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Localities And Sites Of Pulsatilla Vernalis In The Julian Alps
Abstract and Figures
Localities and Sites of Pulsatilla Vernalis in the Julian Alps
Applying the standard Central-European method we phytosociologically studied the sites of Pulsatilla vernalis , a rare and protected species of Slovenian flora, in the frost hollows on mountain pastures Ovčarija and Za Grivo in the Fužina pasturelands (the Triglav mountains, the Julian Alps). We established that it grows in a unique community of swards and heaths which usually extends over small surfaces (4-10 m ² ) and is dominated by herbaceous perennial species (hemicryptophytes) and dwarf shrubs (chamaephytes) with mostly arcticalpine and south-European montane distribution. This community is explicitly (floristically and ecologically) different from the communities of swards and heaths described in the Julian Alps so far, so we classified it into a new association Pulsatillo vernalis-Dryadetum octopetalae ass. nova (order Rhododendro hirsuti-Ericetalia carneae ) and subdivided it into two, floristically and ecologically clearly distinguished subassociations - ericetosum carneae subass. nova and - vaccinietosum subass. nova.
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... In very similar site conditions, in frost hollows on pastures Ovčarija and Za Grivo in the Fužina pasturelands (the eastern Julian Alps), on similar geological bedrock (Triassic limestone), Pulsatilla vernalis (also a character species of the class Juncetea trifidi) grows. These are its only localities known to date in the Julian Alps (Dakskobler et al. 2008). ...
... Similar is true for Pulsatilla vernalis, which used to be completely unknown in these mountains, above all because of its extremely early flowering. It grows on very similar sites to those of Scorzoneroides crocea, on locally slightly acid soils in the frost hollows of the Fužina pasturelands (Dakskobler et al. 2008). The detection of two new species characteristic for acidophilous subalpine-alpine grasslands in the predominantly calcareous Julian Alps in recent years is an incentive for their further, more detailed floristic mapping, especially on specific sites such as frost hollows. ...
A new locality of the East Alpine-Carpathian species Scorzoneroides crocea (= Leontodon croceus), the first in the Southeastern Alps as well as in Slovenia, is described. It was found on mountain pasture Klek (Pokljuka, the Julian Alps), on very small surfaces in the stands of the association Homogyno alpinae-Nardetum strictae. In our opinion, this character species of subalpine-alpine acidophilous grasslands grows in the limestone Julian Alps because of the specific site conditions (cold microclimate, leached brown soils) in the depressions of Alpine plateaus.
... air temperature is lower, while relative air humidity and soil moisture are higher in bottoms and on north-facing slopes than on the plateau) in dolines (Bárány-Kevei 1999;Whiteman et al. 2004;Bátori et al. 2022a) have the capacity to maintain the populations of plant species vulnerable to climate change, such as climate relicts (i.e. species from colder periods), montane, wet woodland, and marshland species (Egli 1991;Yannitsaros et al. 1996;Dakskobler et al., 2008;Bátori et al. 2012). For instance, dolines in northern Hungary provide suitable microhabitats for the northern dragonhead (Dracocephalum ruyschiana L.), stone bramble (Rubus saxatilis L.), and alpine currant (Ribes alpinum L.) (Lazarević et al. 2009;Király 2009), while dolines in southern Hungary maintain the populations of the hard shield-fern (Polystichum aculeatum (L.) Roth ex Mert.), scaly male fern (Dryopteris affinis (Lowe) Fraser-Jenk.), ...
Context
Dolines are the most prominent geomorphological features in many karst landscapes that may provide important microhabitats for many species.
Aims
We aim to contribute to a better understanding of how forest age and topographic position influence the plant species richness and composition of vascular plants within doline habitats.
Methods
We studied the effects of forest age (four age classes: from 5- to 10-year-old stands to more than 90-year-old stands), topographic position (south-facing slope, bottom, and north-facing slope), and their interaction on the distribution of vascular plants and mean Ellenberg indicator values in dolines using detrended correspondence analysis and mixed-effects models. Diagnostic species for the forest age classes and topographic positions were also determined.
