Semi-natural grasslands created by traditional animal husbandry are among the most threatened habitat types in northern Europe, and many of the species adapted to them are currently endangered. Improving the conservation status of grassland species requires increasing the area of habitats that are suitable for them. This may be achieved by restoring degraded semi-natural grasslands, or by developing the management of other early-successional habitats to better suit the needs of grassland species. This thesis concerns the conservation of grassland species in young anthropogenic habitats that may function as alternatives to semi-natural grasslands under suitable management. Collectively referred to as novel habitats, these include power line clearings, road verges and urban lawns, which are all regularly managed for specific purposes. The current quality of these habitats as alternatives to semi-natural grasslands is limited by management regimes that are suboptimal for grassland species. Modifying or altering these regimes would be especially beneficial in areas which are environmentally otherwise suitable for grassland species. The implementation of any management alteration, however, is complicated by the fact that grassland conservation is not the primary motivation for managing these habitats. Rather, the current management regimes of novel habitats are driven by societal phenomena both on the level of individual novel habitat stakeholders and on the level above them. The first include phenomena such as values assigned to novel habitats and the attitudes towards particular management methods. The latter include phenomena such as legislation, established practices and norms for the appearance and functioning of novel habitats. Understanding how these social scientific phenomena drive novel habitat management is equally important in utilizing them in grassland conservation as is understanding which environmental conditions favor the population performance and species richness of grassland species in them.

This thesis aims to combine ecological data on the environmental conditions favoring grassland species and social scientific data on the valuation of and attitudes towards novel habitats to propose guidelines for managing novel habitats for greater grassland conservation benefit. Chapters I-III concern the environmental determinants for the population performance and species richness of grassland species in novel habitats, while Chapters IV-V concern the values stakeholders assign to novel habitats, the attitudes they hold towards management practices that would favor grassland species, and the barriers that prevent the implementation of such alterations. The results show that specific environmental conditions support species rich grassland communities in novel habitats, although the determinants for species richness vary between species groups. Dry soils, southerly exposition and abundant light favor the population performance and species richness of grassland plants, while grassland butterflies are favored by mesic habitat conditions. In addition, local and regional land-use history related to semi-natural grasslands is positively related to the performance of grassland species populations and to the species richness of grassland plants, but not butterflies. The results also show that the values assigned to novel habitats and the attitudes towards managing them for greater grassland conservation benefit are diverse, interrelated and differ between stakeholder groups. Stakeholders who are positive towards management alterations favoring grassland species assign positive values of species richness, beauty and wildness to grassland vegetation, while stakeholders who are negative towards these alterations assign negative values of untidiness, lack of care and unsafety to such vegetation. Specific management alterations increasing the quality of novel habitats for grassland species, such as stakeholder education, are perceived as more feasible than others. Likewise, specific implementation barriers to these alterations, such as lack of resources, are perceived more severe than others among stakeholders.

The results of this thesis, along with previous research, indicate that especially novel habitats with dry soils, abundant light and a warm microclimate are suitable for at least grassland plants and that there is support among novel habitat stakeholders for managing these habitats to better suit the needs of grassland species. However, the multivalued nature of these habitats has to be taken into account when implementing any alterations to current management regimes. This may be achieved by ensuring that novel habitats under altered management retain a cared for, maintained appearance and that the original motivations for their management, such as traffic safety in road verges, are not compromised lest the alterations or grassland species themselves be faced with negative attitudes.