Festuco-Brometea vegetation in Central Ukraine (figure above left) with the detail of stand with Salvia nutans (above right), Stipa pulcherrima on the terrace slope of a small river (Molinio-Arrhenatheretea grassland in background, down left) and Galietalia veri grassland in the Psjol River floodplain (Central Ukraine, down right). All photos: S. Rūsiņa. Solvita Rusina, Rīga, Latvia, rusina@lu.lv Anna Kuzemko, Uman, Ukraine, anya_meadow@mail.ru Transylvania EDGG cooperation on syntaxonomy and biodiversity of FestucoBrometea communities in Transylvania (Romania): report and preliminary results types within a consistent national or supranational classification based on modern methodological approaches; (ii) consideration of the bryophytes and lichens in these dry grassland stands; (iii) description and analysis of the scale-dependent diversity patterns in these communities. Introduction In the Transylvanian Lowland (Romania), extensive dry grasslands still exist that are outstanding in diversity and conservation status compared to European standards. However, this treasure is not well documented so far. Despite a variety of local phytosociological studies by Romanian colleagues (see Sanda et al. 2008), three major issues have hardly been addressed before: (i) arrangement of the vegetation In a Romanian-British-German-Turkish-Bulgarian cooperation within the EDGG, we aimed at collecting and analysing baseline data for all three aspects mentioned. The idea for the present cooperation had 13 Bull. Eur. Dry Grassl. Group 4 (Sept. 2009) Fig. 1: Location of the study area (rectangle) in the north-central part of Romania. emerged from a presentation of Eszter Ruprecht at the 5th Dry Grassland Meeting 2008 in Kiel, which then was published in the Special Feature of the conference (Ruprecht et al. 2009). Originally, the study was planned by Jürgen Dengler, Eszter Ruprecht, and Anna Szabó. Later, also Emin Uğurlu (Turkey) joined the team for the 10 days of field work in the region of Cluj. Dan Turtureanu, Monica Beldean and Andrew Jones became involved through ADEPT, a BritishRomanian NGO, active in Southern Transylvania. Hristo Pedashenko (Bulgaria) helped with the data preparation and Christian Dolnik (Germany) is responsible for the determination of most of the nonvascular plants. (altitude, aspect, inclination, microrelief, land use, structural data), and measured fundamental soil parameters. Composition and classification The studied communities were mostly dominated by grasses, such as Stipa capillata, S. lessingiana, S. pulcherrima, S. tirsa, Bothriochloa ischaemum, Brachypodium pinnatum, Briza media, Bromus erectus, Festuca rupicola, F. pallens, Helictotrichon decorum, Sesleria heuflerana, as well as Carex humilis and C. tomentosa. The stands were also rich in perennial forbs, with genera such as Campanula, Centaurea, Euphorbia, Inula, Iris, Linum, Potentilla, Salvia, Trifolium and Veronica represented by particularly many taxa. By contrast, therophytes, succulents as well as bryophytes and lichens were much less represented than in other European dry grasslands. Study area The Transylvanian Lowland in central Romania is a hilly region, about 300–700 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1). The substrates are mostly marly and the climate is subcontinental, with an annual precipitation of 520–650 mm. The classification of the 70 10-m² relevés that are presently available with modified TWINSPAN (see Roleček et al. 2009) resulted in three major clusters (Table 1). These correspond well to established phytosociological orders. They reflect different ecological situations: Stipo pulcherrimae-Festucetalia pallentis Pop 1968: rocky grasslands; Festucetalia valesiacae Br.