Monika Janišová

European grassland ecosystems: threatened hotspots of biodiversity

Biodiversity is not homogenously distributed over the globe, and ecosystems differ strongly in the number of species they provide. With this special issue we highlight the ecology and endangerment of one of the most diverse ecosystem of Europe: the European grassland ecosystems. The selected 16 contributions describe interactions from below-ground to the atmosphere and focus on (1) effects of abiotic and biotic on species diversity, (2) the impact of various factors along spatial and temporal gradients, (3) the relevance of falling abandoned and eutrophication—including countervailing management strategies like encroachment; and (4) intraspecific effects based on physiology, genetics and intraspecific plasticity. The contributions cover fungi, plants, and invertebrates and highlight effects taking place at the level of ecosystem, species community, species, populations, and also within individuals (physiology and genetics).

Semi-dry grasslands along a climatic gradient across Central Europe: Vegetation classification with validation

Abstract Question: What is the variation in species composition of Central European semi-dry grasslands? Can we apply a training-and-test validation approach for identifying phytosociological associations which are floristically well defined in a broad geographic comparison; can we separate them from earlier described associations with only a local validity? Location: A 1200 km long transect running along a gradient of increasing continentality from central Germany via Czech Republic, Slovakia, NE Austria, Hungary to NW Romania. Methods: Relevés with > 25% cover of Brachypodium pinnatum and/or Bromus erectus were geographically selected from a larger database. They were randomly split into two data sets, TRAINING and TEST, each with 422 relevés. Cluster analysis was performed for each data set on scores from significant principal coordinates. Different partitions of the TRAINING data set were validated on the TEST data set, using a new method based on the comparison of % frequencies of species occurrence in clusters. Clusters were characterized by statistically defined groups of diagnostic species and values of climatic variables. Results: Species composition changed along the NW-SE gradient and valid clusters were geographically well separated. Optimal partition level was at 11 clusters, six being valid: two clusters Germany and the Czech Republic corresponded to the Bromion erecti; two clusters from the Czech Republic and Hungary to the Cirsio-Brachypodion, and two clusters were transitional between these two alliances. Conclusion: The training-and-test validation method used in this paper proved to be efficient for discriminating between robust clusters, which are appropriate candidates for inclusion in the national or regional syntaxonomic overviews, and weak clusters, which are specific to the particular classification of the given data set. Nomenclature: Ehrendorfer (1973).

Scale- and taxon-dependent patterns of plant diversity in steppes of Khakassia, South Siberia (Russia)

The drivers of plant richness at fine spatial scales in steppe ecosystems are still not sufficiently understood. Our main research questions were: (i) How rich in plant species are the natural steppes of Southern Siberia compared to natural and semi-natural grasslands in other regions of the Palaearctic? (ii) What are the main environmental drivers of the diversity patterns in these steppes? (iii) What are the diversity–environment relationships and do they vary between spatial scales and among different taxonomic groups? We sampled the steppe vegetation (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) in Khakassia (Russia) with 39 nested-plot series (0.0001–100-m2 plot size) and 54 additional 10-m2 quadrats across the regional range of steppe types and measured various environmental variables. We measured β-diversity using z-values of power-law species–area relationships. GLM analyses were performed to assess the importance of environmental variables as predictors of species richness and z-value. Khakassian steppes showed both high α- and β-diversity. We found significant scale dependence for the z-values, which had their highest values at small spatial scales and then decreased exponentially. Total species richness was controlled predominantly by heat load index, mean annual precipitation, humus content and soil skeleton content. The positive role of soil pH was evident only for vascular plant species richness. Similar to other studies, we found that the importance of environmental factors strongly differed among taxonomic groups and across spatial scales, thus highlighting the need to study more than one taxon and more than one plot size to get a reliable picture.

Formalized classification of rocky Pannonian grasslands and dealpine Sesleria-dominated grasslands in Slovakia using a hierarchical expert system.

