Tuexenia : Mitteilungen der Floristisch-Soziologischen Arbeitsgemeinschaft, Band 37 (2017)
Refine
Year of publication
- 2017 (18)
Document Type
- Article (18)
Language
- English (18) (remove)
Has Fulltext
- yes (18)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (18)
Keywords
- grassland management (2)
- grazing (2)
- succession (2)
- syntaxonomy (2)
- Alnion incanae (1)
- Alnus glutinosa (1)
- Alnus incana (1)
- Alopecurion pratensis (1)
- Bromion erecti (1)
- Bromo-Senecionetum aquatici (1)
- Calluna vulgaris (1)
- Calluno-Ulicetea (1)
- Carpinion betuli (1)
- Caucasian endemic species (1)
- Cytisus scoparius (1)
- Eastern Carpathians (1)
- Eastern Central Europe (1)
- Ellenberg indicator values (1)
- Eurasian plant species (1)
- Lamio orvalae-Alnetum incanae (1)
- Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (1)
- Pannonian Basin (1)
- Pannonian Biogeographical Region (1)
- Sedo-Scleranthetea (1)
- Serbian grasslands (1)
- Slovakia (1)
- Tilio platyphylli-Acerion (1)
- Ulex europaeus (1)
- VSD+ model (1)
- adventive species (1)
- aftermath grazing (1)
- agestochory (1)
- alien plants (1)
- alluvial landscape (1)
- alpha diversity (1)
- ant foraging (1)
- ant plants (1)
- archaeophytes (1)
- areal types (1)
- character species (1)
- chorological tension zone (1)
- classification (1)
- climate adaptation (1)
- climate change (1)
- co-occurrence metrics (1)
- coenosystematical elements (1)
- conservation (1)
- differential species (1)
- distribution area (1)
- domestication of wild plant species (1)
- drainage (1)
- ecosystem services (1)
- edge effect (1)
- elevation (1)
- endangered plant species (1)
- eutrophication (1)
- facilitation (1)
- fertilization (1)
- floristic status (1)
- forest communities (1)
- forest vegetation (1)
- grassland conservation (1)
- grassland specialist species (1)
- habitat management (1)
- habitat suitability index (1)
- hay meadow (1)
- heavy metals (1)
- herb-layer vascular plants (1)
- historical mining (1)
- hydrology (1)
- indicator values (1)
- interzonal orobiome (1)
- introduction (1)
- invasive plant species (1)
- invasiveness (1)
- meadow-steppe (1)
- meadows (1)
- metallophytes (1)
- moisture (1)
- mowing (1)
- neophytes (1)
- open sandy grasslands (1)
- orchids (1)
- ornamental horticulture (1)
- pasture (1)
- phytosociology (1)
- plant community (1)
- plant community simulation (1)
- plant-plant interactions (1)
- plot size (1)
- pollination mechanisms (1)
- productivity (1)
- quasi-permanent plots (1)
- railway (1)
- relevés (1)
- sandy soil (1)
- scale (1)
- soil chemistry (1)
- soil nutrients (1)
- soil properties (1)
- spatial heterogeneity (1)
- species composition (1)
- species richness (1)
- species turnover (1)
- spread (1)
- synchorology (1)
- the Dinarides (1)
- threatened species (1)
- topsoil removal (1)
- transport (1)
- unpalatable plants (1)
- wetlands (1)
- winter annual (1)
Transitional between the Pannonian Basin and the Eastern Carpathians the Transcarpathian Ukraine (Transcarpathia) has a diverse geology including Quaternary sediments, volcanites, limestones and flysch, and its climate at low altitudes is relatively warm and humid. We conducted a field survey in June 2016 focusing on mesophilous forest vegetation along a transect covering almost the whole lowaltitudinal part of Transcarpathia. We recorded 54 relevés in the field and further digitized 22 relevés from literature. Using classification analysis, we distinguished three clusters of oak-hornbeam forests (alliance Carpinion betuli; 1–3) and three clusters of scree and ravine forests (alliance Tilio platyphylli-Acerion; 4–6): (1) Slightly wet Pannonian oak-hornbeam forests occurring in the lowland part of the region (Circaeo-Carpinetum); (2) Mesophilous oak-hornbeam forests (Carici pilosae-Carpinetum); (3) Xero-mesophilous oak-hornbeam forests (a drier subtype of the Carici pilosae-Carpinetum and the association Primulo veris-Carpinetum); (4) Mesophilous scree forests (Phyllitido-Aceretum); (5) Forests of steep slopes (Aceri-Tilietum) and transitions to mesophilous oak-hornbeam forests (Carici pilosae-Carpinetum); (6) Cool and wet scree and ravine forests (Arunco dioici-Aceretum pseudoplatani). Using indirect ordination analysis, three environmental variables (altitude, heat load index and slope) were identified as factors of significant influence on the species composition. These factors well distinguish oak-hornbeam forests from scree and ravine forests.
