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An extensive survey of the relevant literature of dry grassland communities described for the territory of Serbia allowed us to check the validity and legitimacy of the nomenclature of this vegetation. Nomenclature rules of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature were strictly followed. The syntaxonomic affiliation of communities to higher syntaxa was assessed according to existing syntaxonomic schemes for Serbia and the position determined by the original source. Higher syntaxa followed the synsystem of the socalled “EuroVegChecklist”. We have highlighted problems and some disagreement with the existing classification of dry grassland communities in Europe. A total of 134 dry grassland communities have so far been registered for Serbia. This list of syntaxa may serve for further research of grassland vegetation and its appropriate positioning within a syntaxonomical scheme of Europe.
As second part of a series focusing on the Pannonian grasslands of Austria, we present a detailed classification of the grasslands of the Vienna Woods (Wienerwald). This region, although geographically belonging to the Alps, has strong floristic affinities to the Pannonian Basin. The eastern slopes of the Vienna Woods are a hotspot of xero-thermophytic vegetation and exhibit the highest vascular plant species richness in Austria at a scale of 3' x 5'. We used the TWINSPAN classification of a large data set reported in the first part of this series as starting point. Relevés that were considered as misclassified at the level of alliances were manually re-arranged. From this table, an excerpt containing only the relevés of the Vienna Woods was used for the present study (1055 plots). We re-classified the relevés preliminary labelled as Arrhenatherion with another TWINSPAN run. Clusters for which no ecological difference could be detected were merged. The final delimitation of associations and subassociations was achieved by adjusting their diagnostic species so as to get units that were most informative in terms of environmental conditions. All re-arrangements were based on the summarised cover of diagnostic species within individual relevés. As a result, the grasslands of the Vienna Woods are classified within 22 associations (plus two subassociations) belonging to ten alliances and four classes. Within the Seslerio-Festucion pallentis, a new association Scorzonero austriacae-Caricetum humilis is described. The semi-dry grasslands of the study area previously classified as Onobrychido-Brometum are de-scribed as new association Filipendulo vulgaris-Brometum erecti and assigned to the Cirsio-Brachypodion. The Anthoxantho-Agrostietum tenuis is reported for Austria for the first time, and its syntaxonomy is discussed within a broader geographical context.
Syntaxonomic revision of the Pannonian grasslands of Austria : 1. Introduction and general overview
(2013)
The Pannonian part of Austria is a diverse landscape situated in the transition zone between the Alps, the Bohemian Massif and the Carpathian Basin. Although the grasslands of this region have been investigated in many botanical and vegetation studies, their phytosociological classification has remained confusing. With this paper, we start a series aiming at a developement of a revised, consistent system of the Austrian Pannonian grasslands. Here we present a general overview focusing on the higher syntaxonomic units. We define grasslands as all types of meadows, pastures, fens and primary steppes. We selected all available relevés of Pannonian grasslands from the Austrian Vegetation Database. Additional unpub-lished data were included from the Danube National Park and the Biosphere Reserve Vienna Woods. To account for the comparatively low number of relevés from the northern part of the Pannonian region of Austria (Weinviertel), we included also data from southern Moravia (Czech Republic). This set of 3384 relevés was classified using TWINSPAN. Relevés that were considered as misclassified at the alliance level according to the summarised cover of diagnostic species were manually re-arranged, and the data-set specific fidelity of species to alliances was calculated using the phi coefficient. The first TWINSPAN division largely corresponded to the traditional border between the classes Festuco-Brometea and Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. The conventional alliance concepts were generally well supported. As an exception, the distinction between Diantho-Seslerion and Bromo-Festucion pallentis was not reproduced at all. Therefore, we unite all rocky grasslands on calcareous soils in a single alliance Seslerio-Festucion pallentis. We also advocate the inclusion of all basiphilous semi-dry grasslands of the study area within a single alliance Cirsio-Brachypodion. Each of the corresponding TWINSPAN clusters showed a clear prevalence of Cirsio-Brachypodion species. Moreover, two separate alliances of semi-dry grasslands would have almost no regional character species.