The main aim of this paper was to perform the syntaxonomical revision of rocky Pannonian grasslands (Bromo pannonici-Festucion pal lentis) and dealpine Sesleria-dominated grasslands (Diantho lumnitzeriSeslerion) in Slovakia and to provide a reasonable tool for their identifi cation at both, associations and alliance levels. Hierarchical expert system was formulated to achieve this aim. The syntaxonomical revision was performed based on recent and historical data available in the Slovak Phytosociological Database. The stratifi ed data set of 16 640 relevés belonging to all syntaxa stored in this database was used to generate sociological species groups by the COCKTAIL method. In total, 18 sociological species groups were used to formulate formal defi nitions of alliances and associations. The assignment of a relevé to an association was allowed on condition that this relevé fulfi lled the defi nition criteria of the given alliance. The formulation of defi nitions at two hierarchical levels enabled classifi cation of typically developed vegetation to strictly defi ned associations as well as assignment of less developed vegetation lacking suffi cient diagnostic species to broadly defi ned alliances. The hierarchical expert system was more effective than a simple expert system in sense of higher percentage of matched relevés. Its benefi ts and drawbacks were discussed in more details. Six associations of the Bromo pannonici-Festucion pal lentis and three associations of the Diantho lumnitzeri-Seslerion alliances were recognized after the syntaxonomical revision. Each association was characterized by its diagnostic, constant and dominant species, physiognomical, synchorological and synecological attributes. Along with climatic-topographical (temperature and moisture) and soil-geological factors (soil reaction, soil depth, available nutrients) our analyses confi rmed a strong effect of geographical location on differentiation of the studied vegetation.

Ecology and distribution of Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica in relation to environmental variation at a micro-scale

Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica is an endemic endangered taxon of European importance. Within the nine recently known populations it occurs in very specific site conditions of ecotone habitats. In our contribution, we try to quantify its realized niche with regard to the measured components of its biotic and abiotic environment. The main aim was to assess the importance of spatial environmental variation on taxon occurrence and performance and to relate the obtained ecological information to data on taxon abundance and demography. Possible reasons of taxon rarity are discussed, too. Comparison of plot pairs indicated that plots containing the taxon had deeper soil and higher soil Na and Mg contents than plots without it. They also contained higher number of species, especially forbs. Several soil parameters were positively correlated with taxon size and density while light parameters played minor role. Negative correlations between cover of vascular plants, especially grasses and taxon size and density suggest its reduced competitive ability. Vascular plant-based ecological indicator values were set for light (6), temperature (5), continentality (4), moisture (5), soil reaction (7) and nutrients (5). The studied sites differed in topography, soil characteristics (pH, soil Na, K, Ca, P and NH4) and cover of herb litter. Size of taxon populations was negatively related to their finite rate of increase which varied between 1.25 and 2.04 and was most sensitive to demographic parameters related to growth. We conclude, that the studied taxon is not strictly stenotopic as the ranges of several environmental variables were rather wide. We suppose, that the narrow limits of recent taxon occurrence are consequences of its low competitive ability and demographic processes related to germination and seedling establishment. The differing requirements of its ontogenetic stages (seedlings and generative individuals) may define the final limits of its small-scale distribution.

A higher‐level classification of the Pannonian and western Pontic steppe grasslands (Central and Eastern Europe)