Seit 12 Jahren werden von Mitgliedern der Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) und deren Vorgängerorganisationen Grasland-Sonderteile in Tuexenia herausgegeben. Der diesjährige Sonderteil enthält fünf Artikel, die das Grasland verschiedener mitteleuropäischer Länder mit unterschiedlichen Zielen untersuchen. Der erste Artikel untersucht Auswirkungen von Weide und Mahd auf die Diversität des Graslands in Deutschland in Abhängigkeit von verschiedenen Umweltfaktoren, der zweite die Auswirkung kleiner Büsche auf den Artenreichtum von Gefäßpflanzen in beweideten Wiesensteppen in Ungarn. Der dritte Artikel fragt, ob sich ungarische Sandtrockenrasen mit Festuca vaginata von solchen mit F. pseudovaginata in ihrer Vegetation und ihren Standortsbedingungen unterscheiden; die letztere war erst kürzlich beschrieben worden. Der vierte Artikel modelliert Auswirkungen des Klimawandels auf geschützte Graslandbestände in Serbien und deren Arten während schließlich der fünfte Artikel die Initiative einer neuen Datenbank des deutschen Graslands (GrassVeg.DE) vorstellt und dazu aufruft, sich daran zu beteiligen. Insgesamt haben zu diesem 12. Grasland-Sonderteil 41 Autoren aus fünf Ländern (Dänemark, Deutschland, Italien, Schweiz, Serbien und Ungarn) beigetragen.
Central European temperate forests are – with the exception of floodplain forests – relatively little invaded by alien plants. However, despite substantial recent progress, there is still a lack of using vege-tation plot data for analyzing spatio-temporal patterns of alien tree species invasions.
We calculated relevé-based metrics of tree species’ ecological preferences using 19,413 phytosociological forest relevés of the Austrian vegetation database. We focused on the five most widely distributed alien trees, i.e. two archaeophytes (Castanea sativa, Juglans regia) and three neophytes (Acer negundo, Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia). For each of these species we analyzed the mean cover in the tree layer and the occurrence in the herb and shrub layers in relevés colonized by adult trees as a measure for persistence. Further, we evaluated the intergenerational ecological plasticity (= the ability of young trees to grow under different site conditions than adults) for the tree species, and the mean relevé indicator values for light, nutrients, moisture and hemeroby. We then compared these alien and native tree species metrics.
We found that A. altissima and R. pseudoacacia build up high mean cover values in invaded forests, but this was not the case for the other alien trees. Thus, both species strongly affected forest communities of invaded sites. Similarly, the two species were common in the lower vegetation layers indicating recruitment under the canopy of adult conspecifics; this was facilitated by their ability to produce root suckers. Highest values of inter-generational ecological plasticity occurred in native pioneer trees and species of softwood floodplain forests, while alien trees had moderately high (A. negundo, A. altissima, J. regia) to low values (C. sativa, R. pseudoacacia). With the exception of C. sativa, all alien species showed high mean Ellenberg indicator values for light and nutrients, and were more common in sites with high hemeroby and high mean Ellenberg indicator values for temperature. Distinct from the ecological preferences of alien trees, and thus rarely invaded, were montane beech forests, coniferous mountain forests and forests at extremely dry sites, as well as swamp and bog forests dominated by willows and ash.
