Effect of small-scale disturbance on plant communities of central anatolian steppe

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of small-scale disturbance on plant communities of central Anatolian steppe. For this purpose, thirty two quadrats 1 × 1 m in size were established in a natural steppe area near Ankara, and some of quadrats were subjected to cut treatments as a lower-intensity disturbance while some were subjected to spud treatments as higher-intensity disturbance. The remained quadrats were left untreated to serve as the control group. The quadrats were sampled for three years to investigate the changes in species occurrence, cover and biomass over time and after disturbance. Although disturbance resulted in a decrease in plant species richness and cover, it was observed that the vegetation was able to recover when an adequate time has given after cut treatments. Contrary to this, the recovery level of the vegetation was lower after the spud disturbance. Woody species negatively affected by disturbances, whereas the richness and cover of annual species increased in some disturbance treatments. A high level of resilience was observed in various disturbance frequencies, but the vegetation and the plant community could not recover after the most intense disturbance treatment which is hoed three times within a year. Accordingly, the results of this study do not support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis. It is concluded that the resilience observed after various disturbance types and frequencies in central Anatolian steppes is due to that this vegetation is familiar with such natural and anthropogenic disturbances over thousands of years and that as a strategy against grazing, the existence of the resprouting ability of plants of the secondary steppes growing in this region.