Diachronic change in plant cover and diversity in abandoned arable fields at the University Forest of Taxiarhis in Chalkidiki, northern Greece

Changes in use and management of agricultural land may lead to significant changes in plant diversity and cover. The purpose of this study is to estimate cover and plant diversity in various stages of vegetation succession after abandonment of agricultural arable lands in mountain areas of northern Greece. The research was conducted at the University forest of Taxiarchis in Chalkidiki prefecture in northern Greece. In abandoned arable fields, one until sixty years old, representing successional vegetation stages, plant cover and diversity were measured. It was found that cover of herbaceous species was significantly higher in the fields 30 (85.0%) and 10 (77.2%) years old. Woody species appeared in the 30th year but their presence was not strong. The number of species was higher in the intermediate stages of development of vegetation and significantly lower in the abandoned fields of one year old. Similar trend was followed by the richness and the Shannon-Wiener index. The evenness index was significantly different in the various stages of succession.