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This chapter deals with anticipated climatic changes and their impact on flora and vegetation in the following period (2025–2100) in the Republic of Macedonia. The general characteristics of the country, such as geology, relief, and... more
This chapter deals with anticipated climatic changes and their impact on flora and vegetation in the following period (2025–2100) in the Republic of Macedonia. The general characteristics of the country, such as geology, relief, and climate, are first presented. The flora of the country is then described and the beginnings of research into flora and vegetation are given. The vegetation of the country is elaborated according to climatic/vegetation regions, with special attention to vegetation of high altitudes. Information on botanically important plant areas (IPA) in the country is given. Climate change in the recent past and various models of anticipated climate change are presented and expected changes in flora and vegetation are presented and discussed.
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WOS: 000561017900001Aims: We present the first survey of plant communities of Istanbul, their classification and syntaxonomy with main environmental drivers that shape them. Study area: Anatolian (Asian) part of Istanbul, Turkey. Methods:... more
WOS: 000561017900001Aims: We present the first survey of plant communities of Istanbul, their classification and syntaxonomy with main environmental drivers that shape them. Study area: Anatolian (Asian) part of Istanbul, Turkey. Methods: We collected 442 vegetation releves according to Braun-Blanquet method. Cluster analysis and ordination of the dataset were performed to assess particular vegetation patterns. Diagnostic species of each cluster were determined using the fidelity measure (phi-coefficient). Site conditions were presented by ecological indicator values. Results: the analysed dataset shows clear division into six classes. They represent typical weed plant community (Digitario sanguinalis-Eragrostietea minoris), annual (Sisymbrietea, Chenopodietea) and perennial ruderal vegetation (Artemisietea vulgaris, Epilobietea angustifolii), and higher successional stadia (Charabdido-Asphodeletea). Conclusions: Our survey of urban vegetation of Istanbul is the first attempt of urban vegetation classification in Turkey. We showed high diversity of vegetation due to various human impacts and Istanbul's location on the crossroads of different phytogeographical regions.Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS)Slovenian Research Agency - Slovenia [P1-0236]The research was partly financed by Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS) through a research program (P1-0236)
Research Interests: Geography, Plant Biology, Phytosociology, Weeds, City, and 3 moreAsia, Vegetation Classification, and Ruderal
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Two subspecies of Cistus incanus L. occurring in the southern Balkans were studied: C. incanus L. ssp. incanus and C. incanus ssp. creticus (L.) Heywood. After studying the morphological differences, the communities dominated by these two... more
Two subspecies of Cistus incanus L. occurring in the southern Balkans were studied: C. incanus L. ssp. incanus and C. incanus ssp. creticus (L.) Heywood. After studying the morphological differences, the communities dominated by these two subspecies were sampled according to the central European method. The localities of the relevés show the distribution pattern of the two subspecies. The typical
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Wetland forests and scrub (WFS) are conditioned by the strong impact of water. They consist of various vegetation types, depending on many factors such as type and duration of flooding, water table level and its fluctuation, river current... more
Wetland forests and scrub (WFS) are conditioned by the strong impact of water. They consist of various vegetation types, depending on many factors such as type and duration of flooding, water table level and its fluctuation, river current strength, substrate ability to retain water, etc. WFS vegetation has been insufficiently studied in the Balkan Peninsula, especially in Bosnia and Herzegovina. By means of numerical classification, we aimed to classify Western Balkans WFS at the alliance level, and to identify the main underlying ecological gradients driving the variation in species composition. The dataset containing all published and available unpublished relevés from Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina was first classified using the EuroVegChecklist Expert System in Juice software in order to assign the corresponding class to each of the relevés. Relevés were subsequently analyzed within each of the four WFS classes (Alno glutinosae-Populetea albae, Salicetea purpureae,...
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AimsEllenberg‐type indicator values are expert‐based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients. Here we extend the indicator‐value system proposed by Heinz Ellenberg and co‐authors for... more
AimsEllenberg‐type indicator values are expert‐based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients. Here we extend the indicator‐value system proposed by Heinz Ellenberg and co‐authors for Central Europe by incorporating other systems of Ellenberg‐type indicator values (i.e., those using scales compatible with Ellenberg values) developed for other European regions. Our aim is to create a harmonized data set of Ellenberg‐type indicator values applicable at the European scale.MethodsWe collected European data sets of indicator values for vascular plants and selected 13 data sets that used the nine‐, ten‐ or twelve‐degree scales defined by Ellenberg for light, temperature, moisture, reaction, nutrients and salinity. We compared these values with the original Ellenberg values and used those that showed consistent trends in regression slope and coefficient of determination. We calculated the average value for each combination of species an...
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AimThe number of naturalized (i.e. established) alien species has increased rapidly over recent centuries. Given the differences in environmental tolerances among species, little is known about what factors determine the extent to which... more
AimThe number of naturalized (i.e. established) alien species has increased rapidly over recent centuries. Given the differences in environmental tolerances among species, little is known about what factors determine the extent to which the observed size of the naturalized range of a species and hence the extent to which the observed richness of naturalized species of a region approach their full potential. Here, we asked which region‐ and species‐specific characteristics explain differences between observed and expected naturalizations.LocationGlobal.Time periodPresent.Major taxa studiedVascular plants.MethodsWe determined the observed naturalized distribution outside Europe for 1,485 species endemic to Europe using the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database and their expected distributions outside Europe using species distribution models. First, we investigated which of seven socio‐economic factors related to introduction pathways, anthropogenic pressures and inventory e...
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Riparian zones are the paragon of transitional ecosystems, providing critical habitat and ecosystem services that are especially threatened by global change. Following consultation with experts, 10 key challenges were identified to be... more
Riparian zones are the paragon of transitional ecosystems, providing critical habitat and ecosystem services that are especially threatened by global change. Following consultation with experts, 10 key challenges were identified to be addressed for riparian vegetation science and management improvement: (1) Create a distinct scientific community by establishing stronger bridges between disciplines; (2) Make riparian vegetation more visible and appreciated in society and policies; (3) Improve knowledge regarding biodiversity—ecosystem functioning links; (4) Manage spatial scale and context‐based issues; (5) Improve knowledge on social dimensions of riparian vegetation; (6) Anticipate responses to emergent issues and future trajectories; (7) Enhance tools to quantify and prioritize ecosystem services; (8) Improve numerical modeling and simulation tools; (9) Calibrate methods and increase data availability for better indicators and monitoring practices and transferability; and (10) Und...
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This study presents the results of an in-depth study on landscape changes over the last two centuries in the region of Bela krajina, south-eastern Slovenia. Since this region is situated along the Slovenian–Croatian border, immigration... more
This study presents the results of an in-depth study on landscape changes over the last two centuries in the region of Bela krajina, south-eastern Slovenia. Since this region is situated along the Slovenian–Croatian border, immigration and emigration are permanent fixtures in the region. Due to historical reasons, population structure and land use changes occurred. With regard to these processes, two case studies were selected: settlements of Adlešiči and Bojanci. Adlešiči is a village mainly inhabited by farmers of catholic religion. Bojanci was colonized by Orthodox Uskoki, i.e. refugees from Ottoman Empire who become Habsburg soldiers who lived a military life and had different attitude towards land cultivation. Landscapes in these two settlements have its own distinctive patterns contrasting to each other in the land use, showing historically distinctive cultural landscapes. The study aimed to interpret the development of cultural landscapes in these settlements by analysing the...
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This is a database of the occurrence of 1105 phytosociological alliances in 82 European territorial units and distribution maps generated from this database. The data correspond to those published by Preislerová et al. (2022). This... more
This is a database of the occurrence of 1105 phytosociological alliances in 82 European territorial units and distribution maps generated from this database. The data correspond to those published by Preislerová et al. (2022). This article also contains a description of the methods.
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This dataset contains the list of plant occurrences and geographical and environmental attributes of the vegetation-plots analyzed in the paper titled "Phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation" by Padullés Cubino et... more
This dataset contains the list of plant occurrences and geographical and environmental attributes of the vegetation-plots analyzed in the paper titled "Phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation" by Padullés Cubino et al. (2021; Journal of Biogeography; DOI: 10.1111/jbi.14046). The dataset contains 3 tables: "Table_taxa.csv": It includes the list of angiosperm plant taxa in selected vegetation plots. "Table_sites.csv": It includes data on the environmental variables of plots, their classification into different forest types, their location in 1<sup>o</sup> × 1<sup>o</sup> grid cells, and the reference to the original datasets archived in the European Vegetation Archive (EVA; http://euroveg.org/eva-database-participating-databases). "Metadata.csv": It includes a description of the fields found in the two previous tables.
