摘要
Road verges have been proposed as refuges for vulnerable grassland species in the modern, changing landscape, but little comparative knowledge exists on how management regimes affect population dynamics of such species. We compared the effects of various management regimes on the population dynamics of Pimpinella saxifraga in road verges and pastures, using elasticities and LTRE analyses with underlying vital rates as model components in three road verges and three pastures in an agricultural landscape in W Norway. Under present management regimes, we observed slightly higher population growth rates in pastures than in road verges. The pasture populations had comparatively lower survival but higher reproduction than the road verge populations, thus demonstrating a management-induced negative correlation. Such negative correlations may reflect species’ adaptability to environment changes, thereby reducing the extinction risk. We generally observed small changes in P. saxifraga demography to management but considerable variation along environmental gradients, underlining the importance of studying multiple populations. The linear form of the road verges enabled a fine-scale mosaic application of different management regimes. Individuals growing in zones receiving survival-lowering management produced seeds that compensated the lack of seeds in zones receiving fertility-lowering management. The observation of ‘mosaic’ management that allows road verge metapopulations to complement each others life-history characteristics exemplifies the unique potential of road verge ecosystems to maintain semi-natural grassland species like P. saxifraga, as well as providing habitats for different species exhibiting various life histories.