On the trails of Josias Braun-Blanquet : changes in the grasslands of the inneralpine dry valleys during the last 70 years. First results from the 11th EDGG Field Workshop in Austria

The 11th EDGG Field Workshop was held from 6 to 13 July 2018 in Austria. Its aim was to revisit dry grasslands in the inneralpine dry valleys of Austria that were investigated in the late 1950s by Braun-Blanquet and to collect high-quality biodiversity data from these. Sampling was carried out in the Styrian Mur Valley, the Virgen Valley in East Tyrol, the Upper Inn Valley in the Austrian Eastern Alps, and Griffen in Carinthia. In total, we sampled 15 EDGG biodiversity plots and 37 additional 10 m2 plots. Butterfly data were record-ed in four biodiversity plots and two additional plots. We found maximum richness values of 49, 68 and 95 vascular plant species on 1, 10 and 100 m², while the corresponding values for the complete terrestrial vegetation were 56, 73 and 106 species. Maximum butterfly richness was 19, but it was in general quite low, and generalists dominated. Some of the areas originally studied by Braun-Blanquet were no longer dry grasslands and only a few sites remained largely unchanged. Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) showed profound changes between the old (1950s and 1980s) and our current plots. Without grazing or other human land management activities, only very small cores of rocky dry grassland could survive in the comparatively humid Austrian inneralpine valleys. Finally, the sampled data raise questions about the syntaxonomic position of some of the grasslands, which needs to be addressed in a more comprehensive study, which is planned as the next step

Formalized classification of semi-dry grasslands in central and eastern Europe

European semi-dry grasslands are among the most species-rich vegetation types in the northern hemisphere and form an important part of the habitat mosaics in the forest-steppe zone. However. there is no comprehensive evaluation of the variation in their composition and the phytosocio-logical classification of these grasslands. For the syntaxonomic revision, we used a dataset of 34,173 vegetation plot records (releves) from central and eastern Europe. which were assigned to the class Fesiuco-Bromeiea using the diagnostic species listed in the EuroVegChecklist. To determine the diagnostic species of the orders, we used a TWINSPAN classification of the whole dataset. Of the total dataset, 15,449 releves were assigned to the order Brachypodietalia pinnati. which corresponds to semi-dry grasslands. This subset was again classified using TWINSPAN. Formal definitions of the following alliances were established: Mesobromion erecti, Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati (incl. Fragario-Trifolion montani. Agrosiio-Avenulion schellianae, Scabioso ochroleucae-Poion angustifoliae and Adonido vernalis-Stipion iirsae), Scorzonerion villosae and Chrysopogono-Danshonion. Another alliance, Armerion elongatae (=Koelerio-Phleion phleoidis p.p.). is transitional towards the class Koelerio-Corynephoreiea and its status needs further evaluation. We also established formal definitions of all of the associations of Mesobromion and Cirsio-Brachypodion within the area studied. Associations were identified using (i) a TWINSPAN classification of the whole order, (ii) TWINSPAN classifications of regionally restricted data sets (usually all Brachypodietalia plots in one country) and (iii) existing national classification schemes. All formal definitions were written in the expert system language of the JUICE program. To obtain a more complete picture of the floristic similarities and gradients. we performed a DCA ordination of the associations. Our results revealed that meadow steppes in the forest-steppe zone in eastern Europe are very similar to semi-dry grasslands in central Europe

Biodiversity patterns of dry grasslands in the Central Apennines (Italy) along a precipitation gradient : experiences from the 10th EDGG Field Workshop

The 10th EDGG Field Workshop took place in a sector of the Central Apennine Mountains, Italy, in June 2017. Altogether, 22 researchers from nine European and Asian countries attended this Field Workshop. We sampled plant and insect biodiversity in submontane and lower-montane grasslands along a precipitation gradient, from the L’Aquila valley and the Fucino basin to the “Abruzzo, Lazio & Molise” National Park. The standardized EDGG sampling protocol, involving nested-plot series and additional 10-m2 relevés, was used. In the course of seven days of intensive fieldwork, we sampled 20 biodiversity plots along with 57 additional normal plots (yielding a total dataset of 97 10-m2 plots). Methodological additions tested in this workshop included the assessment of observer-related error (around 12% of the 10-m2 plots was resurveyed by a different team). In all plots, vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens were sampled. At each nested-plot series, also insects (Auchenorrhyncha) were sampled by local specialists, who developed an ad-hoc sampling procedure

Continental dry grasslands from range margin to range centre - Editorial to the 9th Dry Grassland Special Feature

