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Species Richness, Community Specialization and Soil-Vegetation Relationships of Managed Grasslands in a Geologically Heterogeneous Landscape

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Abstract

The increasing importance of the conservation value of managed grasslands has led to many studies exploring edaphic determinants of grassland biodiversity. Most studies, however, come either from very large areas, where biogeographical factors such as dispersal limitation may play a role, or from small, but ecologically rather uniform, regions. In addition, few studies further distinguish between plant specialists and generalists in the interpretation of the observed patterns. Here we studied species richness in semi-natural, managed grasslands in the Strážovské vrchy Mountains in the West Carpathians, Slovakia, where there is a matrix of different bedrocks (crystalline, sandstone, claystone, limestone) on a steep altitudinal gradient. In 89 vegetation plots we sampled the species composition of vascular plants and bryophytes and measured soil chemistry, slope angle, heat index, altitude and soil depth. We further applied Ellenberg indicator values and classified species into community specialists or generalists based on the analysis of a large phytosociological database. Using cluster analysis, we delimited five vegetation types that clearly differed in response to soil characteristics. Species richness varied between 19 and 64 species per 16 m2. The main compositional gradient correlated with measured soil pH and calcium, but species richness was not significantly correlated with these factors. Soil available phosphorus was not associated with species composition as has been found elsewhere, but it did correlate negatively with species richness and the richness of specialists. Overall, species richness was largely driven by the number of specialists in the plot and particular vegetation types differed conspicuously in their number. We further found significant effects of iron, potassium and sodium on species richness, species composition and the representation of specialists and generalists. Our results provide new insights into the determinants of diversity in managed grasslands as well as to the theoretical species pool concept, explaining species richness variation along a pH gradient.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Petr Hekera for assistance with sample processing and technical assistance, David Zelený for calculating specialization, Zbyněk Hradílek, Tomáš Berka and Martin Dančák for their help with critical species identification, Jana Smatanová for providing literature, Jarko Solar for map production and Mrs S. Mather for producing the final diagrams. This research was supported by the doctoral grant project GD526/09/H025 and long-term development project of the Czech Academy of Sciences no. RVO 67985939.

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  1. Lucia Cachovanová

    Present address: Department of Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Mlynská dolina B2, SK-842 15, Bratislava, Slovak Republic

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of High Mountain Biology, University of Žilina, SK-059 56 , Tatranská Javorina 7, Slovak Republic

    Lucia Cachovanová

  2. Department of Ecology & Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Lucia Cachovanová

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

    Michal Hájek & Zuzana Fajmonová

  4. Department of Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Lidická 25/27, CZ-657 20, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Hájek & Zuzana Fajmonová

  5. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GP, UK

    Lucia Cachovanová & Rob Marrs

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  1. Lucia Cachovanová
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Correspondence to Lucia Cachovanová.

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Cachovanová, L., Hájek, M., Fajmonová, Z. et al. Species Richness, Community Specialization and Soil-Vegetation Relationships of Managed Grasslands in a Geologically Heterogeneous Landscape. Folia Geobot 47, 349–371 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-012-9131-3

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