Nataša Pipenbaher (Author), Mitja Kaligarič (Author), Sonja Škornik (Author)

Abstract

In the present study, we compared the species richness and the floristic and functional composition of two types of extensively managed, species rich dry grasslands (class Festuco-Brometea) from the North Adriatic Karst: karst pastures (alliance Satureion subspicatae) and karst meadows (alliance Scorzonerion villose). Karst pastures are characterized by shallow rocky soils, high pH, and dry, warm conditions, whereas karst meadows have developed on deeper soil, with more humus and moisture and neutral to alkaline pH. The data set included a table with 100 phytosociological relevés of the studied grasslands and a matrix with 15 functional traits determined for 180 plant species. We found high species richness in these grasslands but no statistically significant differences in species richness between karst pastures and meadows. Differences in floristic composition were analysed with Detrended Correspondence Analysis, which supported a clear division between the two vegetation types and indicated that species composition could best be explained in terms of soil humidity and nutrient availability. We also detected several differences in plant functional traits between meadows and pastures. Some of the traits indicate greater resource availability on karst meadows (in particular, high SLA, low LDMC). In contrast, karst pastures have more slow-growing species with a combination of traits that can be interpreted as an avoidance strategy in relation to disturbance (e.g., grazing) in low productive habitats (e.g., low SLA, high LDMC, early flowering species and plants with rosette). A lower relative proportion of competitors (C) and ruderals (R), and a higher relative proportion of stress-tolerators (S) in karst pastures also suggested that these grasslands generally experience higher intensities of stress when compared to karst meadows, presumably owing to lower resource availability on stony, shallow soil. We could conclude that karst meadows and pastures differ significantly in both floristic composition and functional trait means, owing to their distinctive land-use (disturbance) and environmental conditions.

Keywords

grasslands;dry grasslands;North Adriatic;Karst;

Data

Language: English
Year of publishing:
Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization: UM FNM - Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
Publisher: Inštitut za raziskovanje Krasa
UDC: 633.2.03(497.472):574.2
COBISS: 18878216 Link will open in a new window
ISSN: 0583-6050
Parent publication: Acta carsologica
Views: 1795
Downloads: 81
Average score: 0 (0 votes)
Metadata: JSON JSON-RDF JSON-LD TURTLE N-TRIPLES XML RDFA MICRODATA DC-XML DC-RDF RDF

Other data

Secondary language: Slovenian
Secondary title: Floristična in funkcionalna primerjava kraških pašnikov in kraških travnikov severnojadranskega Krasa
Secondary abstract: Predstavljamo rezultate raziskave, v kateri smo primerjali vrstno pestrost, floristično in funkcionalno sestavo med dvema tipoma suhih travišč (razred Festuco-Brometea) severnojadranskega Krasa - kraškimi pašniki (zveza Satureion subspicatae) in kraškimi travniki (zveza Scorzonerion villosae). Za kraške pašnike so značilna plitka kamnita tla z bazično kemijsko reakcijo in suhe ter tople razmere, medtem ko so kraški travniki razviti na globljih in bolj hranilnih tleh, z več vlage, kemijska reakcija tal pa je nevtralna do zmerno kisla. Podatki so obsegali tabelo s 100 fitocenološkimi popisi kraških pašnikov in travnikov ter matriko s 15 funkcionalnimi potezami, določenimi za 180 rastlinskih vrst. Ugotovili smo visoko vrstno pestrost proučevanih travišč, hkrati pa ni bilo najdenih statistično značilnih razlik v vrstni pestrosti med kraškimi pašniki in kraškimi travniki. Razlike v floristični sestavi smo ugotavljali z DCA analizo, ki je potrdila jasne razlike med obema vegetacijskima tipoma in nakazala, da se vrstna sestava popisanih sestojev spreminja vzdolž gradientov vlažnosti in hranilnosti tal. Ugotovili smo tudi razlike v funkcionalnih potezah rastlin med kraškimi travniki in pašniki. Na osnovi nekaterih funkcionalnih potez (zlasti višjih SLA, nižjih LDMC vrednosti) lahko sklepamo, da so kraški travniki bolje založeni s hranili. Kraški pašniki imajo v primerjavi z njimi več počasi rastočih vrst s kombinacijo potez (npr. nizke SLA in visoke LDMC vrednosti, zgodnje cvetenje, rozete), ki jih razlagamo kot strategija izogibanja motnji (npr. paši) v slabo produktivnih habitatih. Tudi nižja deleža kompetitorskih vrst (C) in ruderalk (R) ter hkrati višji delež stres-toleratork (S) na kraških pašnikih potrjujejo, da so v teh habitatih bolj stresne razmere kot na kraških travnikih, kar je po vsej verjetnosti posledica slabše preskrbljenosti rastlin z vodo in hranilnimi snovmi zaradi kamnitih in plitkih tal. Zaključimo lahko, da obstajajo značilne razlike v floristični in funkconalni sestavi med kraškimi travniki in pašniki kot posledica razlik v rabi (košnja in paša) ter razlik v okoljskih dejavnikih.
Secondary keywords: travniki;pašniki;habitati;severni Jadran;kras (geologija);
URN: URN:NBN:SI
Pages: str. 515-525
Volume: ǂLetn. ǂ40
Issue: ǂšt. ǂ3
Chronology: 2011
Keywords (UDC): applied sciences;medicine;technology;uporabne znanosti;medicina;tehnika;agriculture and related sciences and techniques;forestry;farming;wildlife exploitation;kmetijstvo ter sorodne vede in tehnologije;field crops and their production;poljščine;poljedelstvo;forage grasses;meadow and pasture grasses;krmne trave;trava s pašnikov in travnikov;mathematics;natural sciences;naravoslovne vede;matematika;biological sciences in general;biologija;general ecology and biodiversity;splošna ekologija;hidrobiologija;
ID: 19737