Homogenization and species compositional shifts in subalpine vegetation during the 60-year period.

0576878 - BÚ 2024 RIV PL eng J - Journal Article
Zeidler, M. - Husek, V. - Banaš, M. - Krahulec, František
Homogenization and species compositional shifts in subalpine vegetation during the 60-year period.
Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. Roč. 92, č. 1 (2023), č. článku 171689. ISSN 0001-6977. E-ISSN 2083-9480
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : alpine communities * resurvey * functional diversity
OECD category: Plant sciences, botany
Impact factor: 1, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.5586/asbp/171689

Subalpine and alpine plant communities are considered highly sensitive and,hence, endangered by global changes. In central Europe, the highly sensitivehabitats are also influenced by human activities: land use, industrial pollution,and tourism. at is especially true for subalpine plant communities formed onmid-latitude mountains during specific postglacial development.Our study aimed to (1) document changes in cover and plant species diversitybetween the past (1950s and 1970s) and present (2019) and (2) reveal differencesin the functional composition of the species among the studied periods.In 2019, quasi-permanent marked plots originally surveyed in the 1950s and 1970swere resurveyed at Králický Sněžník (Śnieżnik Kłodski) Mountains, the HighSudetes Mts. We assessed temporal changes in plant species composition, speciescover, functional groups, growth forms, and degree of specialization.We found homogenization of the vegetation over time and changes in the cover ofspecific functional groups that were attributed to environmental factors connectedwith the cessation of historical land use, atmospheric deposition, and climatechange. Implementing a suitable combination of mowing and grazing to supportdiversity and prevent homogenization of vegetation is highly recommended.
Permanent Link: https://hdl.handle.net/11104/0351266