Update on maxima of fine-scale vascular plant species richness in a Transylvanian steppe meadow

0552808 - BÚ 2022 RIV DE eng J - Journal Article
Roleček, Jan - Dřevojan, P. - Hájková, Petra - Goia, I. - Hájek, M.
Update on maxima of fine-scale vascular plant species richness in a Transylvanian steppe meadow.
Tuexenia. Roč. 41, č. 1 (2021), s. 459-466. ISSN 0722-494X. E-ISSN 2748-3452
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA20-09895S
Institutional support: RVO:67985939
Keywords : species richness * steppe meadow * world recordd
OECD category: Ecology
Impact factor: 1.022, year: 2021
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.14471/2021.41.017

We report new maxima of vascular plant species richness ever recorded in 10-m2 plots (115 and 110 species in two adjacent plots). Both come from a steppe meadow at a well-known site Valea Lui Craiu, located in the Fânaţele Clujului grassland complex close to the city of Cluj in Transylvania, Romania, where maximum values have been observed before. We also correct the previously published maximum of 106 species, which was recorded in a 10.9-m2 plot due to erroneous plot delimitation. The new maxima, which were recorded by the same research team using the identical sampling methodology, likely reflect successional changes after the transformation of the site from a mown grassland to a medium-intensity sheep pasture. The increase in species richness is largely due to the increased number of ruderal species. We assume that the high species density may be temporary and might decrease over time along with the loss of species that suffer from grazing. We therefore permanently marked the plots belowground, enabling to monitor the effects of grazing on species richness and composition over a longer period.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0328306