Refine
Document Type
- Article (2)
Language
- English (2)
Has Fulltext
- yes (2)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (2)
Keywords
- Calamagrostis epigeios (1)
- boundary (1)
- diversity (1)
- ecotone (1)
- generalists (1)
- grazing (1)
- monitoring (1)
- mowing (1)
- overgrowing (1)
- permanent plot (1)
The aim of this study is to assess the development of plant species diversity and species composition over a seven-year period in two calcareous grasslands abandoned for nearly 20 years and to find out which factors influence vegetation dynamics. In the Abava River valley, Latvia, different calcareous grasslands were studied, one on the south-west facing slope and another on the north-east facing slope. Vegetation analyses on permanent plots showed that dry calcareous grasslands can be resistant to deterioration for a long period of time – succession was slower than reported in many cases for Central and Western Europe. None of the studied communities showed a decrease neither in total species number recorded per community nor in average species richness per plot. Vascular plant species richness even increased by 3–4 species per 1-m2 plot in the grassland on the south-west facing slope. An unexpected result of the research was that Calamagrostis epigeios did not expand in this grassland. This fact can be explained by the influence of disturbances (drought, tree cutting) and local differences in soil parameters and topography. In parts of the north-east exposed grassland, with deeper soils and better water availability, species diversity (Shannon index) decreased significantly in areas overgrown by Aegopodium podagraria.
The complex topography of floodplains provides conditions for high diversity and density of transitional areas between different grassland plant communities. Nevertheless, transitions have been almost completely neglected in previous studies of diversity patterns in semi-natural floodplain grasslands. We analyzed α-, β- and γ-components of plant species diversity in transitional areas between neighbouring wet and dry grassland communities in two landscapes of the Gauja River floodplain (Latvia) differing in landscape heterogeneity created by land use history and current management type (grazing versus mowing). In total 9 transition areas and their adjacent vegetation were sampled in 1 m wide and 8 to 28 m long belt transects gridded into 0.5 m × 1 m plots. Cluster analysis was used to analyze varia-tion in species composition of transitional areas and adjacent vegetation. Indicator species analysis was used to determine species specific to transitional areas (ecotonal species). Transitional areas of the homogeneous site had a more distinct species composition (clear division in clusters by cluster analysis) and significantly lower β-diversity than those of the heterogeneous site. α-Diversity was significantly higher in transitions than in wet grasslands and lower than in dry grasslands in both sites. Comparing the two sites, α-diversity was significantly higher in wet grasslands of the heterogeneous site, but no differences were found between transitions and dry grasslands in the two sites. Higher β-diversity of transitional areas in the heterogeneous site could be attributed to a higher density of different habitats per unit area in combination with grazing. No species were restricted to transitions, and no differences were apparent in the number of generalist species (indifferent species sensu Ellenberg indicator values for edaphic factors) between transitions and adjacent grasslands. Nevertheless, the total number of generalist species was considerably higher in the investigated flood-plain grasslands than usually reported for respective vegetation types in Latvia. It was concluded that transitions of neighboring floodplain grassland plant communities were more important in shaping β-diversity compared to α- and γ-diversity. Our results suggest that destroying transitional areas between dry and wet grasslands by leveling the ground or by abandonment of the management practices will decrease habitat heterogeneity and lead to less pronounced ecotonal pro-cesses in the whole riverine landscape. Thus further studies about the role of fine-scale transitional areas for biodiversity of floodplains are important for ecological restoration of floodplain grasslands.