Preliminary study on the unusual properties in the habitat of Ranunculetum baudotii in Central Europe

The study examines the patches of the saltwater association Ranunculetum baudotii in a new, atypical site; i.e., located more than 400 km away from the Baltic coastal line. They were found in a karst spring, and were the first locality of the community identified in Poland. The water and sediments within the patches were analyzed chemically in the laboratory, but, conductivity, water temperature and O₂ content were measured in the field. The spring was determined to be a relatively stable aquatic habitat, with a typical chemical composition of subterranean water (a prevalence of hydro-carbonate, calcium and magnesium ions), and rich, e.g., in nitrogen and phosphorus, and disturbed due to increasing anthropopressure. It revealed that the community analyzed favours habitats in the zone of discharge of karst fissure waters from Jurassic, Cretaceous and Triassic water-bearing levels. In Poland, phytocoenoses of this association, in contrast to the patches of the association in other European countries, include no saline taxa. In Europe, Ranunculetum baudotii belongs to the group of much threatened communities and the obtained results provide the basis for its protection.