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The study deals with the distribution and classification of the association Erysimo-Trifolietum Micevski 1977 (alliance Trifolion cherleri Micevski 1971, order Astragalo-Potentilletalia Micevski 1971, class Festuco-Brometea Br. Bl. et Tx.... more
The study deals with the distribution and classification of the association Erysimo-Trifolietum Micevski 1977 (alliance Trifolion cherleri Micevski 1971, order Astragalo-Potentilletalia Micevski 1971, class Festuco-Brometea Br. Bl. et Tx. 1943). The association develops on siliceous bedrock of the northern and northeastern parts of the Republic of Macedonia. After the research of dry grasslands in the region of Kratovo, enough information was available to prepare a synthetic overview of the association Erysimo-Trifolietum. Within the frame of this association, two new subassoaciations are described – subass. scleranthetosum subass. nova and subass. brachypodietosum subass. nova. Analysis of geoelements showed that sub-Mediterranean species are the most numerous and analysis of life forms provided evidence of their therophyto-hemicryptophytic physiognomy. The paper also presents the localities of occurrence, their floristic composition, synecological characteristics, life forms incid...
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The standard Braun-Blanquet method was used for sampling litter-raking vegetation in southeastern Slovenia (Suha krajina, Bela krajina, Kocevsko) and in the border region in Croatia. Releves were classified with the TWINSPAN program and... more
The standard Braun-Blanquet method was used for sampling litter-raking vegetation in southeastern Slovenia (Suha krajina, Bela krajina, Kocevsko) and in the border region in Croatia. Releves were classified with the TWINSPAN program and two associations were separated: Pteridio-Betuletum Trinajstic et Sugar ex Raus et Matic 1994 and Molinio-Quercetum Sugar 1972. Both communities are the result of intensive litter collecting (and other human impacts). The first one thrives on carbonate bedrock, while the second is limited on silicate bedrock, as is reflected in its specific floristic composition. Due to abandonment of litter collecting these stands are in progressive successional development, and typical variants are becoming rare and endangered.
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In the course of the compilation of a list of high-rank syntaxa of Europe, it appeared that some of syntaxa from south Europe were not validly described. In this paper, the following syntaxa have been either described or validated, such... more
In the course of the compilation of a list of high-rank syntaxa of Europe, it appeared that some of syntaxa from south Europe were not validly described. In this paper, the following syntaxa have been either described or validated, such as the Potentillo montenegrinae-Festucion paniculatae (Festucetalia spadiceae, Juncetea trifidi), the Aquilegio nigricantis-Rhododendrion hirsuti (Rhododendro hirsuti-Ericetalia carneae, Rhododendro hirsuti-Ericetea carneae), the Hyperico grisebachii-Pinion mugo (Junipero-Pinetalia mugo, Roso pendulinae-Pinetea mugo), the Lathyro veneti-Taxion baccatae, Quercion petraeo-cerridis (both Quercetalia pubescentis, Quercetea pubescentis) and the Buxo-Syringion vulgaris (Paliuretalia, Rhamno-Prunetea).
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The work deals with the floodplain forests of the Igneada region (NW Trace, Turkey). 69 releves were sampled from wet to mesic sites according to the Braun-Blanquet approach and analyzed using different multivariate methods. The dataset... more
The work deals with the floodplain forests of the Igneada region (NW Trace, Turkey). 69 releves were sampled from wet to mesic sites according to the Braun-Blanquet approach and analyzed using different multivariate methods. The dataset was divided into five groups (associations), which demonstrate the diversity of forests in the region. In the wettest sites, forests dominated by Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus angustifolia appear; on wet and nutrient rich sites along rivers there are forests dominated by Ulmus laevis and Fraxinus angustifolia; on wet and less nutrient rich sites Ulmus minor and Fraxinus angustifolia appear; on humid sites Fraxinus angustifolia and Carpinus betulus forests thrive and on mesic sites Carpinus betulus forests appear. The ecological conditions are estimated by bioindicator values and the gradient from wet and nutrient rich forests to mesic and nutrient poor forests is presented by numerical analysis. The species richness and geo-elemental structure for eac...
