studies. Based on the botanical surveys, it can be said that the total species number and diversity of abandoned vineyards and arable lands did not increase linearly in the four age groups studied. The way of secondary succession of former vineyards and arable lands showed many similarities. In these types, rapid regeneration of natural vegetation can be observed, the rate of which can only be reduced by the abundance of a few strong competitor species. However, the abandonment of extensively grazed and mowed grasslands has reduced species numbers and diversity, which may reduce the resilience of such grasslands to environmental factors. In abandoned lands, the mosaic landscape and previous extensive small-plot farming appear to have a positive effect on the rate of secondary succession and regeneration, as the species-rich vegetation patches provide a suitable propagule source for regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]