Plant communities of the montane mesophilous grasslands (Polygono bistortae–Trisetion flavescentis alliance) in central Europe: Formalized classification and syntaxonomical revision

Abstract

The research conducted here presents a syntaxonomical revision of the montane mesophilous meadows of the Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis alliance in central Europe – the Slovak part of the western and eastern Carpathians. These typical semi-natural grasslands occur mainly as small islands over the calcareous bedrocks. Associations of this alliance have tight relationships to the Arrhenatherion, Mesobromion and Nardo-Agrostion alliances. Formal definitions based on combination of the species groups were used regarding the diversity and geographical range of the Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis alliance. Following the formal definitions from the eight associations reported previously for Slovakia, only four of them can be placed within the Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis: Campanulo glomeratae-Geranietum sylvatici, Geranio sylvatici-Trisetetum, Crepido mollis-Agrostietum capillaries and Geranio-Alchemilletum crinitae. A comparison of traditional and formalized classification, and the advantages/disadvantages of the formalized classification are discussed.

Keywords:

• Classification
• diversity
• Ellenberg indicator values
• formal definitions
• Polygono bistortae-Trisetion flavescentis
• syntaxonomical revision

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Prof. Gianni Sburlino (Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università Ca’ Foscari, Venezia, Italy), Giuliano Fanelli (Dipartimento di Biologia Vegetale, Orto Botanico dell'Università “La Sapienza”, Roma, Italy), Prof. Cesare Lasen (Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Verona, Vicenza, Belluno e Ancona, Belluno, Italy), Prof. Livio Poldini (Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita, Università degli Studi di Trieste, Italy) and Diego D'Angeli (Orto Botanico dell'Università “La Sapienza’, Roma, Italy) for useful information about the distribution of the Polygono-Trisetion alliance in Italy, and to Michael Gallay (School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen's University, Belfast, UK), Eva Záhorská (Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, SK) and Alena Lasley (USA) for their correction of the English. This work was supported by grants VEGA 2/0181/09, VEGA 2/0121/09, VEGA 2/0166/08, UK/238/2009, APVT-51-015804, by a grant through the EEA Financial Mechanism and the Norwegian Financial Mechanism, and from the state budget of the Slovak Republic SK0115.