We conclude that relevé-based metrics of the behavior of alien tree species allow new insights into the spatio-temporal dynamics of invasion of woody species in forests. Future work should expand this approach, e.g., by considering the role of life history traits and actual site conditions.
The influence of the Eastern migration route on the Slovak flora – a comparison after 40 years
(2017)
Transport is an important source of introduction and spread of alien plants into new areas and countries. This study provides comprehensive research of selected railway localities in South-Eastern Slovakia to determine the influence of the Eastern Migration Route on the Slovak flora. Railway transshipment yards in Čierna nad Tisou, Dobrá, Velké Kapušany and Matovce were studied from 1964 to 2013; with historic data sampled 1964–1998 and recent data sampled 2012–2013. These data sets were compared to determine differences in species structure following the decreased use of the transshipment yards.
A total of 657 vascular plant taxa were recorded in all localities (566 taxa in the historic and 431 taxa in the recent data set). Native species prevailed over aliens and archaeophytes over neophytes in both time periods. The most frequent aliens were naturalised taxa, where Asiatic and European species prevailed. The most frequent families were Poaceae, Asteraceae and Brassicaceae, and while many species introduced with Russian wheat were recorded only in the past, several taxa are also recorded only recently. Hemicryptophytes were the most abundant life form. Most recorded species were competitors, reproducing by seed and pollinated by insects. Zoochory and hemerochory were the most frequent dispersal types. The proportion of species traits has not changed over time. We identified 49 threatened taxa (38 in the historic and 27 in the recent data set). The Eastern migration route significantly increases the species number of alien vascular plants in the Slovak flora. Although this route had much greater importance in the past, when the role of the Eastern Slovak trans-shipment railway yards was much higher, the studied yards remain an important gateway to Eastern Central Europe and they continue to support agestochory migration of adventive plants.
Status and restoration potential of heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg
(2017)
In Europe, semi-natural nutrient-poor ecosystems such as sand grasslands and heathlands have shown extreme declines in surface area and species richness within the last century. The remaining sites are hence of high conservation value. This study analysed the vascular plant species inventory of established and recently restored heathlands and sand grasslands in the southwest of Luxembourg. Analyses to explain differences in vegetation composition between “old” (remnant sites or sites restored a long time ago) and “new” (recently restored) sites in relation to environmental variables were carried out with DCAs and ANOVA/Mann-Whitney-U tests, respectively. The vegetation of old heathlands had few character species of typical heathland communities (Calluno-Ulicetea, Nardetalia), whereas new heathland sites were preponderantly marked by taxa of meso- or eutrophic grasslands and ruderal communities. New heathland sites mainly differed from old sites by higher soil phosphorus contents. Sand grassland vegetation was species-rich and composed by species of the Sedo-Scleranthetea and Festuco-Brometea. With increasing age of the sites, vegetation composition shifted to grass dominance with species of the Molinio-Arrhenateretea. New sand grasslands differed from old sand grasslands by higher soil pH, higher soil potassium content and lower graminoid cover. The differences between new and old sites of both habitat types could mainly be explained by successional processes or were a result of topsoil removal. In some cases, former anthropogenic impact at or in close proximity of restored sites resulted in unsuitable conditions, such as alkaline soil on former landfill sites or highly eutrophic soil due to intensive agriculture. Future management options for the study sites are discussed.
