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Dry calcareous grasslands from two neighboring biogeographic regions: relationship between plant traits and rarity

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Abstract

European dry grasslands formed of the Festuco-Brometea type are among the most diverse plant communities within agricultural landscapes. We examined floristic composition, functional trait structure and threatened species occurrence in grasslands of this type from in two distinct biogeographic regions, Dinaric (NW Balkan) and the Central European. In the Central European region this type of grassland is threatened by a decline in traditional extensive management. We tested, if differences in the level of threat between regions are matched by differences in community-weighted means for resource use strategy traits and occurrence of Red List (threatened) species. We then tested if threatened species differed in their traits from other species and if threatened species richness was related to CWM for resource use strategy traits. The communities from the Central European region had significantly higher SLA and lower LDMC, which perhaps reflects an increase in intensive agriculture promoting fast-growing species. Threatened species occurrence did not differ significantly between regions, but threatened species richness was significantly negatively correlated with CWM for height and SLA. This may suggest that threatened species are less likely to occur in high productivity communities where light competition is intense. This study provides initial evidence that changes in CWM for resource use strategy traits may provide a useful means for predicting threatened species loss in dry grassland ecosystems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Maribor, Koroška 160, 2000, Maribor, Slovenia

    Nataša Pipenbaher, Mitja Kaligarič & Sonja Škornik

  2. Landcare Research, Hamilton, New Zealand

    Norman W. H. Mason

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  1. Nataša Pipenbaher
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  2. Mitja Kaligarič
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  3. Norman W. H. Mason
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Correspondence to Nataša Pipenbaher.

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Pipenbaher, N., Kaligarič, M., Mason, N.W.H. et al. Dry calcareous grasslands from two neighboring biogeographic regions: relationship between plant traits and rarity. Biodivers Conserv 22, 2207–2221 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-013-0520-6

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