<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> The aim of the study is to characterise herbaceous vegetation (meadows and ruderal communities) remaining after several decades of protection and compare it to the vegetation of currently managed local sites in the Central Forest Reserve, Tver Oblast, Russia. Cluster analysis of the communities was based on 209 relevés, while their ecological features were analysed using phytoindication assessment. The analyses revealed four types of herbaceous communities: managed mesic meadows, abandoned mesic meadows, tall-herb meadowsweet communities and ruderal tall-herb communities. These four types differ in management, floristic composition and ecological conditions as well as in coenotic and functional group shares (including forbs, graminoids and woody species). The occurrence of these species groups determines the current state of the herbaceous communities. Our study revealed that mesic meadows have retained all the key meadow features for more than 25 years without any management, although their area has shrunk and shares of coenotic and functional groups have changed. The observed herbaceous communities encompass around 40% of the reserve flora including four red list species and 16 alien species.</p></abstract>

The aim of the study is to characterise herbaceous vegetation (meadows and ruderal communities) remaining after several decades of protection and compare it to the vegetation of currently managed local sites in the Central Forest Reserve, Tver Oblast, Russia. Cluster analysis of the communities was based on 209 relevés, while their ecological features were analysed using phytoindication assessment. The analyses revealed four types of herbaceous communities: managed mesic meadows, abandoned mesic meadows, tall-herb meadowsweet communities and ruderal tall-herb communities. These four types differ in management, floristic composition and ecological conditions as well as in coenotic and functional group shares (including forbs, graminoids and woody species). The occurrence of these species groups determines the current state of the herbaceous communities. Our study revealed that mesic meadows have retained all the key meadow features for more than 25 years without any management, although their area has shrunk and shares of coenotic and functional groups have changed. The observed herbaceous communities encompass around 40% of the reserve flora including four red list species and 16 alien species.

Biodiversity of herbaceous vegetation in abandoned and managed sites under protection regime: a case study in the Central Forest Reserve, NW Russia

Hacquetia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The aim of the study is to characterise herbaceous vegetation (meadows and ruderal communities) remaining after several decades of protection and compare it to...

Biodiversity of herbaceous vegetation in abandoned and managed sites under protection regime: a case study in the Central Forest Reserve, NW Russia

Published Online: Mar 06, 2018

Page range: 35 - 59

Received: Feb 28, 2017

Accepted: Dec 18, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2017-0015

Keywords
abandonment, coenotic groups, Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), mainland meadows, species richness.

© by Valentina Borodulina

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Biodiversity of herbaceous vegetation in abandoned and managed sites under protection regime: a case study in the Central Forest Reserve, NW Russia

Published Online: Mar 06, 2018

Page range: 35 - 59

Received: Feb 28, 2017

Accepted: Dec 18, 2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/hacq-2017-0015

Keywordsabandonment, coenotic groups, Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), mainland meadows, species richness.

© by Valentina Borodulina

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
abandonment, coenotic groups, Indicator Species Analysis (ISA), mainland meadows, species richness.