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<p>The impact of ungulates on the forest vegetation has far-reaching consequences: it decreases species diversity and the production of biomass, causes soil dehydration, erosion and eutrophication the entire forest community. The article addresses the influence of fallow deer and mouflon on the forest vegetation in the Holedná game reserve (western border of the city of Brno, South Moravia, Czech Republic) and compares differences with the forests adjacent to the game reserve. Sixty localities were distributed randomly and phytosociological relevés subsequently recorded there according to the age of the stands inside and outside of the game reserve. The differences in floristic composition were compared for trees, shrubs and herbs, the herb layer species number, the diversity indices and the values of Ellenberg indicators. In the game reserve, a significant difference was found in the coverage of the herb and shrub layer, which was significantly lower than outside the territory. Furthermore, the increased amount of nitrophilous, heliophytes and ruderal herb species inside the game reserve exhibited affiliation to the interior of game reserve. Besides, young trees and woody sapling were less abundant or even missing inside of game reserve. By contrast, the frequency of typical species of oak-hornbeam forests was higher outside game reserve. Due to the higher number of animals and consequent disturbances, nitrophilous plant species dominate in the herb layer of the game reserve, while forest species are more often represented outside it.</p>
</abstract>

The impact of ungulates on the forest vegetation has far-reaching consequences: it decreases species diversity and the production of biomass, causes soil dehydration, erosion and eutrophication the entire forest community. The article addresses the influence of fallow deer and mouflon on the forest vegetation in the Holedná game reserve (western border of the city of Brno, South Moravia, Czech Republic) and compares differences with the forests adjacent to the game reserve. Sixty localities were distributed randomly and phytosociological relevés subsequently recorded there according to the age of the stands inside and outside of the game reserve. The differences in floristic composition were compared for trees, shrubs and herbs, the herb layer species number, the diversity indices and the values of Ellenberg indicators. In the game reserve, a significant difference was found in the coverage of the herb and shrub layer, which was significantly lower than outside the territory. Furthermore, the increased amount of nitrophilous, heliophytes and ruderal herb species inside the game reserve exhibited affiliation to the interior of game reserve. Besides, young trees and woody sapling were less abundant or even missing inside of game reserve. By contrast, the frequency of typical species of oak-hornbeam forests was higher outside game reserve. Due to the higher number of animals and consequent disturbances, nitrophilous plant species dominate in the herb layer of the game reserve, while forest species are more often represented outside it.

Comparison of Forest Species- Diversity and Composition Inside and Outside of the Holedná Game Reserve (The City of Brno, Czech Republic)

Department of Forest Botany, Dendrology and Geobiocenology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology

Journal of Landscape Ecology

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

The impact of ungulates on the forest vegetation has far-reaching consequences: it decreases species diversity and the production of biomass, causes soil...

Comparison of Forest Species- Diversity and Composition Inside and Outside of the Holedná Game Reserve (The City of Brno, Czech Republic)

Published Online: May 26, 2021

Page range: 1 - 18

Received: Nov 06, 2020

Accepted: Nov 19, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2021-0001

Keywords
Game reserve, grazing of animals, change of biodiversity, forest vegetation, herb layer, nitrophytes

© 2021 Radomír Řepka et al., published by Sciendo

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

Comparison of Forest Species- Diversity and Composition Inside and Outside of the Holedná Game Reserve (The City of Brno, Czech Republic)

Published Online: May 26, 2021

Page range: 1 - 18

Received: Nov 06, 2020

Accepted: Nov 19, 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jlecol-2021-0001

KeywordsGame reserve, grazing of animals, change of biodiversity, forest vegetation, herb layer, nitrophytes

© 2021 Radomír Řepka et al., published by Sciendo

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

Keywords
Game reserve, grazing of animals, change of biodiversity, forest vegetation, herb layer, nitrophytes