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The grey dunes along the present-day depositional coasts of Latvia are among the most diverse dune ecosystems in the Baltic Sea region. This paper focuses on the grey dune plant communities, their classification based on the Braun-Blanquet approach and their ecology and distribution in Latvia. A total of 3,430 phytosociological relevés were sampled in all coastal sections in the period from 1994 to 2008. The vegetation was classified using TWINSPAN analysis. Diagnostic species were determined for each syn taxon using statistical measures of fidelity (phi coefficient and Fishers exact test). The phytogeography of associations and variants is described on the basis of a distribution range analysis of plant species. In total, three associations of the class Koelerio-Corynephoretea occur in the grey dunes. The Corniculario aculeatae-Corynephoretum canescentis and the Caricetum arenariae belong to the alliance Corynephorion canescentis and the order Corynephoretalia canescentis. The Festucetum polesicae belongs to the alliance Koelerion glaucae in the order Sedo acris-Festucetalia. With six variants, it is the phytosociologically most diverse association of the grey dunes: typical variant, variant of Gypsophila paniculata, variant of Koeleria glauca, variant of Thymus serpyllum, variant of Epipactis atrorubens and variant of Corynephorus canescens.
Our results show phytosociological differences among five coastal sections due to geomorphology and coastal processes. The most diverse grey dune plant communities occur on the open Baltic Sea coast where all three associations are represented. The most common vegetation type on all coastal sections in Latvia is the typical variant of the Festucetum polesicae. The Epipactis atrorubens variant of this association is widely distributed, too. It has its major occurrences along the Gulf of Riga and the Irbe Strait. The Corniculario aculeatae-Corynephoretum canescentis was found in only two locations. Stands of the Festucetum polesicae var. Koeleria glauca occupy wider areas on old dunes, while the Festucetum polesicae var. Gypsophila paniculata is more typical on young dynamic dunes with intensive sand drift. The results of the phytogeographical analysis of vegetation data show that under the influence of climate, especially with dominance of the oceanic and transformed oceanic air masses, grey dune plant communities on the Latvian coast are mainly sub-oceanic to sub-continental. The most continental community is the Festucetum polesicae var. Koeleria glauca, while the Caricetum arenariae and the Corniculario aculeatae- Corynephoretum canescentis have the strongest oceanic character.
Sechs Untereinheiten des Spergulo-Corynephoretum in den Niederlanden und vier in Norddeutschland werden untersucht. Neben Frequenz und Deckung der Arten in den Vegetationsaufnahmen werden ausgewählte abiotische Faktoren gemessen. Die Vegetationsdaten werden mittels einer synoptischen Tabelle, Ordination und Artmerkmals-Spektren bezüglich des bekannten Sukzessionschemas analysiert. Die meisten der Einheiten sind durch progressive Sukzession verbunden, die von Humusakkumulation begleitet wird. Einige zeichnen sich durch abweichendes Makroklima oder Substrat bzw. die außergewöhnliche Invasion des neophytischen Mooses Campylopus introflexus aus. Die Sukzession ist von einem kumulativen Auftreten neuer Arten geprägt. Die meisten Pionierarten überdauern in späten Stadien in Lücken, die durch kleinräumige Störungen oder in Form von absterbenden Grashorsten entstehen. So ist der Artenreichtum im letzten Stadium am größten. Viele Pionierflechtenarten bilden Sporen und Soredien aus, während Thallusfragmentation der wichtigste Ausbreitungsmodus in den späteren Sukzessionsstadien der Erdflechtenvegetation ist.