Der diesjährige 9. Trockenrasen-Sonderteil von Tuexenia beginnt mit einem Bericht über die aktuellen Aktivitäten der European Dry Grassland Group (EDGG). Zunächst geben wir einen Überblick über die Entwicklung der Mitgliederzahl. Dann berichten wir vom letzten European Dry Grassland Meeting in Zamość (Polen, 2013) und vom letzten European Dry Grassland Field Workshop in Chakassien (Russland, 2013) und informieren über künftige Veranstaltungen der EDGG. Anschließend erläutern wir die Publikationsaktivitäten der EDGG. Im zweiten Teil des Editorials geben wir eine Einführung zu den fünf Artikeln des diesjährigen Trockenrasen-Sonderteils: Zwei davon beschäftigen sich mit der Syntaxonomie von Trockenrasen in Osteuropa: Der eine Artikel präsentiert erstmalig eine nach internationalen Nomenklaturregeln gültige Liste der Trockenrasengesellschaften Serbiens während der andere die Ergebnisse des zweiten EDGG-Field Workshop 2010 nach Podolien (Ukraine) vorstellt. Im dritten Artikel werden kryophytische Steppen in Südsibirien (Russland) analysiert. Der vierte Artikel analysiert in Böhmen (Tschechien) die bestimmenden Kräfte für Artenreichtum und Artenzusammensetzung der Trockenrasen. Der fünfte Artikel befasst sich mit der Auswahl von Wiederansiedlungsarten am Beispiel der Steppenrasen in Thüringen (Deutschland)

Broad-scale diversity patterns of Central European Carex humilis steppes

To understand recent biogeographic patterns of Central European rocky steppes, we inspected phytosociological data from rocky steppes dominated by Carex humilis along an elevation gradient (from 140 to 1,350 m) and in four biogeographic regions (NW Pannonian Basin, Western Carpathians, Transdanubian Mountains and Transylvanian Basin). Due to the physiognomic uniformity, Carex humilis-dominated communities are ideal objects to reveal broad-scale vegetation patterns, which are not obvious from local and regional studies. We investigated the roles of geographic distance and environmental (climatic, topographic and geological) variables in shaping variability of the studied vegetation. We further looked for differences in structure and floristic composition regarding (1) gam-ma diversity, beta diversity and species richness; (2) life form spectrum; (3) species distribution patterns; and (4) representation of archaeophytes and habitat specialists. The large compositional variation in both lower- and higher-elevation rocky steppes was better explained by geographic distance than by the environment. Among the environmental variables, geological bedrock type and climate variables were most important. Gamma and beta diversity were higher for stands at lower elevation than those at higher elevation, with a peak in the colline belt at elevations between 300 and 500 m. Species richness did not differ with elevation or biogeographic region. The hemicryptophytes dominated in life-form spectra along the whole elevation gradient with the highest proportions at middle elevations. Low elevation plots had higher proportion of therophytes and higher elevation plots had more chamaephytes and geophytes. Large-range species prevailed at low elevations and middle range species at high elevations. Also the narrow-range species increased with elevation and among the regions were best represented in the W-Carpathians. Species with a European distribution prevailed in most plots and their proportion increased with elevation. The proportion of steppe species decreased with elevation and was highest in the Transylvanian plots. The W-Carpathian plots had the highest proportions of alpine species, which were present along the whole elevation gradient with a significantly increasing trend towards the high elevation. The archaeophytes were represented only at low and middle elevations with a decreasing trend, and had highest proportions in the Transylvanian plots. Mean niche breadth had unimodal distribution along the elevation gradient with the highest values at 600 m a.s.l. Proportions of both specialist and generalist species increased with elevation. Despite the mentioned differences, rocky steppes from various elevation belts and biogeographic regions shared a set of species with similar ecology and distribution. We conclude that a detailed analysis of biogeographic patterns based on phytosociological data can provide a valuable insight into the structure of a particular vegetation type

Phase Separation and pH-Dependent Behavior of Four-Arm Star-Shaped Porphyrin-PNIPAM4 Conjugates

Star-shaped porphyrin-PNIPAM4 (PP) conjugates having four PNIPAM arms connected to a central tetraphenylporphyrin unit were synthesized using reversible addition–fragmentation chain-transfer polymerization. Temperature-induced phase-separation behavior of the conjugates was investigated, and the lower critical solution temperature (type II)–composition phase diagram was constructed using Flory–Huggins theory. Interestingly, in contrast to PNIPAM homopolymers, the shorter PNIPAM arms of PP conjugates lead to a lower phase-separation temperature (Tp). The concentration dependency of the size of the cooperative domain was also determined. Below Tp, experimental data indicate that PP behaves as a 1D supramolecular polymer with a concentration-dependent length, while above Tp, PP globules adopt a larger spherical shape. Various temperature–pH reversible and irreversible interdependencies (“cross-effects”) between phase separation and protonation were observed. The PP conjugates represent a dual temperature–pH-responsive model system possessing various aggregated states, making them candidates for visual indicators, pH or temperature sensors, or singlet oxygen generators for biomedical applications

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

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Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats

Abstract Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m² and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecology