Vegetation Classification and Survey

Vegetation Classification and Survey

Published by Pensoft Publishers and International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS)

Online ISSN: 2683-0671

Disciplines: Ecology Environmental Studies Plant Sciences

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A. Topographic map of Iran and the location of the study area (made by Arc GIS). B. Satellite map of Fereydunshahr (map taken from Google Earth) showing the mountains within the study area. Mountain peaks are marked with white numbers: 1. Mount Zardigari (3,700 m a.s.l.) in the northwest, 2. Mount Tsikhe (3,320 m a.s.l.) in the west, 3. Mount Didtseri (3,620 m a.s.l.) in the north, 4. Mount Kalabis kobi (3,000 m a.s.l.) in the northeast, 5. Mount Ski Resort (3,091 m a.s.l.) in the west and 6. Mount Tatara (3,520 m a.s.l.) in the south. C. A view of the mountains around the city of Fereydounshahr. A was produced using ArcGIS; B is taken from Google Earth; C by MY.
Climatic diagram of Fereydunshahr derived from the meteorological data collected by the Fereydunshahr meteorological station (https://www.irimo.ir/).
Subalpine tall-umbelliferous vegetation types. A.Ferulago angulata (Mount Zardigari, 3,450 m a.s.l.). B.Prangos uloptera (Mount Zardigari, 3,420 m a.s.l.). Photos by MY.
Subalpine and alpine thorn-cushion grasslands. A.Acantholimon hohenackeri, Astragalus brachycalyx, Bromus tomentellus, Dianthus macranthus (Mount Ski Resort, 3,000 m a.s.l). B.Cousinia multiloba (Mount Tatara, 3,500 m a.s.l). C.Onobrychis cornuta (Mount Zardigari, 3,535 m a.s.l. Photos by MY.
A. View of the rock habitat with chasmophytic vegetation (Mount Zardigari, 3,700 m a.s.l.). Examples of chasmophytic species: B.Arabis caucasica (Mount Zardigari, 3,400 m a.s.l). C.Dionysia bazoftica (Mount Tatara, 3,050 m a.s.l). D.Graellsia saxifragifolia (Mount Zardigari, 3,400 m a.s.l. Photos by MY.

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Vascular plant diversity of the high mountains of Fereydunshahr, Central Zagros, Iran

December 2024

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161 Reads

Mohsen Yaselyani

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Aims and scope


Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS) is an international, peer-reviewed, online journal on plant community ecology published on behalf of the International Association for Vegetation Science (IAVS). It is devoted to vegetation survey and classification at any organisational and spatial scale and without restriction to certain methodological approaches.

The journal publishes original papers that develop new vegetation typologies as well as applied studies that use such typologies, for example, in vegetation mapping, ecosystem modelling, nature conservation, land use management or monitoring. Particularly encouraged are methodological studies that design and compare tools for vegetation classification and mapping, such as algorithms, databases and nomenclatural principles. Papers dealing with conceptual and theoretical bases of vegetation survey and classification are also welcome. While large-scale studies are preferred, regional studies will be considered when filling important knowledge gaps or presenting new methods. VCS also contains permanent sections on "Ecoinformatics" and "Phytosociological Nomenclature".

Recent articles


Vascular plant diversity of the high mountains of Fereydunshahr, Central Zagros, Iran
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December 2024

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161 Reads

Questions: The mountains of Fereydunshahr County are one of the centers of plant endemism within the Zagros, however, its flora and vegetation remain relatively understudied. In this study we undertook research on the plant species diversity of the subalpine and alpine zones of this area, their life forms, chorology, and vegetation types. Study area: Mountains of Fereydunshahr County, Central Zagros, West Iran. Methods: Plant specimens were collected during the growing seasons of 2018 to 2020. A complete species list was prepared including their life forms, chorotypes, elevation range, and major vegetation types. Results: A total of 308 vascular plant species have been identified belonging to 185 genera and 47 families. The largest plant families recorded during the study are Asteraceae with 44 species, Fabaceae 32, Brassicaceae 29, and Lamiaceae 27. At genus level Astragalus with 23 species is the richest. Hemicryptophyte with 162 (53%) species is the major life form. Most of the species are Irano-Turanian elements (52%). A total of 57 species (19%) are endemic to Iran and 23 species (7%) are endemic to Zagros. Most species belong to the montane-subalpine zone (33%), followed by subalpine (20%), montane (15%), lowland-montane (10%), alpine (9%), and lowland-subalpine (5%). In the alpine zone a high proportion of the species are endemic, while the montane zone has a very low proportion of endemics. From the identified species, 24% belong to subalpine and alpine thorn-cushion grasslands, 19% to montane steppe shrublands, 5% to subalpine tall-umbelliferous vegetation types, 5% to wetlands, and 5% to chasmophyte vegetation. Conclusions: The area has a rich flora, but at the same time is under high pressure from anthropogenic activities, especially a very high level of overgrazing. The region is not a protected area, therefore, establishment of a protected area and efficient conservation planning for the region is highly recommended. Taxonomic reference: Flora of Iran (Assadi et al. 1989–2021) and, for families not yet covered in the previous source, Flora Iranica (Rechinger 1963–2015). Abbreviations: ES = Euro-Siberian; IT = Irano-Turanian; M = Mediterranean; SS = Saharo-Sindian.


