Assessment of floristic diversity, functional composition and management strategy of North Adriatic pastoral landscape (Croatia)

European semi-natural calcareous grasslands are species-rich ecosystems, considered as priority habitats by the European Union (92/43/EEC Directive) and judged worthy of conservation. They are in strong decline in extension and are threatened by abandonment throughout Europe. It is known that grasslands management (grazing, mowing) acts as driving force in plant community diversity, which in turn is an important conservation aim of European environmental policies. The area of current pastoral landscape (about 1000 ha) of the North Adriatic (Æiæarija, Croatia) was studied in order: 1/ to understand which factors drive floristic differentiation – environmental features and/or grassland management conditions, 2/ to identify indicator species sets linked to those factors and 3/ to appraise the effects of management type on the coenological and functional composition of indicator species. 73 phytosociological relevés were carried out; for each of them field data (altitude, aspect, slope and land form), productivity measurements and information on grassland management were collected. Redundancy analysis (RDA) identified a productivity-related soil moisture gradient as the environmental driving force of grassland floristic differentiation. Indicator species analysis (ISA) detected the indicator species sets related to environmental features and management type. The results indicate that undergrazing and the lack of periodic mowing are responsible for the higher total variance of floristic data set explained by environmental parameters rather than by management (use/not use). For the same reasons, the variations that emerged from comparison of the functional characteristics of the indicator species of grazing and of mowing (avoidance strategy, life form, and storage organs) proved more important than those observed in comparing used and abandoned grasslands. The management system adopted (grazing or mowing) appears in turn to be conditioned by the soil moisture/productivity gradient

Effect of management modification on the coenological composition of the North Adriatic pastoral landscape (Ćićarija, Croatia)

The research aim was to assess the dynamics of the North Adriatic pastoral landscape (Ćićarija, Croatia) with regard to the coenological composition of grassland communities, and, more specifically, to: i) assess the current grassland mosaic from a coenological viewpoint; ii) assess the effects of management abandonment on grassland species composition, also taking into account, as a basis for comparison, data on pastoral communities collected in the past decades. To achieve the research aims, 73 phytosociological relevés were carried out; for each of them field data (altitude, aspect, slope, landform) and information on grassland management were collected. Multivariate analysis of phytosociological relevés led to the identification of four vegetation types (Danthonio-Scorzoneretum villosae, Carici humilis-Centaureetum rupestris, Brachypodium rupestre-dominated stands, and Anthoxantho-Brometum erecti), which were linked to landform and to grassland management. Comparison in terms of social behaviour type composition of the grassland communities surveyed in the present study with the ones surveyed in the past decades, highlighted that the current management (grassland abandonment, as well as low intensity grazing and not periodic mowing) is leading to a percentage loss of pasture and meadow characteristic species, in favour of successional and ruderal ones

Folk Knowledge and Perceptions about the Use of Wild Fruits and Vegetables–Cross-Cultural Knowledge in the Pipli Pahar Reserved Forest of Okara, Pakistan

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Wild fruits and vegetables (WFVs) have been vital to local communities for centuries and make an important contribution to daily life and income. However, traditional knowledge of the use of wild fruits is at risk of being lost due to inadequate documentation. This study aimed to secure this knowledge through intermittent field visits and a semi-structured questionnaire. Using various ethnobotanical data analysis tools and SPSS (IBM 25), this study identified 65 WFV species (52 genera and 29 families). These species, mostly consumed as vegetables (49%) or fruits (43%), were predominantly herbaceous (48%) in wild and semi-wild habitats (67%). 20 WFVs were known to local communities (highest RFC), Phoenix sylvestris stood out as the most utilized species (highest UV). Surprisingly, only 23% of the WFVs were sold at markets. The survey identified 21 unique WFVs that are rarely documented for human consumption in Pakistan (e.g., Ehretia obtusifolia, Euploca strigosa, Brassica juncea, Cleome brachycarpa, Gymnosporia royleana, Cucumis maderaspatanus, Croton bonplandianus, Euphorbia prostrata, Vachellia nilotica, Pongamia pinnata, Grewia asiatica, Malvastrum coromandelianum, Morus serrata, Argemone mexicana, Bambusa vulgaris, Echinochloa colonum, Solanum virginianum, Physalis angulata, Withania somnifera, Zygophyllum creticum, and Peganum harmala), as well as 14 novel uses and five novel edible parts. Despite their ecological importance, the use of WFVs has declined because local people are unaware of their cultural and economic value. Preservation of traditional knowledge through education on conservation and utilization could boost economies and livelihoods in this and similar areas worldwide

Effect of spatial and temporal patterns of stress and disturbance intensities in a sub-Mediterranean grassland

The present study examined a sub-Mediterranean pastoral system in the central Apennines (Italy) with a long history of grazing, where winter cold stress is alternated with summer drought stress. The research goals were to ascertain whether different floristic structures correspond to different stress conditions (xeric and semimesic), and whether peculiar functional plant traits (such as avoidance and tolerance mechanisms) respond to stress/disturbance intensities, and understand how vegetation reacts to changeable livestock pressure (through floristic and plant trait variations). Cluster analysis indicated that separate communities develop under different stress intensities. Other analyses highlighted how avoidance strategies predominate within the pastoral system. Observations of grazed and ungrazed patches conducted in 10-m transects revealed spiny cushion formation in semimesic grassland, where a brief period of overgrazing occurs in late summer, causing variations in plant community structure. All these results confirm the importance of historical grazing and current land use, showing how small disturbances and stress variations cause ecosystem responses. Best practices for management were identified. In xeric conditions, it is advisable that the intensity of disturbance be lessened, while in semimesic grassland overgrazing should be forbidden during the dry period, because it could facilitate the development of spiny patches, and subsequent spread of Brachypodium rupestre

A century of changes in wild food plant use in coastal Croatia: the example of Krk and Poljica

The aim of this study was to document the use of wild foods in two locations in the coastal part of Croatia – on the island of Krk and in the Poljica area, near Split. We chose these places as they have historical data on plant use (1900 and 1903 respectively). We carried out 67 interviews in Poljica and 55 interviews in Krk to estimate the current use and knowledge of wild foods. Altogether, 80 species of wild food and herbal tea species of plants were recorded in Poljica and 76 in Krk. On average, 13.2 species were listed by per interview in Poljica, including 7.1 species of wild vegetables, and in Krk 14.6 species, including 7.9 species of wild vegetables. Out of the list of plant names recorded in the past, in Krk, we identified 82% of the taxa and in Poljica 86%

Effects of abandonment on the functional composition and forage nutritive value of a North Adriatic dry grassland community (Cicarija, Croatia)

Carici humilis-Centaureetum rupestris association is one of the most widespread types of pasture in Istria and of great environmental and economic interest. The research aims were to test if forage quantity, nutritive value and functional composition (grasses and grass-like, legumes, and forbs percentage) of these pastures change significantly in relation to: time of the growing season, management type (low use intensity grazing/grazing abandonment) and topographic variables. During 2008, phytomass samples were collected in grazed and ungrazed pastures of Cicarija (Croatia), in May, June, and September. Their composition in dry matter, ash, crude protein (CP), neutral and acid detergent fiber (NDF, ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL) and in-vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) were determined and net energy for lactation (NEL) and yield NEL were calculated. These variables followed a double trend, linked to the phenological phases of grasslands and to a land use/topographic gradient. Yield, yield NEL, dry matter, NDF, ADF and ADL increased during the growing season, while CP, NEL and IVDMD decreased. Yield, yield NEL, grasses and forbs, ash, and IVDMD were tied to the ungrazed pastures spread on the slopes, while ADF, ADL and dry matter had stronger correlation with grazed grasslands spread on the flat lands

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