Ecology and distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tephroseris longifolia</Emphasis> subsp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">moravica</Emphasis> in relation to environmental variation at a micro-scale |
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Authors: | Monika Jani?ová Katarína Hegedü?ová Pavol Krá? Iveta ?kodová |
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Institution: | 1.Institute of Botany,Slovak Academy of Sciences,Bratislava,Slovakia;2.Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Faculty of Natural Sciences,Matej Bel University,Banská Bystrica,Slovakia |
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Abstract: | Tephroseris longifolia subsp. moravica is an endemic endangered taxon of European importance. Within the nine recently known populations it occurs in very specific
site conditions of ecotone habitats. In our contribution, we try to quantify its realized niche with regard to the measured
components of its biotic and abiotic environment. The main aim was to assess the importance of spatial environmental variation
on taxon occurrence and performance and to relate the obtained ecological information to data on taxon abundance and demography.
Possible reasons of taxon rarity are discussed, too. Comparison of plot pairs indicated that plots containing the taxon had
deeper soil and higher soil Na and Mg contents than plots without it. They also contained higher number of species, especially
forbs. Several soil parameters were positively correlated with taxon size and density while light parameters played minor
role. Negative correlations between cover of vascular plants, especially grasses and taxon size and density suggest its reduced
competitive ability. Vascular plant-based ecological indicator values were set for light (6), temperature (5), continentality
(4), moisture (5), soil reaction (7) and nutrients (5). The studied sites differed in topography, soil characteristics (pH,
soil Na, K, Ca, P and NH4) and cover of herb litter. Size of taxon populations was negatively related to their finite rate of increase which varied
between 1.25 and 2.04 and was most sensitive to demographic parameters related to growth. We conclude, that the studied taxon
is not strictly stenotopic as the ranges of several environmental variables were rather wide. We suppose, that the narrow
limits of recent taxon occurrence are consequences of its low competitive ability and demographic processes related to germination
and seedling establishment. The differing requirements of its ontogenetic stages (seedlings and generative individuals) may
define the final limits of its small-scale distribution. |
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