Vegetation of the southern slopes of Mt. Damavand, Iran: a comprehensive phytosociological classification

December 2024

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175 Reads

Aims: To provide the first syntaxonomic scheme of the main natural and semi-natural steppic vegetation types along a 3000-m elevational gradient. Location: South-facing slopes of Mt. Damavand, Iran. Methods: A dataset of 330 phytosociological plots of 25 m² sampled in all main vegetation types of the region was subjected to unsupervised classification with TWINSPAN. After some manual adjustments to maximise the floristic distinctness of clusters, the resulting units were translated into syntaxa at the class, order, alliance and association level. Diagnostic species were determined with phi values as measure of fidelity. The differences in abiotic and vegetation parameters among associations/communities were visualised with boxplots and the environmental gradients associated with the community differentiation via detrended correspondence analysis (DCA). Results: We found four main groups that are ecologically well interpretable and considered at the level of phytosociological classes: rocky habitats (Tanacetalia kotschyi, class unknown), scree habitats (Didymophyso aucheri-Dracocephaletea aucheri), snow-beds (Salicetea herbaceae) and grasslands (Astragalo-Brometea). We distinguished six orders, nine alliances and 18 association-level communities, which were floristically well separated. Many of these syntaxa were new to science. Elevation was the main driver of species composition and formation of the major vegetation groups. Conclusions: This study contributes to advancing the syntaxonomic understanding of the vegetation of Iran. It is particularly valuable as it covers the complete elevational gradient of 3000 m and thus also comprehensively includes the vegetation types of the lower elevations that previously had been rarely studied syntaxonomically in Iran. Furthermore, this study is the first to examine mown (semi-natural) tall herb rich grasslands in Iran, which were assigned to the new alliance Cousinion petrocauli. Since our study was based on a regionally constrained dataset, we could not solve all syntaxonomic issues conclusively. This underscores the need for more comprehensive studies of the vegetation in the entire Alborz Mts as well as other Iranian mountain ranges in the future. Taxonomic reference: Catalogue of Life (Bánki et al. 2024). Abbreviations: DCA = detrended correspondence analysis, ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Theurillat et al. 2021), TWINSPAN = two-way indicator species analysis.


Spatial distribution of the seven articles in the Special Collection “African vegetation studies”. The photos stem from the seven studies: Assèdé et al. (2023), Ayeko et al. (2023), Brown et al. (2022), Chakkour et al. (2023), Naftal et al. (2024), Samuels et al. (2023) and Strohbach and Strohbach (2023).
African vegetation studies: introduction to a Special Collection

December 2024

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This editorial introduces the Special Collection of “African Vegetation Studies”. The collection includes seven research papers from four African countries. One paper examines the impact of traditional agro-ecosystems on plant diversity in Morocco. In Benin, one research paper focuses on vegetation associations in a biosphere reserve, and another is on land cover changes on inselbergs. In Namibia, one paper provides a syntaxonomic description of the Karstveld vegetation, while another models potential vegetation changes along a south-north rainfall gradient. Two papers present research on vegetation classification and descriptions of two natural areas in South Africa, namely the Tankwa Karoo National Park and the Telperion Nature Reserve. The collection demonstrates that there are important classification studies ongoing in different parts of the continent to better understand the diversity and complexity of African vegetation. At the same time our mini-review of the current status of vegetation classification and vegetation-plot databases in Africa highlights that much work remains to be done to achieve a comprehensive and internationally consistent vegetation classification for the countries of Africa, which would be beneficial for land use management, biodiversity conservation and ecological research. Abbreviations: EVA = European Vegetation Archive; EVS = European Vegetation Survey; GDP = Gross Domestic Product; IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science; IAVS-AS = IAVS Regional Section for Africa; VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey.


Aerial view (A) and ground view (B) of Pinus pinaster forests at their southeasternmost distribution limit in the Italian peninsula (Siena, Italy). Photo credit: G. Bonari, 2016 and 2023, respectively.
Dendrogram of a TWINSPAN classification based on the species composition of Pinus pinaster forest plots. The colours refer to: red - Cluster 1 (Eastern Liguria); green - Cluster 2 (Central-Southern Tuscany and marginally Western Liguria); light blue - Cluster 3 (Southern Tuscany); purple - Cluster 4 (Eastern and Western Liguria). The number of relevés for each cluster is specified in brackets.
PCoA results showing Pinus pinaster forest plots in relation to latitude and clusters (A) and associated species (B). The colours refer to: red - Cluster 1 (Eastern Liguria); green - Cluster 2 (Central-Southern Tuscany and marginally Western Liguria); light blue - Cluster 3 (Southern Tuscany); purple - Cluster 4 (Eastern and Western Liguria). Species showing a correlation coefficient >0.5 with the first two axes have been superimposed to the ordination diagram (B), and are shown with a (+).
Map showing the distribution of the clusters in relation to the study area. The colours refer to: red - Cluster 1 (Eastern Liguria); green - Cluster 2 (Central-Southern Tuscany and marginally Western Liguria); light blue - Cluster 3 (Southern Tuscany); purple - Cluster 4 (Eastern and Western Liguria). In the upper-right box, the distribution of Pinus pinaster in Italy is reported (Caudullo et al. 2017).
Boxplots of unweighted community means of Ecological Indicator Values showing the results of the post-hoc Dunn’s multiple comparison test with Holm correction. The results of pairwise comparisons are indicated using Compact Letter Display method, where different letters between two clusters indicate a statistically significant difference of the test, with p <0.05. The colours refer to: red - Cluster 1 (Eastern Liguria); green - Cluster 2 (Central-Southern Tuscany and marginally Western Liguria); light blue - Cluster 3 (Southern Tuscany); purple - Cluster 4 (Eastern and Western Liguria).
Vegetation diversity of Pinus pinaster forests in the Italian Peninsula

December 2024

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169 Reads

Aim: To revise Pinus pinaster-dominated communities of the Italian peninsula with special regard to central-southern Tuscany, and assess their floristic and ecological differences. Study area: Tuscany and Liguria regions, Italy. Methods: We classified 251 vegetation plots using the Two-way indicator species analysis method and we explored vegetation patterns through Principal Coordinate Analysis. We then investigated the ecology using Ecological Indicator Values. Results: We identified four major groups, primarily distinguished by the substrate of their stands and along a latitudinal gradient. We classified the forests in central-southern Tuscany in the association Erico scopariae-Pinetum pinastri. This community includes thermophilous and mesophilous species primarily distributed in the Atlantic and Western Mediterranean regions. Comparison of community means of Ecological Indicator Values revealed significant differences in soil reaction, nitrogen, moisture, and light conditions, but not in temperature, between the central-southern Tuscany forests and the other clusters. We classified the other studied forest communities on acidic substrates within the association Erico arboreae-Pinetum pinastri, whereas those found on ultramafic substrates were placed in the Euphorbio ligusticae-Pinetum pinastri typus cons. propos., and in an informal group of secondary vegetation stands. Conclusions: Our analyses showed that the Pinus pinaster-dominated forests of central-southern Tuscany belong to the association Erico scopariae-Pinetum pinastri of the alliance Genisto pilosae-Pinion pinastri (class Pinetea halepensis). The presence of species of phytogeographical importance in the forest understory, underscores the high biogeographic and conservation value of these pine forests. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med (2024-). Syntaxonomic reference: Mucina et al. (2016), except for the changes proposed by Bonari et al. (2021). Abbreviations: EVC = EuroVegChecklist; ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature; PCoA = Principal Coordinate Analysis; TWINSPAN = Two-way indicator species analysis.