-Bl. & Tx. ex Br.-Bl. 1950: xerophytic grasslands on soft substrates; Brachypodietalia pinnati Korneck 1974 (= Brometalia erecti W. Koch 1926 nom. amb. propos.): meso-xerophytic grasslands. Sampling methods We sampled the whole range of Festuco-Brometea communities occurring in different places (many of them within Natura 2000 sites) in the Transylvanian Lowland, mainly in the counties of Cluj and Mureş (see Fig. 1). We applied two sampling designs, nested-plot sampling with plot sizes ranging from 1 cm² to 100 m² (Dengler 2009; n = 20) and phytosociological relevés with a standardised plot size of 10 m² (see Dengler et al. 2009; approximately n = 70). In both cases, we sampled vascular plants as well as terricolous bryophytes, lichens, and macroscopic cyanobacteria, recorded major environmental data 14 Table 1: Phytosociological table of the studied communities. S-F: Stipo pulcherrimae-Festucetalia pallentis, Fv: Festucetalia valesiacae, Bp: Brachypodietalia pinnati. All S-F Fv Bp 70 480 25 0.34 8 77 74 10 22 3 14 51.4 49.1 2.2 7 606 32 0.48 17 61 50 24 24 32 6 42.0 37.9 4.1 32 467 33 0.61 9 67 65 1 23 0 24 40.0 38.6 1.3 31 465 15 0.02 4 92 89 15 21 0 5 65.3 62.5 2.8 Joint diagnostic species of the two xerophytic orders (O1 and O2) Stipa capillata 43 71 Vinca herbacea 39 71 Stipa pulcherrima 43 71 Artemisia campestris ssp. campestris 21 43 Dichantium ischaemum 60 86 Cleistogenes serotina ssp. serotina 23 29 72 63 69 38 75 44 6 6 10 . 39 . O1. Stipo pulcherrimae-Festucetalia pallentis Pop 1968 Helianthemum nummularium ssp. obscurum Allium flavum ssp. flavum Linaria angustissima Minuartia verna Sedum hispanicum Acinos arvensis Cf. Tortella sp. Genista januensis Poa badensis Syntrichia ruralis agg. Melica ciliata ssp. ciliata Anthericum ramosum Carduus candicans ssp. candicans Centaurea atropurpurea ssp. atropurpurea Helictotrichon decorum Sempervivum marmoreum Allium albidum ssp. albidum Medicago minima Verbascum lychnitis Amaranthus retroflexus 3 6 . . . 6 3 3 . . 13 6 . . . . 16 3 3 . 6 . . . . 10 . . . . 3 19 . . . . . . . 3 Number of relevés Mean altitude [m a.s.l.] Mean inclination [°] Mean heat index Mean microrelief [cm] Mean total vegetation cover [%] Mean cover herb layer [%] Mean cover moss layer [%] Mean cover litter [%] Mean cover stones and rocks [%] Mean cover open soil [%] Mean species richness (all plants) Mean species richness (vascular plants) Mean species richness (non-vascular plants) 15 14 11 7 7 7 16 9 9 6 6 14 19 4 4 4 4 13 6 6 6 100 86 71 71 71 86 71 71 57 57 71 71 43 43 43 43 57 43 43 43 O2. Festucetalia valesiacae Br.-Bl. & Tx. ex Br.-Bl. 1950 Cephalaria uralensis Stipa lessingiana ssp. lessingiana Tragopogon dubius Galium glaucum Aster linosyris Inula ensifolia Astragalus monspessulanus ssp. monspessulanus Veronica spicata ssp. orchidea Prunus tenella Euphorbia seguierana ssp. seguierana 30 21 20 44 20 36 26 50 33 10 . . . 14 . 29 . 43 43 . 63 47 44 75 41 66 44 78 63 22 3 . . 19 3 6 13 23 . . O3. Brachypodietalia pinnati Korneck 1974 Lotus corniculatus Brachypodium pinnatum ssp. pinnatum Ranunculus polyanthemos agg. Leontodon hispidus Trifolium montanum Plantago lanceolata Dactylis glomerata ssp. glomerata Homalothecium lutescens Carex michelii Briza media Knautia arvensis Linum catharticum Filipendula vulgaris Plantago media Achillea millefolium agg. Scabiosa ochroleuca Leucanthemum vulgare Carex tomentosa Centaurea jacea agg. Festuca pratensis 37 43 34 33 31 43 30 40 36 27 27 26 50 66 64 36 21 27 27 20 . . . . . . . . 14 . . . . . 29 14 . . . . . 6 . . . 13 . 