This study describes the vascular flora and community structure of grasslands occurring on heaps of waste rock left by former Zn-Pb mining in relation to the metal content in the soil and other environmental factors. The study was performed on 65 heaps scattered in agricultural land in southern Poland. The sites were described in terms of plant community characteristics, soil physicochemical properties, distance from woodland, altitude and local climate. The number of plant species and proportion of species of the Festuco-Brometea class decreased with increasing heavy metal (Cd, Pb, Zn) content in the soil, and increased with Ca content and pH of the soil. There was a negative relationship between the proportion of the later successional species and heavy metal content in the soil and a positive relationship between plants connected with the earlier stages of succession and metals. Floristic composition was also affected by distance from woodland and height above sea level. The investigated heaps were primarily colonised by native species dispersed by wind, characterised as competitive stresstolerant, ruderal and competitive strategy species. Three types of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti (CB) communities were distinguished: CB typicum – dominated by Brachypodium pinnatum, with the highest proportion of calcareous grassland species, CB festucetosum ovinae subass. nova – loose grassland with abundant facultative metallophytes, and the CB rubietosum caesi subass. nova with nutrientdemanding ruderal and woody plants invading from the nearby forest communities. The three subassociations represent different successional stages of Carlino acaulis-Brometum erecti, strongly dependent on both the substrate and spatial relations. The proportions of species traits, especially a high occurrence of endangered species and a very low proportion of alien species show that the post-mining habitats studied have a similar degree of ‘naturalness’ as valuable xerothermic grasslands on nonmetalliferous habitats. They thus may be considered as valuable objects for the protection of plant diversity.
Intense direct and indirect human pressure has been imposed on grasslands throughout their range. Mostly due to the constant need for more food production or due to changes in environmental conditions, grasslands as habitats are expected to become highly endangered. The aim of this study was to estimate the grasslands’ ecological response to future climate and environmental changes. The study took place in three ecologically different grassland communities in three protected natural areas of Serbia (Southeastern Europe), following the same methodology. The study sites were: 1) Peštersko polje Special Nature Reserve (SNR), 2) Deliblato sands SNR (its southern part: Labudovo okno) and 3) Zasavica SNR.
Climate change was simulated for mean temperatures and precipitations using the Eta Belgrade University-Princeton Ocean Model (EBU-POM) climate model, for the A1B Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) emission scenario covering the 1951–2100 period and insolation and volumetric soil moisture content for the 1979–2100 period. Grassland vegetation was analysed at all three sites. One representative plant community per site was selected for further analysis and simulation of ecological changes. One plot was positioned inside each of the above-mentioned communities, all vascular plant species inside the plot were recorded, and soil samples were taken. Ecological Optima (EO) for moisture and temperature were calculated from modified Ellenberg’s plant indicator values of recorded species. The plants’ response to climate and environmental changes was simulated using the VSD+ model for the 2010–2100 period. The data obtained from the model were further analysed with Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA).
Overall results show that the temperature rise, along with the irregular precipitation at all three sites, will lead to a drop of the relative abundance of many native species in the period between 2040 and 2060. The low obtained Habitat Suitability Index for the future means that there will be either unfavourable environmental conditions for the development of grasslands, or the species we analysed were untypical. Cosmopolitans and xerothermic species will be more accustomed to the new conditions. Grasses will be the most resilient functional group according to our study. It may be concluded that the functional group of grasses will also play the leading role in future
grasslands at the studied sites.
Ants were shown to be significant pollinators of two orchid species in the alpine zone of the Alps. Repeated observations from several localities confirm the ant Formica lemani as pollinator of Chamorchis alpina whereas Formica exsecta is reported here for the first time as pollinator of Dactylorhiza viridis. These findings appear of great interest, as significant ant pollination of orchids is unknown so far from any other region or habitat type in the Holarctic. This raises the question if there are specific adaptations. The observations do not provide suggestions to adaptations of the Formica ants for pollinating orchids – they simply followed their normal foraging behavior shown in any type of habitat. Yet, special adaptations are given by the two orchid species in developing pollination mechanisms more strongly involving ground-moving insects which are not inactivated by increased wind velocity and lower temperatures in the alpine zone. These are mainly beetles and ants. The pollination mechanisms and interactions with ants of both orchid species are described. Dactylorhiza viridis is outstanding among orchids in needing 20 to 30 minutes for the 90-degree forward bending of the pollinium after attachment to the insect’s forehead whereas the same process takes place between 15 seconds and 3 to 5 minutes in other orchids. Forward bending of pollinia is required for precise placement of the pollen at the stigmatic surface of another flower. The very long bending time is an adaptation to the longer presence time of ground-moving insects at the same plant and aims to reduce the frequency of geitonogamy (self-fertilization). The high frequency of ant pollination in these orchids is a consequence of the high activity density of aggressive, predatory worker ants leading to a displacement of other pollinators. Attempts of ants to remove the fresh, strongly adhesive pollinia from their foreheads failed and a single ant head could carry up to eight pollinia.