129 of the 132 grassland sites surveyed in the northern and central Virginia Piedmont. Sites are colored according to their floristic community group as determined by this study. Three survey sites were excluded from analyses and are not included on the map.
(A) Dendrogram of the four major grassland groups produced by the hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis of 129 sites. The four major groups were supported by PERMANOVA (P < 0.001, R² = 0.19). (B) Northern Prairie site in Prince William County, VA photographed by JBCH. (C) Central Prairie site in Albemarle County, VA photographed by DF. (D) Savanna/Woodland site in Madison County, VA photographed by DC. (E) Wet Grassland site in Buckingham County, VA photographed by DC.
Scatterplot of the NMDS ordination in three dimensions (stress = 0.16, non-metric fit R² = 0.98, linear fit R² = 0.87). Point shapes and colors indicate the four groups: Northern Prairie, Central Prairie, Savanna/Woodland, and Wet Grassland. Overlaid arrows depict the environmental variables with R² values greater than 0.25 and P values less than 0.05, with the exceptions of slope (degrees) and soil P content (mg/kg), which nearly overlapped with relative woody cover and soil organic matter content (%), respectively, were removed for legibility (Table 4).
Top five indicator species for each grassland group.
Average values ± standard error and fit of each soil and environmental variable to the NMDS ordination. Group averages were calculated using untransformed data, while variable fitting to the NMDS was performed us- ing transformed data.
Floristics of Virginia’s Northern and Central Piedmont grasslands

December 2024

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Aims: The grasslands of the North American Piedmont host diverse communities of sun-loving plants, but more than 90% of these grasslands have been lost across the region. Grasslands of the northern and central Piedmont of Virginia have received little formal study, but they are likely to be as diverse and threatened as they are in other parts of the eastern United States. To conserve the remaining Piedmont grasslands, we need to characterize floristic communities, identify the edaphic factors and disturbance regimes that drive their persistence, and develop methods to restore degraded grasslands. Study Area: Northern and Central Virginia Piedmont, USA. Methods: We surveyed plant communities and collected soil samples in 132 grasslands in old fields, powerline clearings, and roadsides. We used cluster analysis, indicator species analysis, and non-metric multidimensional scaling overlaid with soil and environmental variables to identify community groups. Results: We identified 695 plant taxa (87% of which are native) including 13 species that are rare in Virginia, two of which are globally critically imperiled (Pycnanthemum clinopodioides and P. torreyi). Six of our study sites contained 100 or more species with a maximum of 114 species in a single plot, making them among the most species-rich 100 m² plots recorded in the United States. Cluster analysis and ordination indicated four community groups, which we refer to as the Northern Prairies, Central Prairies, Savanna/Woodlands, and Wet Grasslands. Conclusions: The descriptions of these community groups can be used as reference information to inform grassland restoration in Virginia. Virginia’s Piedmont grasslands are threatened by fire suppression, development, invasive species, and inappropriate management by utility companies. Swift action to conserve high quality grasslands and restore degraded ones is required to save these diverse plant communities. Taxonomic reference: Weakley et al. (2012). Abbreviations: NMDS = non-metric multidimensional scaling; PERMANOVA = permutational multivariate analysis of variance.


Report 3 of the Committee for Change and Conservation of Names (CCCN)

December 2024

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94 Reads

We report the decisions made by the Assembly of the Group of Phytosociological Nomenclature (GPN) in 2023 on previous recommendations of the Committee for Change and Conservation of Names (CCCN). Further, we discuss eight Requests for a binding decision and nine nomenclatural Proposals. Recommendations on acceptance or rejection of these Proposals are provided. We recommend the conservation of the following names: Mesobromion erecti (Braun-Blanquet et Moor 1938) Zoller 1954, Galio sylvatici-Carpinetum betuliOberdorfer 1957, Lithospermo-Carpinetum betuliOberdorfer 1957, Nanocyperetalia Klika 1935, IsoetetaliaBraun-Blanquet 1936 and Molinio arundinaceae-Quercetum Neuhäusl et Neuhäuslová-Novotná 1967. Abbreviations: CCCN = Committee for Change and Conservation of Names; GPN = Working Group for Phytosociological Nomenclature; ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature; VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey.


