Long-term effect of different management regimes on the survival and population structure of Gladiolus imbricatus in Estonian coastal meadows

The article raises the problem of time-scale for evaluation of contract effect. It occurs that the positive/negative effect of short term contracts might be overstated because ecosystems and species therein can have differences in the short- and long-term reactions on applied treatments. A case study on grassland management is here presented: a very positive restoration contract results in the first few years, followed by an unsuccessful continuation of the same management under contract umbrella of the agri-environmental support scheme. So, the paper show that the long-term evaluation of contracts is vital.