Impact of environmental change on a rare high-mountain tall-herb species: a case study on Achillea lingulata in the Ukrainian Carpathians

ABSTRACT

Spatio-temporal trends in distribution and population size of Achillea lingulata (Asteraceae), a high-mountain tall-herb species, are analyzed in the Ukrainian Carpathians. These shifts have been revealed due to comparison of the historical literature and herbarium records with the current species distribution, as well as by the long-term monitoring of its populations under different conditions. The species demonstrates opposite dynamic patterns in different types of habitats: negative in abandoned meadows and positive in rock-associated tall-grass communities. That results in the shrinkage of the species distribution at the expense of its secondary grassland habitats, but the increase in size of the saxicolous populations. These trends are associated with the vegetation succession caused by the main drivers of environmental change in the mountains: the abandonment of traditional land use (mainly grazing) and global warming. Biological and habitat characteristics of A. lingulata are described. It has rather narrow habitat requirements and needs gap microsites for the seed recruitment, therefore their availability determines the species distribution and abundance. The post-grazing restoration succession results in denser vegetation cover and replacement of A. lingulata in the meadows. However, vegetation-free microhabitats persist around the rocky outcrops in the high-mountain zone which are most favorable habitats for the species. The evident decline of its lowermost populations implies the effect of climate change which also enhances successional changes. The Ukrainian localities of that rare Carpathian-Balkan species are confined to the northern limit of its geographical range.

KEYWORDS:

• Rare species
• tall herb
• environmental change
• land abandonment
• high-mountain species
• Carpathians
• suitable microsites

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to curators and staff of the reviewed herbaria for their helpfulness.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

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Additional information

Funding

The research was financially supported by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine [grant 110/13/17-21/F]; Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine [grant 0116U001546] and the State Fund for Fundamental Research [grant F76/81-2017].

Notes on contributors

Yuriy Kobiv

Yuriy Kobiv, Dr. Sci., is a Senior Research Associate at the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, NASU and at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. His main research interests are population biology of rare mountain species, their dynamics and conservation. Contribution: general concept, field and herbarium work, data analysis, interpretation of results, manuscript preparation.

Valentyna Kobiv

Valentyna Kobiv, Ph.D., is a Research Associate at the Institute of Ecology of the Carpathians, NASU, Lviv, Ukraine. She specializes in biology of the narrow-range mountain plant species. Contribution: field and laboratory work, data analysis, manuscript preparation.