Abstract Questions What are the main floristic patterns in the Pannonian and western Pontic steppe grasslands? What are the diagnostic species of the major subdivisions of the class Festuco‐Brometea (temperate Euro‐Siberian dry and semi‐dry grasslands)? Location Carpathian Basin (E Austria, SE Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, N Croatia and N Serbia), Ukraine, S Poland and the Bryansk region of W Russia. Methods We applied a geographically stratified resampling to a large set of relevés containing at least one indicator species of steppe grasslands. The resulting data set of 17 993 relevés was classified using the TWINSPAN algorithm. We identified groups of clusters that corresponded to the class Festuco‐Brometea. After excluding relevés not belonging to our target class, we applied a consensus of three fidelity measures, also taking into account external knowledge, to establish the diagnostic species of the orders of the class. The original TWINSPAN divisions were revised on the basis of these diagnostic species. Results The TWINSPAN classification revealed soil moisture as the most important environmental factor. Eight out of 16 TWINSPAN groups corresponded to Festuco‐Brometea. A total of 80, 32 and 58 species were accepted as diagnostic for the orders Brometalia erecti, Festucetalia valesiacae and Stipo‐Festucetalia pallentis, respectively. In the further subdivision of the orders, soil conditions, geographic distribution and altitude could be identified as factors driving the major floristic patterns. Conclusions We propose the following classification of the Festuco‐Brometea in our study area: (1) Brometalia erecti (semi‐dry grasslands) with Scabioso ochroleucae‐Poion angustifoliae (steppe meadows of the forest zone of E Europe) and Cirsio‐Brachypodion pinnati (meadow steppes on deep soils in the forest‐steppe zone of E Central and E Europe); (2) Festucetalia valesiacae (grass steppes) with Festucion valesiacae (grass steppes on less developed soils in the forest‐steppe zone of E Central and E Europe) and Stipion lessingianae (grass steppes in the steppe zone); (3) Stipo‐Festucetalia pallentis (rocky steppes) with Asplenio septentrionalis‐Festucion pallentis (rocky steppes on siliceous and intermediate soils), Bromo‐Festucion pallentis (thermophilous rocky steppes on calcareous soils), Diantho‐Seslerion (dealpine Sesleria caerulea grasslands of the Western Carpathians) and Seslerion rigidae (dealpine Sesleria rigida grasslands of the Romanian Carpathians).

Dry Grasslands in the Slovenský Kras MTS (Slovakia) and the Aggteleki-karszt MTS (Hungary) — A Comparison of Two Classification Approaches

Dry Grasslands in the Slovenský Kras MTS (Slovakia) and the Aggteleki-karszt MTS (Hungary) — A Comparison of Two Classification Approaches The paper brings numerical classification of 48 new phytosociological relevés of dry grassland vegetation from the Slovenský kras Mts and the Aggteleki-karszt Mts located on the border between Slovakia and Hungary (Central Europe). We performed a comparison of two classification approaches (an unsupervised method - modified TWINSPAN, and a supervised approach - electronic expert system based on formal definitions of associations), which were applied on the same dataset. Four associations were distinguished: Campanulo divergentiformis-Festucetum pallentis Zólyomi (1936) 1966, Poo badensis-Caricetum humilis (Dostál 1933) Soó ex Michálková in Janišová et al. 2007, Alysso heterophylli-Festucetum valesiacae (Dostál 1933) Kliment in Kliment et al. 2000 and Festuco rupicolae-Caricetum humilis Klika 1939. A newly recorded stand of the rare Stipetum tirsae Meusel 1938 association is characterised. What is more, we established a neotype of the Alysso heterophylli-Festucetum valesiacae association. V članku je predstavljena numerična klasifikacija 48 novih fitocenoloških popisov vegetacije suhih travnikov iz hribovja Slovenský kras in Aggteleki-karszt na meji med Slovaško in Madžarsko (srednja Evropa). Naredili smo primerjavo dveh klasifikacijskih metod (nenadzorovano metodo - modificirani TWINSPAN, in nadzorovano metodo - elektronski ekspertni sistem, ki temelji na formalnih definicijah asociacij), ki smo ju opravili na istem podatkovnem nizu. Ločili smo štiri asociacije: Campanulo divergentiformis-Festucetum pallentis Zólyomi (1936) 1966, Poo badensis-Caricetum humilis (Dostál 1933) Soó ex Michálková in Janišová et al. 2007, Alysso heterophylli-Festucetum valesiacae (Dostál 1933) Kliment in Kliment et al. 2000 in Festuco rupicolae-Caricetum humilis Klika 1939. Označili smo tudi novo nahajališče redke asociacije Stipetum tirsae Meusel 1938. Prav tako smo definirali neotip asociacije Alysso heterophylli-Festucetum valesiacae.

