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The vegetation of metalliferous and non-metalliferous grasslands in two former mine regions in Central Slovakia

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Abstract

We investigated the composition of the vegetation in two former mining regions in Central Slovakia: Banská Štiavnica with predominant Pb-Zn contamination and Staré Hory with a very high Cu content in the soil. Old heaps rich in heavy metals are covered with specific vegetation. On the Cu-rich spoil heaps, species-poor plant communities with prevailing Agrostis stolonifera, Avenella flexuosa, Acetosella vulgaris, Arabidopsis arenosa, Silene dioica, and S. vulgaris occur. Species such as Agrostis capillaris, Acetosella vulgaris, Arabidopsis arenosa, and Thlaspi caerulescens appear frequently on Pb-Zn mine wastes. Several differences in the vegetation structure were detected between the Pb-Zn and Cu mine heaps; higher amounts of vascular plants and fewer lichen species covered the Pb-Zn mine heaps. For the Cu mine heaps, on the contrary a small number of vascular species but a high number and coverage of lichen species, especially Ceratodon purpureus and Cladonia arbuscula subsp. mitis were typical. The non-metalliferous meadows in the vicinity of the mines showed uniform structure but a higher species diversity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 14, SK-84523, Bratislava, Slovakia

    Viera Banásová, Milada Čiamporová & Miriam Nadubinská

  2. Department of Environmental Research, ARC Seibersdorf Research Center, A-2444, Seibersdorf, Austria

    Othmar Horak

  3. Institution of Cell Imaging and Ultrastructure Research, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, A-1090, Wien, Austria

    Irene Lichtscheidl

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  1. Viera Banásová
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  2. Othmar Horak
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  3. Milada Čiamporová
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  4. Miriam Nadubinská
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  5. Irene Lichtscheidl
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Banásová, V., Horak, O., Čiamporová, M. et al. The vegetation of metalliferous and non-metalliferous grasslands in two former mine regions in Central Slovakia. Biologia 61, 433–439 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0073-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0073-1

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