Floristic diversity patterns in the White Carpathians biosphere reserve, Czech Republic

Abstract

The flora of the White Carpathians, a mountain range in the south-east of the Czech Republic, is documented by about 485,000 records of vascular plant occurrences collected since the mid-19 th century. A total of 1299 species recorded in 93 grid cells of 2.8 × 3.1 km were used for an analysis of spatial patterns of floristic diversity in the White Carpathians. Multivariate statistical techniques such as ordination and classification were used to reveal the main gradients in floristic composition and species richness, and measured environmental data and Ellenberg indicator values were used to assess underlying environmental factors. There is a striking floristic contrast between the western and eastern part of the study area, which is associated with differences in climate, mean altitude, topographic heterogeneity measured as altitudinal range, and land use. The western part is characterised by thermophilous, continental and calcicolous species of open habitats. In contrast, the more forested eastern part along the state border with Slovakia and the north-eastern part of the area are characterised by acidophilous species with higher moisture requirements. This pattern is consistent with the established phytogeographical division of the Czech Republic into the phytogeographical regions of Thermophyticum and Mesophyticum. The further division of the area into four regions, based on classified grid data, is also similar to the current division into phytogeographical districts, except for the Javorníky district. There are two distinct hot spots of species richness, in the western and the extreme north-eastern part. A poorer flora was found in landscapes with intensive agriculture. Species richness is associated with different environmental factors than species composition, namely with soil types and land-use categories. Alien species are more common in areas with a higher incidence of arable land and built-up areas, and less common in areas dominated by grasslands and forests.

Diversity of the Western Carpathian flysch grasslands: Do extremely species-rich plant communities coincide with a high diversity of snails?

“…A possible explanation for the presence of this steppe element in the upland fringes is its survival throughout the Holocene in small patches of dry grasslands sustained by landslides, human activity or selective grazing by wild herbivores (Ložek 2008). Nevertheless, most grasslands in the upland fringes and upland occur on deep soils, which originally developed under forests and are currently depleted in calcium due to leaching under humid conditions (Horsák 2008;Otýpková et al 2011), and therefore lack steppe species.…”

Analysis of the development of land use in the Morava River floodplain, with special emphasis on the landscape matrix

“…GIS offer a wide spectrum of spatial analyses and modelling, which find excellent application in landscape studies (Zhang et al, 2011), as well as in the analyses of habitats of individual plant and animal species and their mutual relations (Nelson and Boots, 2005;Liang et al, 2011). They allow researchers to conduct complex assessments of timechangeable characteristics (Antwi et al, 2008;Otýpková et al, 2011;Machar et al, 2014), assessments partly derived from the evaluators' subjective perceptions (aesthetic characteristics) or evaluations of groups of features, such as geosystem complexes which create conditions for preserving biodiversity (e.g. Carlson et al, 2004;Hamilton, 2005;Pechanec et al, 2014).…”

The challenges and opportunities of transboundary cooperation through the lens of the East Carpathians Biosphere Reserve

“…Charcoal of an anthropogenic origin is also present in the region (Kukulak 2014 (Niewiadomski 2011, Commarmot et al 2013). There are more than 100 species of birds that live within the reserve (Table 1), and a similarly high diversity of flora can be found within its borders, many of which are endemic species (Ruzickova et al 1998, ŠOP SR 2010, Otýpková et al 2011). In the Slovak region alone, more than 1200 species of vascular plants have been identified, with a significant portion of these being endangered (ŠOP SR 2010).…”