Eastern European Steppe Database

The Eastern European Steppe Database (GIVD ID EU-00-030) includes 6961 vegetation plots of dry grassland vegetation from Eastern Europe (Steppe and Forest-Steppe zones, mountain regions), mainly from Ukraine (4579 relevés), Russia (2403 relevés) and Moldova (203 relevés). 3912 vegetation plots are from different literature sources (66 sources), 219 are from the phytosociological card-index of the M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany, NAS of Ukraine, 2830 relevés are authors’ relevés. They were established in 1935-2019 years. The database comprises mainly the vegetation of the class Festuco-Brometea (around 95% of the dataset), and a small proportion of Koelerio-Corynephoretea canescentis, Artemisietea vulgaris, Crataego-Prunetea. The taxonomy of vascular species is given according to Cherepanov (1995) for vascular plants, Ignatov and Afonina (1992) for bryophytes and identification guides of the USSR (1971–1978) and Russia (1996, 1998) for lichens. The database is part of the European Vegetation Archive

Biodiversity surveys of grassland and coastal habitats in 2021 as a documentation of pre-war status in southern Ukraine

This paper presents two sampling-event datasets with occurrences of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens collected in May-June 2021 in southern Ukraine. We aimed to collect high-quality biodiversity data in an understudied region and contribute it to international databases and networks. The study was carried out during the 15th Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) Field Workshop in southern Ukraine and the Dark Diversity Network (DarkDivNet) sampling in the Kamianska Sich National Nature Park. By chance, these datasets were collected shortly before the major escalation of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Surveyed areas in Kherson and Mykolaiv Regions, including established monitoring plots, were severely affected by military actions in 2022. Therefore, collected data are of significant value in the context of biodiversity documentation. The knowledge about the biodiversity of this area will help to assess the environmental impact of the war and plan restoration of the damaged or destroyed habitats. The first preliminary analysis of collected data demonstrates the biodiversity richness and conservation value of studied grassland habitats.We provide sampling-event datasets with 7467 occurrences, which represent 708 taxa (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) collected in 275 vegetation relevés. Amongst them, vascular plants are represented by 6665 occurrences (610 taxa), lichens - 420 (46) and bryophytes - 381 (51). Several new species were reported for the first time at the national or regional level. In particular, one vascular plant species (Torilis pseudonodosa) and two lichen species (Cladonia conista, Endocarpon loscosii) were new to Ukraine. One vascular plant (Stipa tirsa), two species of bryophytes (Rhynchostegium megapolitanum, Ptychostomum torquescens) and three species of lichens (Cladonia cervicornis, C. symphycarpa, Involucropyrenium breussi) were recorded for the first time for the Kherson Region. Additionally, these datasets contain occurrences of taxa with narrow distribution, specialists of rare habitat types and, therefore, represented by a low number of occurrences in relevant biodiversity databases and particularly in GBIF. This publication highlights the diversity of natural vegetation and its flora in southern Ukraine and raises conservation concerns