Extensively managed pastures harbour rare and endangered species and have a decisive role in maintaining grassland biodiversity. Traditional herding of local robust cattle breeds is considered as a feasible tool for preserving these habitats. We studied the scale-dependent effects of grazing on the species richness and composition of three dry grassland types in the Great Hungarian Plain: Achilleo setaceae-Festucetum pseudovinae and Artemisio santonici-Festucetum pseudovinae alkaline grasslands, and Potentillo arenariae-Festucetum pseudovinae sand grassland. We asked the following questions: (1) Does extensive grazing have a scale-dependent effect on plant species richness of alkaline and sand grasslands? (2) How does grazing affect the proportion of specialists, generalists and weeds in the three grassland types? We sampled ten sites of each grassland type, including five extensively grazed and five non-grazed sites (altogether we had 30 sites). We used a series of nested plots each consisting of 10 plots from the size of 0.01 m² to 16 m². We revealed that grazing has contrasting effects in the three grassland types, and had a considerable effect on their species richness even at small scales. In both alkaline grassland types, total species richness was overall higher in grazed plots but it increased in a similar manner for both ungrazed and grazed habitats across plot sizes. Small-scale heterogeneity likely due to the uneven distribution of grazing, trampling and defecation together with mitigated rate of competition allowed more species to co-exist even at small scales in grazed alkaline grasslands. Grazing increased the richness of specialists, but likely due to the salt stress, establishment of weeds was hampered. Open gaps formed by trampling likely supported the establishment of several specialist species such as Plantago tenuiflora and Puccinellia limosa which are typical to open alkali grasslands. Contrary, in sand grasslands, we did not detect any effect of grazing on total species richness, likely due to the adverse effect of grazing on the species richness of specialists and weeds. In contrast with the former findings we detected significantly higher species richness in 0.01 m² and 0.0625 m² plots in the grazed sand grasslands, but found no differences at larger scales. Whilst species richness of specialists was significantly decreased, richness of weeds was increased by grazing. Decrease in the specialist species richness was likely due to the lack of their evolutionary adaptation to grazing. Degradation caused by grazing and trampling together with the propagule pressure from the neighbouring anthropogenic habitats resulted in an increased richness of weeds in the grazed sites.
Marginal associations, i.e. floristically impoverished associations at the margin of the distribution area of a higher syntaxon, form a problem in vegetation classification, because true character species are lacking. We propose a new approach for the classification of such marginal associations, making use of the notion of 'chorological tension zones'. In the absence of true character species, the species from other syntaxa of the same formation can be used as such. Our proposal is to use the species group from every formation-true class only once within every marginal alliance, to limit the number of possible marginal associations. This approach is illustrated in a classification of the retamoid thickets in the Netherlands. On the basis of a numerical-subjective classification of the relevant species in the scrub layer and the evaluation of relevant literature, we conclude that the broom and gorse thickets in the Netherlands can be assigned to the Cytisetea scopario-striati Rivas-Mart. 1974, which is represented by four associations, each of which is characterised by the species of other scrub classes. The Ulici europaei-Sarothamnion scoparii Doing ex Weber 1997 is represented by the Rubo plicati-Sarothamnetum scoparii Weber 1987 and the Crataego monogynae-Cytisetum scoparii R. Haveman, I. de Ronde & J.H.J. Schaminée ass. nov., the Ulici europaei-Cytision striati Rivas-Mart., Báscones, Díaz, Fern. Gonz. & Loidi 1991 by the Frangulo alni-Ulicetum europaei De Foucault 1988 and the Rubo ulmifolii-Ulicetum europaei J.-M. Géhu ex R. Haveman, I. de Ronde & J.H.J. Schaminée ass. nov. This classification is based on a restricted dataset though, and a revision, based on a larger dataset from a wider region has to prove the tenability of the classification.