Authors: Konvicka, Martin; Vodickova, Veronika; Perlik, Michal; Potocky, Pavel;Ashmarina, Daria;Jirku, Miloslav;

Rewilding incomplete ecosystems by native megaherbivores is increasingly viewed not only as a tool for efficient vegetation management, but also as a way to restore functional richness and interactions in biota of refaunated sites. A dozen of medium-size localities, from wetlands to dry grasslands, had been refaunated by combinations of horse, aurochs and wisent in the Czech Republic. We use data obtained from monitoring refaunation effects on vascular plants, aculeate Hymenoptera, butterflies and Orthoptera to test the hypothesis that refaunated sites should display higher plants and insect species and functional richness than controls. Within each group, we also disclose specific sets of life history traits associated with megaherbivores presence, and discuss the mechanisms of megaherbivores effects. We conclude that much of the nature management practices conventionally associated with traditional land uses, and carried out by reserve managers in small scales, are in fact mimicking impacts of native megafauna, historically extirpated, and now hopefully returning, to European ecosystems.