Species composition
In total we recorded 68 vascular plant species, out of which 62 species occurred in the disturbed plots and 57 in the intact grasslands. Species composition of the disturbed plots and intact grasslands were separated along the horizontal axis of the NMDS ordination (Figure 2). Characteristic species of the disturbed areas included early-successional short-lived forb (Erophila verna ,Myosotis stricta , Polygonum aviculare ) and graminoid (Bromus hordeaceus , Poa bulbosa ) species, and several disturbance-tolerant perennial forbs, such as Achillea collina ,A. setacea and Plantago lanceolata. Intact grasslands were characterised by perennial graminoids, such as Festuca pseudovina , Elymus repens and Carex stenophylla . We observed a separation between spring and summer vegetation in the crane-disturbed plots, while the species composition of intact grasslands was similar across seasons. There was no clear separation in the vegetation between the two years.
The PERMANOVA analysis confirmed the patterns of the ordination. The species composition of the disturbed plots and the intact grasslands was significantly different (F = 40.11, p  = 0.048). The vegetation was different between the two seasons (F = 2.62, p = 0.001) but there was no separation among years (F = 1.69, p  = 0.131). The interaction of disturbance ×year (F = 14.52, p  = 0.001) and disturbance × season (F = 15.52, p  = 0.001) resulted in significantly different species compositions, while year × season interaction (F = 1.61, p  = 0.101) had no effect on vegetation composition.