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Patterns of bryophyte and vascular plant richness in European subalpine springs

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Abstract

The diversity of spring habitats can be determined not only by local environmental conditions, but also by large-scale biogeographical effects. The effects can differ across various groups of organisms. We compared α-, β- and γ-diversity patterns of bryophytes and vascular plants of (sub)alpine springs in three contrasting mountain ranges: Alps (Switzerland), Balkans (Bulgaria), Western Carpathians (Slovakia, Poland). We used univariate and multivariate statistics to test for the effects of pH, conductivity, altitude, slope, mean annual temperature and annual precipitation on diversity patterns of both taxonomic groups and compared diversity patterns among the regions for particular pH and conductivity classes. We identified acidophyte and basiphyte, calcifuge and calcicole species using species response modelling. All regions displayed significant relationship between conductivity and α-diversity of vascular plants. Bulgaria showed the highest α-diversity of vascular plants for the middle part of the conductivity gradient. For both taxonomic groups, the β-diversity in the middle part of gradient was highest in Swiss Alps. The total species pool was lowest in Bulgaria. The percentage of basiphyte and calcicole species was highest in the Alps. In (sub)alpine springs, mineral richness was a better determinant of vascular plant α-diversity than pH, and the extent of the alpine area did not coincide with α-diversity. Observed inter-regional differences in diversity patterns could be explained by the different proportion of limestone bedrock and different biogeographic history. The differences in α-diversity between both taxonomic groups are presumably result of the different rates of adaptation processes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by long-term research programs at Masaryk University (Czech Ministry of Education, MSM 0021622416), the Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences (AVZ0Z6005908) and by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GD526/09/H025). We thank Ondřej Hájek who created the distribution map. We also gratefully acknowledge the comments of two anonymous reviewers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 2, 611 37, Brno, Czech Republic

    Lucia Sekulová, Michal Hájek, Petra Hájková, Eva Mikulášková, Vít Syrovátka & Zuzana Rozbrojová

  2. Department of Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Academy of Science of the Czech Republic, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Hájek, Petra Hájková & Zuzana Rozbrojová

  3. Laboratory of Ecological Systems, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Station 2, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Lucia Sekulová & Alexandre Buttler

  4. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Restoration Ecology Research Group, Station 2, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Alexandre Buttler

  5. Laboratoire de Chrono-environnement, UMR 6249 CNRS, UFR des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Franche-Comté, 16 route de Gray, 25030, Besançon, France

    Alexandre Buttler

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  1. Lucia Sekulová
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Correspondence to Lucia Sekulová.

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Sekulová, L., Hájek, M., Hájková, P. et al. Patterns of bryophyte and vascular plant richness in European subalpine springs. Plant Ecol 213, 237–249 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-011-9969-0

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