13 . . . . 28 50 38 6 . 6 6 . 84 90 77 74 71 84 68 77 77 61 61 58 84 97 100 71 48 55 55 45 100 71 57 86 86 57 29 86 86 71 43 . 14 75 66 84 84 91 72 72 75 53 75 78 59 41 90 100 77 68 58 81 84 48 68 35 35 58 68 Companions (mostly widespread Festuco-Brometea species) Asperula cynanchica 84 Festuca ser. Valesiacae 81 Teucrium chamaedrys 79 Thymus pannonicus agg. 77 Euphorbia cyparissias 76 Elymus hispidus 74 Koeleria macrantha 73 Stachys recta 64 Medicago sativa ssp. falcata 63 Potentilla cinerea agg. 57 Carex humilis 56 Convovulus arvensis 53 16 Salvia pratensis agg. 50 120 Diversity We found very high species richness values at all spatial scales, compared to dry grassland types in most other European regions (Table 2; compare Dengler 2005). They are similar to values previously recorded from semi-dry grasslands in the White Carpathians (compare Klimeš et al. 2001) or from alvar grasslands in the hemiboreal zone (e.g. Dengler & Boch 2008, Löbel & Dengler 2008). In Transylvania, the highest richness values occurred in meso-xeric hay meadows (Brachypodietalia pinnati). It appears that our maximum values at 0.1 m² (45 species, including 43 vascular plants) and at 10 m² (102/99 species) are possibly the highest ever recorded in any plant community worldwide. Species richness (10 m²) 100 40 0 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 Heat index Table 2: Relation between species richness and head load. phytes and lichens as well as some critical vascular plants, analysing the soil samples, and continuing the statistical analyses. In total, we plan three publications in international journals based on the data sampled, one on phytosociology, one on diversity patterns and finally a contribution to a comprehensive study on species-area relationships in dry grasslands throughout Europe. Based on the stimulating experience of this cooperation, we are now planning several similar or consecutive international EDGG projects in SE Europe. (1) In 2010, we intend to carry out such a joint field work (with similar questions and sampling designs) in central Podolia (Ukraine), organised by Anna Kuzemko in collaboration with Solvita Rusina and Jürgen Dengler. (2) We plan to establish a comprehensive vegetation database of dry grassland relevés from SE Europe (i.e. Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and perhaps Hungary, ex-Yugoslavia, and Albania). More information on these planned projects will be provided under „Miscellaneous“ in one of the next Bulletin issues. Table 2: Species richness at different spatial scales. n 40 40 40 40 40 70 20 60 20 The heat index (a composite measure of aspect and inclination, see Olsson et al. 2009) was the strongest (negative) predictor of species richness at the 10-m² scale (Fig. 2), with the soil parameters not being available so far. In a multiple regression, additionally litter cover had significant negative effects, while microrelief and altitude had slight and insignificant positive effects. Area [m²] 0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 80 Richness (all plants) Min Max Mean 0 5 2.6 0 9 4.6 3 20 10.2 8 45 22.7 18 82 40.0 9 102 52.3 58 131 87.9 Conclusions Acknowledgements We conclude that studying Transylvanian dry grasslands in more detail would be a high priority in order to understand the causes underlying the described biodiversity patterns and to place the community types encountered within a consistent, continent-wide classification scheme. At the same time, these communities represent an outstanding and highly valuable part of Europe’s natural heritage that needs stronger conservation efforts, particularly as many of the stands are threatened by land use changes. We thank the British-Romanian NGO FUNDATIAADEPT (www.fundatia-adept.org) for supporting this project financially. Literature DENGLER, J. (2005): Zwischen Estland und Portugal – Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede der Phytodiversitätsmuster europäischer Trockenrasen. – Tuexenia 25: 387–405, Göttingen. DENGLER, J. (2009): A flexible multi-scale approach for standardised recording of plant species richness patterns. – Ecol. Indic. 