Dry grasslands of NW Bulgarian mountains : first insights into diversity, ecology and syntaxonomy
(2013)
We present the data of the 3rd research expedition of the European Dry Grasslands Group (EDGG), which was conducted in 2011 in two contrasting areas in NW Bulgarian mountains. The aim was to collect plot data for comparing Bulgarian dry grasslands with those of other parts of Europe in terms of syntaxonomy and biodiversity. We sampled 15 nested-plot series (0.0001–100 m²) and 68 normal plots (10 m²) covering the full variety of dry grassland types occurring in the Vratsa area (Balkan Mts.) and the Koprivshtitsa area (Sredna Gora Mt.). In the plots all vascular plants, terricolous non-vascular plants and a set of soil and other environmental parameters were determined. By applying modified TWIN-SPAN, we distinguished 10 floristically well characterised vegetation types at the association level. After comparison with the regional and European literature, we propose to place them within three classes and five orders: Festuco-Brometea with the orders Stipo pulcherrimae-Festucetalia pallentis (xerophilous dry grasslands of base-rich rocks; alliance Saturejion montanae), Brachypodietalia pinnati (meso-xeric, basiphilous grasslands; alliances Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati and Chyrsopogono grylli-Danthonion calycinae), Calluno-Ulicetea with the order Nardetalia stricae (lowland to montane Nar-dus swards; alliance Violion caninae), and Koelerio-Corynephoretea with the orders Sedo-Scleranthetalia (open communities of skeleton-rich, acidic soils; alliance unclear) and Trifolio arvensis-Festucetalia ovinae (closed, meso-xeric, acidophilous grasslands; alliance Armerio rumelicae-Potentillion). The Violion caninae with the association Festuco rubrae-Genistelletum sagittalis is reported from Bulgaria for the first time, while the two occurring Koelerio-Corynephoretea communities are described as new associations (Cetrario aculeatae-Plantaginetum radicatae, Plantagini radicatae-Agrostietum capillaris). According to DCA the main floristic gradient was largely determined by soil conditions, differentiating the Festuco-Brometea communities on soils with high pH and high humus content from the Koelerio-Corynephoretea communities on acidic, humus-poor soils, while the Calluno-Ulicetea stands are the connecting link. At 10 m2 Festuco-Brometea and Calluno-Ulicetea stands were richer in species across all investigated taxa and in vascular plants than Koelerio-Corynephoretea stands; the latter were richest in lichen species, while bryophyte richness did not differ significantly among syntaxa. Among the Bulgarian classes, the species-area relationships tended to be steepest in the Festuco-Brometea (i.e. highest beta diversity), but both alpha and beta diversity clearly fell behind the Festuco-Brometea communities in the Transylvanian Plateau, Romania, located less than 500 km north of the study region. Overall, our study contributes to a more adequate placement of the Bulgarian dry grasslands in the European syntaxonomic system and provides valuable data for large-scale analyses of biodiversity patterns.
In the lower siliceous uplands of Central Europe, various types of nutrient-poor grasslands are widespread and grow intermingled. These species-rich grasslands, often dominated by taxa of the Festuca ovina aggregate, comprise various phytosociological classes. They are remnants of a historic rural lands - cape and are of conservation importance. Few studies on such grasslands are available and there has been disagreement in assigning them to appropriate habitat types or syntaxa. We investigated such nutrient-poor grasslands in the lower Aar valley (Middle Hesse, Rhenish Massif). We surveyed 104 vegetation plots distributed throughout the valley and identified syntaxa to (sub)association level. We carried out supervised classification combining cluster analysis, a priori assignment to classes based on prevailing diagnostic species, and regional refinement based on phi-value maximisation of the units. As a result, we classified five associations within four classes: Polytricho piliferi-Festucetum tenuifoliae/Galio harcynici-Deschampsietum flexuosae and Festuco rubrae-Genistelletum sagittalis (Calluno- Ulicetea), Jasiono montanae-Festucetum ovinae (Koelerio-Corynephoretea), Gentiano-Koelerietum pyramidatae (Festuco-Brometea) and Arrhenatheretum elatioris (Molinio-Arrhenatheretea). Ecologically, soil acidity (resulting from Ca concentrations of the bedrock) was the main cause of floristic dissimilarity of the grasslands and thus community differentiation. Many stands grew on soils with intermediate pH and showed a peculiar mixture of basiphilous and acidophilous species. We conclude that (i) our approach of supervised classification yields convincing reproducible results when a syntaxonomic system is adapted top-down to a geographically restricted area, (ii) nutrient-poor siliceous grasslands dominated by taxa of the Festuca ovina aggregate can be well assigned to ecologically meaningful syntaxa, and (iii) the nutrient-poor siliceous grasslands of the Lahn-Dill Highlands are of high conservation relevance and in urgent need of protection.