Results
Different groups of vascular plant species usually showed significant preferences for certain topographic positions and/or forest age classes in dolines. In general, the number of species in all studied groups of plants increased after a few years of canopy removal. The number of plant species in almost all groups was lowest in dolines covered with 40–45-year-old forests. The moist and nutrient-rich doline bottoms covered with 90–120-year-old forests harboured many climate change vulnerable plant species.
Conclusions
Forest age and topographic position considerably influence the species richness and composition of vascular plants in dolines; therefore, forest managers and conservationists need to consider their potential impacts when evaluating the effects of climate warming on karst landscapes.
... Group 3 comprises mainly SFF found in frost hollows on carbonate bedrock. Frost hollows are a phenomenon that appears in the karst landscapes of Southern Slovenia and Croatia (DAKSKOBLER et al. 2008). In this limestone region the acidophytic species Calamagrostis arundinacea is diagnostic of frost hollows (ZUPANČIČ 1980). ...
The article deals with Norway spruce (Picea abies), silver fir (Abies alba) and larch (Larix decidua) forests of the orders Piceetalia and Athyrio-Piceetalia (Vaccinio-Piceetea) in Slovenia. A total of 934 relevés of spruce, larch and fir forests within the Piceetalia and Athyrio-Piceetalia were collected from the literature. After resampling, 319 relevés remained, originating from 28 associations. Classification revealed two major groups of spruce, larch and fir forests, one thriving on non-carbonate bedrock and the other on carbonate. We further divided forests on non-carbonate substrate into two major groups-one thriving at high altitudes and the other in lowlands, both assigned to Piceion abietis. The second major group contains mesophilous, species-rich communities found mostly on carbonate bedrock. This major group can be further divided into four groups. The group of secondary forest on sites of beech forests, as well as the group of forest found in frost hollows can be assigned to Abieti-Piceion. The group of herb-rich, mesophilous communities forming zonal spruce and larch forests can be assigned to Chrysanthemo-Piceion and the group of forests on boulder scree to Calamagrostio-Abietion. Analysis of structural, functional, phytogeographical and geomorphological features, as well as ecological condi-tions estimated by bioindicator values, demonstrated the usefulness of this classification.
... Karst landforms like caves, wells and sinkholes (also known as dolines) determine the geomorphologic, microclimatic, and vegetation features of karst surfaces and influence the karst aquifer system. Moreover, caves and wells are hotspots of subterranean biodiversity (Culver and Sket, 2000;Elliott, 2007); sinkholes preserve relicts (Horvat, 1953;Lazarević et al., 2009), high mountain, mountain, (Beck v. Mannagetta, 1906;Horvat, 1953;Pericin and Hü rlimann, 2001;Dakskobler et al., 2008) and endemic (Egli et al., 1990;Brullo and Giusso del Galdo, 2001;Ö zkan et al., 2010) species, and, in many cases, they are an important source of knowledge about vegetation history. For example, Dracocephalum ruyschiana, a glacial relict in the sinkhole flora of northern Hungary, indicates a former periglacial climate (Kirá ly, 2009), but some high mountain elements (e.g. ...
Species composition and the vegetation pattern of the understory were investigated in different sized solution sinkholes in a woodland area of the Mecsek Mountains (southern Hungary). Vegetation data together with topographic variables were collected along transects to reveal the vegetation patterns on the slopes, and a species list was compiled for each sinkhole. The results indicate that the vegetation pattern significantly correlates with sinkhole size. In smaller sinkholes, vegetation does not change substantially along the transects; in larger sinkholes, however, vegetation inversion is pronounced. We also found that sinkhole size clearly influences the number of vascular plant species, in accordance with the well-known relationship between species number and area. In the forest landscape, many medium-sized and large sinkholes have developed into excellent refuge areas for glacial relicts, mountain, and wet-woodland plant species.
