Grazing of a hill in southern Sweden influenced the vegetation pattern and local habitat. The microclimate and soil water within grazed vegetation (Hypnum and Festuca sites) and ungrazed tussocks of Ononis repens (Ononis sites) on the southern slope were compared and were related to measurements from corresponding positions on the northern slope (Pleurozium sites) and an ungrazed beechwood area (wood site) on the southern slope. Some investigations were also performed on a bare surface on the southern slope. Microclimatic and soil moisture conditions within the Ononis site and the Hypnum and Festuca sites were different. Habitat conditions at the Ononis site were more similar to the wood site than the Hypnum and Festuca sites. Vegetation also differed and species, otherwise restricted to the northern slope, were found within the Ononis tussocks, where some species showed greater vitality. Extreme conditions of microclimate, especially on the bare surface of the southern slope, may influence competition between colonising species.
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Påhlsson et al. (1974) studied this question.