Dry grasslands of Central-Eastern and South-Eastern Europe shaped by environmental heterogeneity and human land use – Editorial to the 10th Dry Grassland Special Feature

Der diesjahrige 10. Trockenrasen-Sonderteil von Tuexenia beginnt mit einem Bericht uber die aktuellen Aktivitaten der European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG). Zunachst geben wir einen Uberblick uber die Entwicklung der Mitgliederzahl. Dann berichten wir vom letzten European Dry Grassland Meeting in Tula (Russland, 2014) und vom letzten European Dry Grassland Field Workshop in Navarra (Spanien, 2014) und informieren uber kunftige Veranstaltungen der EDGG. Anschliesend erlautern wir die Publikationsaktivitaten der EDGG. Im zweiten Teil des Editorials geben wir eine Einfuhrung zu den funf Artikeln des diesjahrigen Trockenrasen-Sonderteils. Zwei Artikel beschaftigen sich mit der Syntaxonomie von Trockenrasen in Ost- bzw. Sudosteuropa: der eine prasentiert erstmalig eine Gesamtklassifikation der Trockenrasengesellschaften Serbiens und des Kosovo wahrend der andere Originalaufnahmen sub-montaner Graslandgesellschaften aus den bislang kaum untersuchten ukrainischen Ostkarpaten analysiert. Zwei weitere Artikel behandeln Trockenrasen-Feuchtwiesen-Komplexe im ungarischen Tiefland: Der eine behandelt den Einfluss der Landnutzung auf die Phytodiversitat von Steppen und Feuchtwiesen, der andere den Einfluss von Niederschlagsschwankungen in einem Zeitraum von drei Jahren auf die Ausbildung salzbeeinflusster Steppen-Feuchtwiesen-Komplexe. Der funfte Artikel analysiert landnutzungsbedingte Veranderungen des Graslands des Tsentralen-Balkan-Nationalparks in Bulgarien uber einen Zeitraum von 65 Jahren

Phytosociological affiliation of Annex II species Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica in comparison with two related Tephroseris species with overlapping distribution

The phytosociological affiliation of Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica, species of European importance, was studied in relation to two closely related species of the genus Tephroseris which have overlapping distribution within the Western Carpathian Mts: T. intergrifolia and T. crispa. The main aim was to compare plant communities inhabited by the three taxa, to assess the major environmental gradients responsible for variation in their distribution and to estimate ecological indicator values for Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica. T. longifolia subsp. moravica was recorded in nine localities in the Slovakia and Czech Republic where it occurs in very specific site conditions of ecotone habitats. Its phytosociological affiliation is restricted to grasslands of the alliances Bromion erecti and Arrhenatherion elatioris and to the ecotone vegetation between these grasslands and beech forests. T. integrifolia occurs most frequently in the Diantho lumnitzeri-Seslerion, Bromion erecti and Quercion pubescenti-petraeae alliances. T. crispa occurs predominantly in communities of the Calthion palustris alliance and Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae, Mulgedio-Aconitetea and Montio-Cardaminetea classes. The major gradient responsible for variation in species composition of communities inhabited by the studied taxa was associated with moisture and nutrient content. The vascular plant-based ecological indicator values for Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica calculated from phytosociological relevés with its occurrence were set for light — 6, temperature — 5, continentality — 4, moisture — 5, soil reaction — 6 and nutrients — 5. We conclude that the studied taxon has intermediate relationship to the most of the studied factors in comparison with two related species, T. crispa and T. integrifolia.

Spatial genotypical diversity of Sesleria albicans (Poaceae) in a dry grassland community

Spatial genotypical diversity of Sesleria albicans Kit. ex Schultes was studied in a dry grassland community by isozyme analysis. The aim was to identify the genetical individuals within the studied population and to assess the species’ clonal growth parameters. Vegetative mobility and branching intensity were measured in field for the sake of the correct interpretation of the results. Five isozyme systems were analyzed and interpreted (MDH, MNR, 6-PGDH, SkDH, LAP). Altogether, 98 distinct isozyme profiles were identified within an area of 2 m2. Average genotype identity rapidly decreased with distance. Several very remote ramets (more than 1 m) belonging to the same genet were identified. The longest distance between ramets of the same genotype was 153 cm. With average annual rhizome increment of 13.59 mm assessed for the studied population the age of genet with the most remote ramets exceeded 56 years by a bi-directional growth and 112 years by a growth in single direction. Number of daughter tillers produced by a tiller per year was 0.67 (branching intensity, median) and the median of tiller life span was 2.5 years. The high genotypical diversity of S. albicans in the studied population could be a result of both, regular and continuous seed production with subsequent seedling recruitment and long life span of genets.