... For example, the slope of species-area curve is relatively low in the case of widespread species, which occur all over on the karst surfaces, and tends to be steeper if cool-adapted species are considered only. The literature contains many excellent examples where dolines are mentioned as key habitats for rare and endangered plant species (e.g., endemic, mountain, high mountain, marsh, relict and wet-woodland species) (Egli 1991;Vojtkó 1994;Yannitsaros et al. 1996;Dakskobler et al. 2008;Bátori et al. 2009;Lazarević et al. 2009). The most important species belong to the group of climatic relicts (e.g., Dracocephalum ruyschiana or Stachys alpina in Hungary) (Bartha 1933;Bátori et al. 2012), whose populations persist in isolated or semiisolated enclaves of suitable climate space surrounded by areas where the climate is not suitable for them (Hampe & Jump 2011). ...
The present study compares the vegetation characteristics of two large forested and one large non-forested solution dolines in Hungary. We investigated the species composition and vegetation pattern along north to south transects (across the doline bottoms) and compared the richness of different species groups (dry and wet groups) on the doline slopes. We applied linear regression models for each slope to explore the effects of topography on species richness, and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) to detect the major gradients of floristic variation within each site. We found that the vegetation changed significantly along all transects; and, regardless of the vegetation cover, the doline bottoms contained several cool-adapted species. Variations within the two species groups were more pronounced on the south-facing slopes. The changes were similar in the forested dolines, indicating the role of forest cover in maintaining many cool-adapted species on the north-facing slopes as well. However, the number of cool-adapted species increased significantly along both slopes of the non-forested doline from the upper edge to the bottom. Contrary to our expectations, the species turnover along the slopes of the non-forested doline was lower than that along the slopes of the forested ones. We conclude that both the forested and non-forested dolines serve as refuges for many plant species adapted to different environmental conditions. Apart from providing an understanding of population patterns along environmental gradients, our results may also contribute to our understanding of an even more fundamental question for a future research agenda: the probable effects of climate change on vegetation characteristics in climatic islands with environmental conditions substantially different from the surrounding areas.
... Species data were collected from early March to late October for the total area of dolines. The total area included the area of the slopes (where the slope angle was over 10°) and the area of the rims, an approximately 1 to 5 m wide strip around Hungary) are especially good examples (Bartha, 1933;Egli et al., 1990;Wraber, 1995;Yannitsaros et al., 1996;Dakskobler et al., 2008;Bátori et al., 2009;Lazarević et al., 2009). Since dolines harbour many vascular plant species that are missing or are very rare in the surrounding habitats, they can be considered habitat islands (Bátori et al., 2012). ...
Limestone (karst) surfaces in Hungary are rich in dolines, in which many endangered vascular plant species occur. To date, the majority of studies dealing with doline vegetation have focused on the local rather than the landscape level, without using comparative data from other areas. However, in this study we aimed to compare the vegetation pattern and species composition of dolines under different climate regimes of Hungary with regard to regional species pools. The fieldwork was carried out between 2005 and 2012. Twenty dolines were selected in the Mecsek Mountains (southern Hungary) and nine dolines in the Aggtelek Karst area (northern Hungary). More than 900 vascular plants and more than 2000 plots were included in the study. The moving split window (MSW) technique, nestedness analysis and principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) were used to reveal the vegetation patterns in dolines. Although we found remarkable differences between the species composition of the two regions, dolines of both regions play a similar role in the preservation of different groups of species. Many plants, in particular mountain species, are restricted to the bottom of dolines where appropriate environmental conditions exist. In addition, depending on the doline geometry, many species of drier and warmer forests have colonized the upper slopes and rims. Thus, we can conclude that karst dolines of Hungary can be considered as reservoirs for many vascular plant species, therefore they are particularly important from a conservation point of view. Moreover, these dolines will likely become increasingly indispensable refugia for biodiversity under future global warming.
We conducted a phytosociological analysis of more than 250 relevés in the Julian Alps and compared them with similar communities elsewhere in the Alps and in the Dinaric Alps to describe the following new syntaxa of alpine swards and heathlands from the alliance Caricion firmae (class Elyno-Seslerietea): Saxifrago
squarrosae-Caricetum mucronatae, Saussureo pygmaeae-Caricetum rupestris, Seslerio sphaerocephalae-Dryadetum octopetalae, Homogyno discoloris-Vaccinietum gaultherioidis, Saxifrago paniculatae-Caricetum fuliginosae and Homogyno discoloris-Loiseleurietum caricetosum firmae, the new association Achilleo clavennae-Elynetum myosuroidis from the alliance Oxytropido-Elynion and two new syntaxa
from the alliance Loiseleurio-Vaccinion (class Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea): Homogyno alpinae-Vaccinietum gaultherioidis and Empetro-Vaccinietum gaultherioidis rhododendretosum hirsuti. Many species that are rare, of conservation concern or protected in Slovenia occur in the newly described communities.
