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Dry grasslands are highly diverse vegetation types of great importance for livestock production in rural Balkan areas. We analysed a large data set of phytosociological relevés of dry grasslands (Festuco-Brometea and Festucetea vaginatae classes) in Serbia to produce the first overview of its classification, distribution, environmental conditions and biodiversity patterns. Phytocoenological relevés from relevant literature sources and our own investigations were stored in the Vegetation Database of Serbia (EU-RS-002) and the Balkan Dry Grassland Database (EU-00-013). After heterogeneity-constrained random resampling, the final dataset contained 1,897 relevés and 1,323 species. Species composition was classified hierarchically by the beta flexible method. We used species ecological indicator values for the estimation of the ecological conditions. Floristic and vegetation diversity and the conservation relevance of various dry grassland types, based on an assessment of endemic and protected species, were analysed. We identified 11 clusters, which were well characterised by their species composition and ecology. The first three clusters included loess and sand steppe grasslands mostly found in the Pannonian part of Serbia (Festucion rupicolae and Festucion vaginatae). The next three clusters consisted of Balkan ultramafic rocky grasslands of the order Halacsyetalia sendtneri, Balkan submediterranean mountain steppe grasslands on calcareous substrates, belonging to the order Astragalo-Potentilletalia and grasslands of the Balkan alliance Saturejion montanae on limestone. The third group of relevés comprised Balkan alliances of dry grasslands on deep soils, the Chrysopogono-Danthonion and sub-continental steppes of the alliance Festucion valesiacae in hilly areas of Serbia, mostly in the thermophilous oak zone. According to ordination analysis (DCA), the main floristic gradient was largely determined by temperature and moisture. The Festuco-Brometea class exhibited high floristic diversity (1,323 plant species) and very high conservation relevance in view of the large number of Balkan endemic species (204). A total of 233 species and subspecies protected by national legislation within the studied vegetation were recorded.
Muránska planina Mts, a small karstic area situated in the southern part of the Western Carpathians in Central Slovakia was chosen as a model region for the study of the variability and diversity patterns of thermophilous and mountain non-forest vegetation on the crossing of the Carpathian and Pannonian bioregions. Altogether, 113 new relevés were sampled using standard methods of the Zürich-Montpellier approach and compared with previously published data. The dataset containing both new and published phytosociological relevés from dry, semi-dry and mesic grasslands (265 relevés) was analysed using the program JUICE 7.0.98. The Beta flexible method, relative Sorensen distance as a similarity measure, and logarithmic transformation of species covers were used for the numerical classification (PC-ORD). The main environmental gradients of species composition were analysed by DCA in the CANOCO 4.5 package using the Borhidi indicator values. The various mosaics of plant communities were detected in succession series from pioneer rocky stands through open rocky grasslands dominated by Festuca pallens, F. tatrae, Carex humilis and Sesleria albicans to closed tall grass communities dominated by Calamagrostis varia and C. arundinacea. Plant communities belonging to six classes (Sedo-Scleranthetea, Festuco-Brometea, Elyno-Seslerietea, Thlaspietea rotundifolii, Mulgedio-Aconitetea and Molinio-Arrhenatheretea) including Pannonian grasslands of the alliance Bromo pannonici-Festucion pallentis and high montane/subalpine grasslands of the alliance Astero alpini-Seslerion calcariae occur together in the study area. High floristic richness and extraordinary diffusion of thermophilous and montane/subalpine elements is characteristic for the majority of the studied plant communities.
We performed a survey of grassland communities in the Ukrainian Carpathians with the aim of: (1) syntaxonomically classifying the meso- and subxerophilous grassland vegetation; (2) analysing the main gradients in their species composition; (3) estimating the effect of selected environmental factors on grassland species composition; (4) assessing the species richness of vascular plants and bryophytes in relation to the measured environmental variables. We collected 46 phytosociological relevés during the growing seasons of 2010 and 2011. Species composition and species richness were studied at two spatial scales (1 m² and 16 m²) in relation to soil parameters (soil depth, pH (KCl), content of P, K, Mg, N and C), management regime (mowing, grazing, ploughing in the past and burning), and other factors (altitude, litter cover, open soil, inclination, solar radiation and animal excrement). Seven grassland types were distinguished belonging to 3 classes and 4 alliances, namely the Nardetea strictae including the Violion caninae (mesic pastures at altitudes of 400–600 m mostly on moderate slopes) and the Nardo strictae-Agrostion tenuis (grasslands on moderate slopes at altitudes of 700–900 m usually managed by mowing and grazing the aftermath); the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, including the Arrhenatherion elatioris (submontane grasslands originated mostly on former fields after their abandonment in the past) and the Cynosurion cristati (intensive pastures); and the Festuco-Brometea including the Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati (abandoned grasslands dominated by Brachypodium pinnatum and Inula salicina). Detrended correspondence analysis indicated that the major compositional turnover was related to altitude and soil reaction. A canonical correspondence analysis confirmed that altitude had the strongest effect on species composition in the analysed dataset, followed by management treatments (former ploughing, grazing intensity). For vascular plant species richness, regression tree analysis identified grazing intensity as the most important predictor at the 1 m² scale. At the 16 m² scale, soil humus content was evaluated as the most important predictor of vascular plant species richness, followed by litter cover and grazing intensity. The number of bryophytes was not determined by the studied environmental factors at either of the two spatial scales. Although the number of analysed relevés in this study was limited, our results significantly contribute to the understanding of submontane grasslands in the Ukrainian Carpathians.