Arable weed flora in the Western Siberian grain belt

Between Ekaterinburg and Nowosibirsk, in the Western Siberian grain belt, spring wheat is grown on fertile Chernozem soils. Field and farm sizes are large but the land-use intensity per area is low compared to Central Europe. Fertilizers and pesticides are applied only in low to moderate quantities and yields range between 10 and 20 dt ha-1. We studied the arable weed flora in the northern forest steppe zone of Tyumen region using a randomized sampling design. Surprisingly, the species richness was only moderate, on average 9.8 ± 3.8 species per 100 m². Compared to weed communities of Bashkiria (Southern Ural) and less intensively used arable land of Central Europe these numbers are rather low. Moreover, most of the recorded species were cosmopolitans or widely distributed throughout the temperate zone. We suggest that the land use intensity was high enough to reduce the density of a number of weed species in a way that they were not registered by our random sampling design. The limited conservational value of the weed vegetation of large grain fields in Tyumen leads to the conclusion that if intensification of land use is unavoidable, it should be directed to arable land and not to ex-arable land or ancient grassland, which is of higher conservation value.Segetalvegetation des Westsibirischen GetreidegürtelsDie fruchtbaren Schwarzerden im Westsibirischen Getreidegürtel zwischen Jekaterinburg und Nowosibirsk werden großflächig mit Sommergetreide bestellt. Trotz des großen Anbaumaßstabes ist die Landnutzungsintensität pro Flächeneinheit gering, wenn man sie mit Mitteleuropa vergleicht. Der Einsatz von Düngemitteln und Pestiziden ist niedrig, und die Erträge liegen zwischen 10 und 20 dt ha-1. Die Verteilung der Probenflächen erfolgte mittels eines randomisierten Samplingdesigns mit 99 Probenflächen à 100 m² im Tjumener Gebiet des Getreidegürtels. Überraschenderweise war der Artenreichtum mit einem Mittelwert von 9,8 ± 3,8 Arten niedriger, als bei der geringen Landnutzungsintensität zu erwarten wäre. Verglichen mit Ackergemeinschaften Baschkiriens (Südural) und extensiv bewirtschafteten Flächen in Mitteleuropa sind diese Artenzahlen gering. Außerdem waren die meisten erfassten Arten Kosmopoliten oder in großen Teilen der gemäßigten Zone verbreitete Arten. Aus unseren Ergebnissen schlussfolgern wir, dass die Landnutzungsintensität in Tjumen hoch genug ist, um die Dichten einer Reihe von Segetalarten so zu reduzieren, dass sie mit einem randomisierten Samplingdesign nicht mehr oder nur in geringen Stetigkeiten nachzuweisen sind. Die Unterschiede zum Artenreichtum Mitteleuropäischer Äcker ergeben sich auch aufgrund des geringen Anteils von Archäophyten in der Flora von Tjumen. Hieraus folgt, dass, wenn eine Steigerung der Landnutzungsintensität im Getreidegürtel Westsibiriens unvermeidbar ist, sie auf Ackerflächen stattfinden sollte und nicht auf Ackerbrachen oder Grünlandflächen, die einen höheren naturschutzfachlichen Wert besitzen

Beyond the species pool: Modification of species dispersal, establishment and assembly by habitat restoration

Species dispersal, establishment and assembly are crucial stages of the life history of plants, and clear understanding of the governing forces and rules that shape species composition in a particular community is vital for successful ecological restoration. In our paper we focus on five aspects of seed dispersal and plant establishment, which should be considered during habitat restoration actions. In the first two sections we discuss the success of spontaneous dispersal and establishment on restoration based either on spatial dispersal or local seed banks. In the third section we assess the possibilities of species introduction and assisted dispersal. In the fourth section we introduce some possibilities for the improvement of establishment success of spontaneously dispersed or introduced species. Finally, we highlight issues influencing long-term persistence and sustainability of restored habitats, related to the alteration of management type and intensity, climate change and spread of non-native species. With the present paper we introduce the special issue entitled ‘Seed dispersal and soils seed banks – Promising sources for ecological restoration’ containing 15 papers by 62 authors from ten countries arranged into the abovementioned five topics

GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board