The article deals with Norway spruce (Picea abies), silver fir (Abies alba) and larch (Larix decidua) forests of the orders Piceetalia and Athyrio-Piceetalia (Vaccinio-Piceetea) in Slovenia. A total of 934 relevés of spruce, larch and fir forests within the Piceetalia and Athyrio-Piceetalia were collected from the literature. After resampling, 319 relevés remained, originating from 28 associations. Classification revealed two major groups of spruce, larch and fir forests, one thriving on non-carbonate bedrock and the other on carbonate. We further divided forests on non-carbonate substrate into two major groups – one thriving at high altitudes and the other in lowlands, both assigned to Piceion abietis. The second major group contains mesophilous, species-rich communities found mostly on carbonate bedrock. This major group can be further divided into four groups. The group of secondary forest on sites of beech forests, as well as the group of forest found in frost hollows can be assigned to Abieti-Piceion. The group of herb-rich, mesophilous communities forming zonal spruce and larch forests can be assigned to Chrysanthemo-Piceion and the group of forests on boulder scree to Calamagrostio-Abietion. Analysis of structural, functional, phytogeographical and geomorphological features, as well as ecological condi-tions estimated by bioindicator values, demonstrated the usefulness of this classification.
The numerical treatment of phytosociological data is often based on estimates of cover and/or abundance according to the Braun-Blanquet and Domin scales. Since Schwickerath (1931, 1938, 1940) and Tüxen & Ellenberg (1937) published their transformations there has been discussion on the way the scale values should be used in calculations Qualitative approaches, i.e. based on presence and absence have also been favoured (e.g. Williams & Lambert 1959, van der Maarel 1966) Dagnelie (I960) proposed a pseudoqualitative basis for various calculations by means of a ‘coupure’. A coupure includes the deletion of lower values, usually according to a fixed criterion, e.g. the number of occurrences in a phytosociological table to be remained should be as close as possible to 50%. Dagnelie’s approach remained largely unknown and apparently it has never been tested.
The syntaxonomy and ecology of the Carex firma stands in the Krn Mts. (eastern Julian Alps) are presented by applying the sigmatistic method and cluster analysis. The researched stands are classified in the association Gentiano terglouensis-Caricetum firmae T. Wraber 1970 and are further subdivided into three subassociations: - dryadetosum octopetalae Poldini & Feoli 1976, -drepanocladetosum uncinati subass. nova and -potentilletum nitidae subass. nova.
This new release of the package contains 27 FORTRAN and 4 BASIC programs written for IBM-PC and compatible machines and Apple Macintosh II, Plus and SE personal computers. Widely used standard multivariate methods and specific data analytical techniques, some of them suggested by the author, are represented in the package. The procedures programmed include hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering, fuzzy classifications, block clustering, ordination, character ranking, comparison of classifications and ordinations, consensus methods, Monte Carlo simulation of distributions of partition agreement, simulated sampling based on digitized point patterns, and information theory functions for evaluating species assemblages. This paper gives general information on the programs; technical details are presented in the user’s manual.
Forest regeneration in the vegetation complex of the submontane belt in the Southern Alps involves the active participation ofOstrya carpinifolia woods and their wood edge communities. The corresponding syndynamical processes are described by employing phytosociological, phytogeographical and ecological methods. It is concluded that:(i)
The communities of the grassland-wood transition are of major importance in the successional developments in this man-made vegetation complex.
(ii)
Many species occurring in the region of the deciduous forests of Eurasia find their refuge in such transitional communities and are supposed to play an important part in the succession.
(iii)
Ostrya carpinifolia is considered as an early successional tree species.