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Juniperus excelsa is an East Mediterranean species found also in marginal, sub-mediterranean regions of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It prefers shallow soils in the warmest habitats of the zone of thermophilous deciduous... more
Juniperus excelsa is an East Mediterranean species found also in marginal, sub-mediterranean regions of the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula. It prefers shallow soils in the warmest habitats of the zone of thermophilous deciduous forests. In the past the rank of alliance and the name of Juniperion excelsae-foetidissimae have been suggested for the vegetation dominated by Juniperus excelsa in the Balkan Peninsula. In this paper we present the valid description of the alliance in accordance with the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature. The validation of the Juniperion excelsae-foetidissimae required description of a new association – the Querco trojanae-Juniperetum excelsae. The Juniperion excelsae-foetidissimae is classified within the order of Quercetalia pubescentis Klika 1933 (the Quercetea pubescentis Doing-Kraft ex Scamoni et Passarge 1959).
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Aims(a) To determine the contribution of current macro‐environmental factors in explaining the phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation, (b) to map and describe spatial patterns in their phylogenetic structure and (c) to... more
Aims(a) To determine the contribution of current macro‐environmental factors in explaining the phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation, (b) to map and describe spatial patterns in their phylogenetic structure and (c) to examine which lineages are the most important contributors to phylogenetic clustering and whether their contribution varies across forest types and regions.LocationEurope.TaxonAngiosperms.MethodsWe analysed the phylogenetic structure of 61,816 georeferenced forest vegetation plots across Europe considering alternative metrics either sensitive to basal (ancient evolutionary dynamics) or terminal (recent dynamics) branching in the phylogeny. We used boosted regression trees to model metrics of the phylogenetic structure as a function of current macro‐environmental factors. We also identified clades encompassing significantly more taxa than under random expectation in phylogenetically clustered plots.ResultsPhylogenetic clustering was driven by climatic str...
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European tradition on vegetation classification provides an extraordinary legacy for understanding biodiversity. However, this classification lacks explicit data on vegetation attributes, especially if we extend national or regional... more
European tradition on vegetation classification provides an extraordinary legacy for understanding biodiversity. However, this classification lacks explicit data on vegetation attributes, especially if we extend national or regional concepts to a continental perspective. An additional effort for evaluating and characterizing European vegetation types is therefore needed, and the data contained in vegeta\uad tion databases are probably the main tool for these purposes. The Braun\uadBlanquet project is an initiative of the European Vegetation Survey for characterizing veg\uad etation alliances across Europe. By analyzing more than 500,000 vegetation plots from 22 European countries, we developed a framework consisting of: (1) evaluat\uad ing the consistency and robustness of alliances using the information provided by vegetation plot databases, (2) calibrating assignment rules for classifying, at least partially, the plots not assigned to alliances and (3) characterizing vegeta\uad tion types by providing lists of diagnostic species and major distributional pat\uad terns. The Braun\uadBlanquet project represents the first attempt for extrapolating European vegetation information into a comprehensive definition of vegetation types. Furthermore, the outputs of the project are expected to improve biodiver\uadsity assessment and the conservation management of natural habitats. As a study case, we illustrate how our framework can be used to characterize different forest types across Europe
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<strong>EUNIS-ESy</strong> is an expert system for automatic classification of European vegetation plots to habitat types of the EUNIS Habitat Classification. The EUNIS classification and the principles of the expert system... more
<strong>EUNIS-ESy</strong> is an expert system for automatic classification of European vegetation plots to habitat types of the EUNIS Habitat Classification. The EUNIS classification and the principles of the expert system are described by Chytrý et al. (2020). The classification of a set of vegetation plots can be run in the JUICE program (Tichý 2002; https://www.sci.muni.cz/botany/juice/), TURBOVEG 3 program (Hennekens 2015) and an R script developed by H. Bruelheide et al. (submitted). This dataset contains two parts: (1) the expert system and related files necessary for running it; (2) characterization of EUNIS habitats based on the results of the expert system classification. <strong>1. Expert system and related files necessary to run it</strong> 1.1. <strong>EUNIS-ESy-2020-06-08.txt </strong>is a file containing the script for classification of vegetation plots by EUNIS-ESy. This version contains tested definitions for the revised classification Coastal, Wetland, Grassland, Shrubland, Forest and Man-made habitats, and preliminary non-tested definitions of the older classification of Marine, Aquatic and Inland sparsely vegetated habitats. 1.2. <strong>Nomenclature-translation-from-Turboveg-2-databases.zip </strong>is an archive containing the scripts for automatic translation of taxon concepts and names used in individual European Turboveg 2 databases (Hennekens &amp; Schaminée 2001; https://www.synbiosys.alterra.nl/turboveg/) to the nomenclature that can be used as an input for EUNIS-ESy. 1.3. <strong>EUNIS-ESy-User-Guide.pdf </strong>contains a brief user guide to the classification of vegetation plots by EUNIS-ESy using the JUICE program. Please read this guide carefully before running the expert system to avoid misclassifications. <strong>2. Characterization of the EUNIS habitats based on the results of the EUNIS-ESy classification</strong> 2.1. <strong>Habitat-Factsheets.pdf </strong>contains a summary of data on EUNIS Coastal, Wetland, Grassland, Shrubland, Forest and Man-made habitats. These data wer [...]
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Research Interests: TURKISH and Pinus Brutia
V prispevku se ukvarjamo z vrsto Robinia pseudacacia L., ki se je v Evropi pojavila na začetku 17. stoletja in jo sedaj tudi v Sloveniji štejemo med invazivne vrste. Raziskava je potekala na območju severovzhodne Slovenije, v Prekmurju.... more
V prispevku se ukvarjamo z vrsto Robinia pseudacacia L., ki se je v Evropi pojavila na začetku 17. stoletja in jo sedaj tudi v Sloveniji štejemo med invazivne vrste. Raziskava je potekala na območju severovzhodne Slovenije, v Prekmurju. Njen namen je bil poiskati razloge za trenutni vzorec razširjenosti vrste R. pseudacacia na tem področju. Najprej smo v letu 2009 na terenu skartirali vzorčno območje 4 x 3 km v merilu 1:5.000, kjer se vrsta pojavlja na Ravenskem (nižinski predel Prekmurja). Nato smo analizirali različne dejavnike, ki bi lahko vplivali na razširjenost vrste v regiji: oddaljenost od cestnega omrežja in vodnih teles, nadmorsko višino, rabo zemljišč, vrsto in kakovost zemljišč. Izvedli smo prostorsko vzorčenje na naključno izbranih 1800 točkah na tem območju. Na teh točkah smo ugotovili podatke o prisotnosti R. pseudacacia in izračunali potencialne dejavnike, ki bi lahko vplivali na njeno prisotnost. Statistične odnose smo nato določili s splošnim linearnim modelom (GLM...
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No abstract availabl
Research Interests: Plant Biology and Biology
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We studied species turnover and changes of ecological conditions and plant strategies on forest gaps created by natural disturbances (sleet, windthrow). We studied five forest gaps and a control plot within in the Dinaric silver fir-beech... more
We studied species turnover and changes of ecological conditions and plant strategies on forest gaps created by natural disturbances (sleet, windthrow). We studied five forest gaps and a control plot within in the Dinaric silver fir-beech forest in the southern part of Slovenia. Forest gaps varied in age and size. The total number of recorded species in gaps was 184, with the highest number (106) at the largest forest gap and with the 58 species at the control locality in a juvenile beech forest. Forest gaps were predominantly colonised mostly by species of understory, forest margins, and forest clearings. The species presented in all forest gaps are representatives of the understory of beech forests. Species colonising forest gaps prefer habitats with more sunlight, medium wet to dry soil, and are tolerant to high daily and seasonal temperature fluctuations. In gaps, the community of plant species has a competitive strategy, which is also complemented with a stress-tolerator strate...
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Thermophilous deciduous forests of Quercetalia pubescentis are widespread in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), where they occupy about 11% of the national territory and account for about 20% of the total forest area. This paper provides their... more
Thermophilous deciduous forests of Quercetalia pubescentis are widespread in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), where they occupy about 11% of the national territory and account for about 20% of the total forest area. This paper provides their formalized classification and nomenclatural revision, based on 274 relevés from the literature and 399 relevés collected during intensive field research. The Cocktail method was used for supervised classification, which resulted in 17 associa-tions recognized for B&H. Additionally, one new association emerged after semi-supervised classification of relevés not classified by Cocktail. The following associations were recognized, and characterized by species composition, ecology and distribution: 1. Querco pubescenti-Carpinetum oriental-is; 2. Rusco aculeati-Carpinetum orientalis; 3. Carici hallerianae-Quercetum pubescentis; 4. Cruciato glabrae-Carpinetum orientalis; 5. Seslerio autumnalis-Quercetum pubescentis; 6. Aristolochio luteae-Quercetum pubesc...
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In this Report, three previously published nomenclatural proposals are discussed, and recommendations on acceptance or rejection of these proposals are provided. The proposals concern the following syntaxa: Berberidion Braun-Blanquet... more
In this Report, three previously published nomenclatural proposals are discussed, and recommendations on acceptance or rejection of these proposals are provided. The proposals concern the following syntaxa: Berberidion Braun-Blanquet 1950, Aceretalia pseudoplataniMoor 1976 and Festucetalia valesiacae Braun-Blanquet et Tüxen ex Braun-Blanquet 1950. Abbreviations: CCCN = Committee for the Change and Conservation of Names; GPN = Working Group for Phytosociological Nomenclature; ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature.
As the phytosociological works in Turkey are examined, it can be seen that they were mainly focused on the classification of plant communities, but the number of the studies on ecologic, biologic and structural properties of the plant... more
As the phytosociological works in Turkey are examined, it can be seen that they were mainly focused on the classification of plant communities, but the number of the studies on ecologic, biologic and structural properties of the plant communities are not many. In this sense, numeric techniques (ordination and classification) and computer programs including these techniques are important assistant tools. The classification of plant communities and determination of their ecologic, biologic and structural properties is much easier today thanks to these techniques and computer programs. In this work, some knowledge were presented about ordination and classification techniques, which are widely used in vegetation science in the world and especially in Europe. TURBOVEG data base management program and JUICE program, which is used to classify and arrange the vegetation data were also presented. Keywords: Phytosociology, Juice, Ordination, Classification, Turboveg.
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In the course of the compilation of a checklist of the high-rank syntaxa of Europe, it turned out that for several syntaxa no valid and legitimate names were available. With this contribution, we aim to solve some of the problems by... more
In the course of the compilation of a checklist of the high-rank syntaxa of Europe, it turned out that for several syntaxa no valid and legitimate names were available. With this contribution, we aim to solve some of the problems by publishing or validating seven syntaxon names (1 order, 5 alliances, 1 association) and by proposing a nomen novum for one illegitimate alliance name. The validations concern the Artemisio albi -Brometalia erecti ( Festuco-Brometea ; xerophytic basiphilous grasslands in subatlantic-submediterranean Europe), Dictamno albi-Ferulagion galbaniferae ( Antherico ramosi-Geranietalia sanguinei, Trifolio-Geranietea sanguinei ; xerophytic basiphilous forest-edge communities of the Balkans and the SE Alps), Euphorbio taurinensis-Geranion lucidi ( Geranio - Cardaminetalia hirsutae, Stellarietea mediae; short-lived nitrophilous forest edge communities of Macedonia), and Gentianello amarellae-Helictotrichion pratensis ( Brometalia erecti, Festuco-Brometea ; meso-xerop...
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The first ever European Red List of Habitats reviews the current status of all natural and semi-natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats and highlights the pressures they face. Using a modified version of the IUCN Red List of... more
The first ever European Red List of Habitats reviews the current status of all natural and semi-natural terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats and highlights the pressures they face. Using a modified version of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems categories and criteria, it covers the EU28, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the Balkan countries and their neighbouring seas. Over 230 terrestrial and freshwater habitats were assessed. The European Red List of Habitats provides an entirely new and all embracing tool to review commitments for environmental protection and restoration within the EU2020 Biodiversity Strategy. In addition to the assessment of threat, a unique set of information underlies the Red List for every habitat: from a full description to distribution maps, images, links to other classification systems, details of occurrence and trends in each country and lists of threats with information on restoration potential. All of this is publicly available in PDF and data...
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We report an exceptionally fast grassland recovery process from a karst plateau in SW Slovenia. Vegetation of old fields with different ages was sampled using a chronosequence of fields abandoned 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15 and 100 years ago. We... more
We report an exceptionally fast grassland recovery process from a karst plateau in SW Slovenia. Vegetation of old fields with different ages was sampled using a chronosequence of fields abandoned 1, 3, 6, 9, 13, 15 and 100 years ago. We prepared dendrogram dividing the data set into 9 clusters that were further analyzed: diagnostic species, ecological conditions and life forms were evaluated. The initial stage of succession was characterized by segetal weeds and indicated high levels of soil nutrients. The second stage was dominated by dense patches of perennial forbs (most of them ruderal species) preferring also high levels of soil nutrients. The third stage was dominated by caespitose hemicryptophyte grasses, many of them of sub-Mediterranean origin. The first two stages took 13 years and both could be considered as early successional stages developing on nutrient rich soils. These stages were switched to late successional stage characterized by seminatural grassland species. The...