We report on the activities of the European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) during the last year, namely the 8th European Dry Grassland Meeting in Uman', Ukraine in June 2011, the 3rd EDGG Research Expedition in Bulgaria in August 2011, the 4th EDGG Research Expedition in Sicily in April 2012, as well as the completed and forthcoming EDGG-coordinated special features in international journals. Then we provide a brief bibliometrical analysis of the Dry Grassland Special Features in Tuexenia since 2005. The 32 contributions of the years 2005–2011 constituted approx. 17% of the overall content of Tuexenia in this period. Including this 7th Dry Grassland Special Feature, sixty-one authors from 12 countries have contributed to these Special Features, guest-edited by yearly changing teams from a total of 16 guest editors. In the years with statistically reliable data, contributions in the Dry Grassland Special Features have been cited approximately four times as much as regular Tuexenia contributions. It is likely that this fact together with the internationality of the Special Features has contributed to the final inclusion of the journal in the Web of Science in 2011. Finally, we introduce the four research articles of this 7th Dry Grassland Special Feature. Two of them are focusing on vegetation change and restoration issues of cryptogam-rich sand dunes in the Netherlands and calcareous grasslands in Bavaria (Germany), respectively. The others, dealing with siliceous grasslands in Hesse (central Germany) and the results of EDGG Research Expedition 2009 to Transylvania (Romania), focus on syntaxonomy.
The main aim of this paper was to test the national electronic expert system for grassland classification in Slovakia as a tool for grassland classification on a regional data set from an area with high vegetation diversity. The study region comprised five orographic units located in central Slovakia (Starohorské vrchy Mts., Kremnické vrchy Mts., Veľká Fatra Mts., Nízke Tatry Mts. and Zvolenská kotlina Basin). The data set included 411 phytosociological relevés of all grassland types (xero-, subxero- and mesophilous grasslands as well as wet and fen meadows), recorded by the authors between 1980 and 2007. The relevés were classified to associations by the expert system formulated for the Slovak grassland vegetation either according to association definitions or (in case of relevés not matching any association definition) according to the Frequency-Positive Fidelity Index (FPFI). Wetland relevés were classified according to results of a cluster analysis. Diagnostic species from the regional data were compared to diagnostic species derived at the national level from the data including all vegetation units in Slovakia. According to the results, 49% of the relevés classified by the expert system were matched by the association definitions. Xerophilous grasslands were classified within three alliances of the class Festuco- Brometea: Festucion valesiacae, Bromo pannonici-Festucion pallentis and Diantho lumnitzeri-Seslerion. The occurrence of these communities in the region is rare, restricted to rocky habitats and steep slopes with shallow soil over calcareous bedrock. Sub-xerophilous grasslands were classified within four associations belonging to the two alliances Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati and Bromion erecti. In the study region, these communities are widely distributed mainly in areas built by calcareous bedrock. Mesophilous grasslands are the most common communities in the study region. They were classified within eight associations belonging to four alliances: Cynosurion cristati, Arrhenatherion elatioris and Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis (all of them belonging to the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea) and Nardo strictae-Agrostion tenuis (belonging to the class Nardetea strictae). Wetland communities belonged to the classes Phragmito-Magnocaricetea (alliances Phragmition communis and Glycerio-Sparganion), Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (alliance Deschampsion cespitosae) and Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae (alliance Caricion davallianae). The results demonstrate that the national expert system used can be successfully applied to a heterogeneous regional data set without discarding the particularities of the regional vegetation. The uniqueness of the regional vegetation is reflected in the set of diagnostic species determined at the regional level, which can differ strongly from those estimated at the national level.
