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Relationships between plant diversity, vegetation cover, and site conditions: implications for grassland conservation in the Greater Caucasus

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Abstract

Overgrazing, land use abandonment and increasing recreational activities have altered the vegetation of high-montane and subalpine grassland of the Caucasus. The failure of previous restoration efforts with unsuitable and exotic plant species indicates the need for information on the present vegetation and in which way it might change. Within the Greater Caucasus, we have described and quantified the mountain grassland which develops under characteristic overgrazed and eroded site conditions. Further, we have proposed potential native plant species for revegetation to restore and conserve valuable mountain grassland habitats. We used non-metric dimensional scaling ordination and cluster comparison of functional plant groups to describe a gradient of grassland vegetation cover. For our study region, we identified four major vegetation types with increasing occurrence of ruderal pasture weeds and tall herb vegetation on abandoned hay meadows within the subalpine zone. Within high-montane grassland a decline of plant diversity can be observed on sites of reduced vegetation cover. Due to a low potential of the grassland ecosystem to balance further vegetation cover damage, the long-term loss of diverse habitats can be expected. We conclude with management recommendations to prevent erosion and habitat loss of precious mountain grasslands.

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Fig. 1

Sources Caucasus Biodiversity Hotspot (Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund), Map of the natural vegetation of Europe (BfN, Federal Agency for Nature Conservation Germany)

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Acknowledgements

This study contributes to the framework of the major project “Analyzing multiple interrelationships of environmental and societal processes in mountainous regions of Georgia (AMIES)”, funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) has partly funded field work in Georgia. We thank our Georgian colleagues George Nakhutsrishvili, Maia Akhalkatsi, Otar Abdalazde and Giorgi Mikeladze. For field work assistance we thank Zezva Asanidze, Nato Tephnadze and Luka Tarielashvili. We thank Josef Scholz vom Hofe for his help with chemical soil analysis and Kristin Ludewig for comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for International Development and Environmental Research (ZEU), Justus Liebig University Giessen, Senckenbergstrasse 3, 35390, Giessen, Germany

    Martin Wiesmair & Annette Otte

  2. Division of Landscape Ecology and Landscape Planning, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Martin Wiesmair, Annette Otte & Rainer Waldhardt

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  1. Martin Wiesmair
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  2. Annette Otte
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Correspondence to Martin Wiesmair.

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Communicated by Daniel Sanchez Mata.

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Wiesmair, M., Otte, A. & Waldhardt, R. Relationships between plant diversity, vegetation cover, and site conditions: implications for grassland conservation in the Greater Caucasus. Biodivers Conserv 26, 273–291 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1240-5

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