9: 1169–1178, Amsterdam. DENGLER, J., BOCH, S. (2008): Sampling-design effects on properties of species-area curves – A case Outlook These first, preliminary results have been presented at the 6th European Dry Grassland Meeting in Halle, only one month after the field work. Presently, we are adding some further relevés, determining the bryo17 Bull. Eur. Dry Grassl. Group 4 (Sept. 2009) study from Estonian dry grassland communities. – Folia Geobot. 43: 289–304, Průhonice. DENGLER, J., LÖBEL, S., DOLNIK, C. (2009): Species constancy depends on plot size – a problem for vegetation classification and how it can be solved. – J. Veg. Sci. 20: 754–766, Oxford. KLIMEŠ, L., DANČAK, M., HÁJEK, M., JONGEPIEROVÁ, I., KUČERA, T. (2001): Scale-dependent biases in species counts in a grassland. – J. Veg. Sci. 12: 699–704, Uppsala. LÖBEL, S., DENGLER, J. (2008) [„2007”]: Dry grassland communities on southern Öland: phytosociology, ecology, and diversity. – MAAREL, E. VAN DER [Ed.]: Structure and dynamics of alvar vegetation on Öland and some related dry grasslands – Dedicated to Ejvind Rosén on his 65th birthday. – Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 88: 13–31, Svenska Växtgeografiska Sällskapet, Uppsala. OLSSON, P. A., MÅRTENSSON, L.-M., BRUUN, H. H. (2009): Acidification of sandy grasslands – consequences for plant diversity. – Appl. Veg. Sci. 12: 350–361, Oxford. ROLEČEK, J., TICHÝ, L., ZELENÝ, D., CHYTRÝ, M. (2009): Modified TWINSPAN classification in which the hierarchy represents cluster heterogeneity. – J. Veg. Sci. 20: 596–602, Oxford. RUPRECHT, E., SZABÓ, A., ENYEDI, M. Z., DENGLER, J. (2009): Steppe-like grasslands in Transylvania (Romania): characterisation and influence of management on species diversity and composition. – Tuexenia 29: 353–368 + 1 table, Göttingen. SANDA, V, ÖLLERER, K., BURESCU, P. (2008): The Plant Communities from Romania – Syntaxonomy, Structure, Dynamics and Evolution [in Romanian, with English summary]. – 570 pp., Ars Docendi, Bucureşti. Jürgen Dengler, Hamburg, Germany e-mail: dengler@botanik.uni-hamburg.de Eszter Ruprecht, Cluj Napoca, Romania e-mail: ruprecht@grbot.ubbcluj.ro Anna Szabó, Cluj Napoca, Romania e-mail: annuc19@gmail.com Dan Turtureanu, Cluj Napoca, Romania e-mail: turtureanudan@gmail.com Monica Beldean, Cluj Napoca, Romania e-mail: beldean.monica@yahoo.com Emin Uğurlu, Manisa, Turkey e-mail: ugurlu@yahoo.com Hristo Pedashenko, Sofia, Bulgaria e-mail: hristo_pedashenko@yahoo.com Christian Dolnik, Kiel, Germany e-mail: cdolnik@ecology.uni-kiel.de Andrew Jones, Chepstow, UK e-mail: llanllawddog@gmail.com Bull. Eur. Dry Grassl. Group 4 (Sept. 2009) In many Transylvanian landscapes there are dry grasslands to the horizon. Photo: J. Dengler. Order Stipo pulcherrimae-Festucetalia pallentis. Photo: J. Dengler. Anna Szabó, Eszter Ruprecht, and Emin Uğurlu during the field work. Photo: J. Dengler. Inula ensifolia. Photo: J. Dengler. 18 Slumping hill, a typical feature of the Transylvanian landscape. Photo: J. Dengler. A plot of our nested biodiversity sampling according to Dengler (2009). Photo: J. Dengler. 19 Bull. Eur. Dry Grassl. Group 4 (Sept. 2009)