New vegetation data of dry grasslands in the Western Carpathians and the northern Pannonian Basin
(2010)
The paper presents new vegetation data from dry grassland sites in the biogeographical regions of the Western Carpathians and the northern Pannonian Basin, mainly belonging to the alliances Bromo pannonici-Festucion pallentis and Festucion valesiacae (Festuco-Brometea). The 124 phytosociological relevés were sampled between 2005 and 2009 in Slovakia, the SE Czech Republic, NE Austria, and N Hungary. They are classified into 16 associations and four transitional vegetation types. The paper also brings new information on the distribution of grassland associations in the study area. A new locality of the rare association Teucrio botryos-Andropogonetum ischaemi was confirmed. During our recent investigation of historical sites of the Alopecuro pratensis-Festucetum pseudovinae (Cynosurion cristati, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea) in the Slaná river floodplain, only one occurrence could be confirmed. Geographical principles in distribution of dry grassland associations and classification of the Stipa pulcherrima-dominated stands are also discussed.
Using four exclosures, the impact of mouflon grazing and weather on plant communities of the phytosociological alliances Koelerio-Phleion phleoidis and Hyperico perforati-Scleranthion perennis occurring on shallow soils within a forest landscape was studied in the Křivoklátsko Biosphere Reserve (Czech Republic) during seven years. In the years 2004–2010, the vascular plant species composition was recorded annually on a total of eight fenced and eight control plots, each 2 m × 1 m in size. Treatment, time, and weather data were used as explanatory variables in ordination and correlation analyses. Cover values of different life forms and indicator values varied significantly in dependence on the weather conditions of the preceding five months; however, correlations varied according to the vegetation type and were rather rarely detected. The effect of fencing appeared important in all study plots; however, the temporal trends were significant only in half of them. We did not find a significant interaction between treatment and time in the total dataset. A successional change was detected in one fenced plot only; in all other cases, the species composition fluctuated – a phenomenon that is not directly attributable to weather conditions. In the fenced plots, the herbaceous vegetation cover decreased, mainly due to litter accumulation and partly due to shrub encroachment. At least some parts of the valuable and species-rich habitats could be maintained under high game density, but some parts are endangered by eutrophication and game grazing. Nature conservation management should balance both mechanisms.
A long-term systematic survey of grassland communities was performed in the Biele Karpaty Mts. in Slovakia. The main aims of the research were i) syntaxonomical classification of meso- and subxerophilous grassland vegetation, ii) analysis of the main gradients in species composition, iii) evaluation of the effect of environmental factors on species composition of grasslands. The data set included 342 phytosociological relevés of grasslands recorded between 1991 and 1999. For the classification of relevés to associations, the expert system for identification of grassland vegetation of Slovakia was used. The main environmental gradients of species composition were analysed by detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). For the ecological interpretation of ordination axes Ellenberg indicator values were used. The relationship between species composition and environmental factors (geology, pedology, climate, topography, management) was analysed by canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). The expert system identified (according to association definitions) 220 phytosociological relevés (64% of the whole data set). Grassland communities were classified within seven associations belonging to four alliances and three classes: Festuco-Brometea: Bromion erecti and Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati; Molinio- Arrhenatheretea: Arrhenatherion; Nardetea strictae: Violion caninae. The results of the DCA support our assumption that the main environmental gradient in species compositions of grasslands is related to moisture and soil reaction (content of CaCO3 in the soil). The results of the direct gradient analysis (CCA) show that all 23 environmental variables explained 16.15% of the variability of the species data. The most important factors affecting the data variation were precipitation and geological bedrock.