IranVeg – the Vegetation Database of Iran: current status and the way forward

December 2024

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493 Reads

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1 Citation

Iran, situated in Southwest Asia, showcases a diverse landscape, including three phytogeographical regions and two global biodiversity hotspots. This diversity is attributed to its intricate geology, mountainous terrain, wide altitudinal range, and heterogeneous climate, fostering a rich flora characterized by a significant proportion of endemism. We present an updated version of the Vegetation Database of Iran (IranVeg) (GIVD ID AS-IR-001), comprising 13,411 plots spanning six major habitat types. These encompass deciduous forests (18.0%), woodlands and shrublands (5.6%), steppes and other grasslands (52.0%), saline depressions (9.3%), wetlands (12.2%), and anthropogenic habitats (2.9%), derived from 100 published and unpublished resources, comprising 3,919 plant species, belonging to 961 genera and 147 families. The vegetation data of Iran have been assigned to 31 valid and invalid phytosociological classes. The oldest plots were recorded in 1936 in the Alborz Mountains in northern Iran, while more than 60% of all plots were collected after 2010. Plot sizes vary from less than 1 m² to 10,000 m² with the highest species richness of 101 species recorded in a 25 m² montane grassland plot. IranVeg stands as the first national vegetation database in Iran, promising valuable insights into biodiversity patterns and facilitating the assessment of future environmental and anthropogenic changes. It remains open to further development through a collaborative network of vegetation scientists. This comprehensive database holds significant potential for advancing vegetation classification and survey efforts in Iran and beyond. Taxonomic reference: World Flora Online (WFO 2024).


Compositional and ecological diversity of Cansiglio forest (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy)

November 2024

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56 Reads

Aim: The aim of this study is to describe the compositional and ecological diversity of the Natura 2000 Site ‘Cansiglio Forest’ (IT3310006). Study area: The study area is located in the South-Eastern Prealps between the Venetian-Friulian plain and the Cansiglio plateau, a typical karstic system. Methods: A total of 25 vegetation relevés, each of 250 m², were sampled in the LIFE SPAN (LIFE19 NAT/IT/000104) project plots and were subjected to cluster analysis (Bray-Curtis, Ward) and NMDS ordination. Variables such as Ellenberg Indicator Values, environmental parameters, life forms, chorotypes, and phytosociological units were tested using ANOVA and the Kruskal-Wallis test to assess significant differences between clusters. The indicspecies package was applied to study the association between species patterns and combinations of clusters. Results: We distinguished three clusters. Cluster A, characterized by several species, including Chaerophyllum hirsutum and Phegopteris connectilis, shows higher EIVs for moisture, acidic soil reaction and lower temperature, a more open canopy and mainly Circumboreal and Euro Asian species of Vaccinio-Piceetea. Cluster B1, a mixed forest of Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba with Circaea alpina, has intermediate EIVs, a closed canopy, low herbaceous layer cover, and higher cover of SE-European species. Cluster B2, a pure Fagus sylvatica forest with Lathyrus venetus, has lower EIVs for humidity and higher for temperature, and mainly Central European species of Carpino-Fagetea. Conclusion: The anthropogenic spruce forest is developing in the Cansiglio plateau and is favored by thermal inversion. It could be identified with Senecioni cacaliaster-Piceetum, but further study is needed to confirm. The mixed forest of Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba and the pure beech forest represent two facies of the Cardamino pentaphylli-Fagetum fagetosum, with the first one dominating on the coldest slopes and the second one on the highest and warmer belt. This community can be included in the Aremonio-Fagion alliance. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med PlantBase (2023). Syntaxonomic references: Mucina et al. (2016) for classes, orders and alliances; Willner et al. (2017) for suballiances. Abbreviations: ANOVA = analysis of variance; EIV = Ellenberg indicator value; FVG = Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia-Giulia; HSD = honestly significant difference; NMDS = non-metric multidimensional scaling.


Plant communities of high-Andean bofedal wetlands across a trans-Andean transect in southern Peru

October 2024

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176 Reads

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2 Citations

Aims: Ecosystems of the Tropical Andes include plant communities above 4,000 m in elevation, associated with wetlands known as bofedales. To enhance our understanding of them, we surveyed bofedal plant communities in the Peruvian Andes. Questions: Which are the most common bofedal plant communities, and what are their main characteristics? Study area: An east-to-west 68 km megatransect in Ayacucho and Huancavelica departments in Peru, the area of influence of a gas pipeline. Methods: We surveyed 127 (1 m × 1 m) permanent plots annually between 2017 and 2019 to assess plant communities, calculated diversity metrics, and applied non-parametric hypothesis testing analysis of similarities and multivariate analyses to the data. Results: We identified 13 plant communities with 3.5 to 11.7 mean species richness. Only seven were statistically different; the other six were rare and require additional surveys to define their status as independent communities. The Distichia muscoides-dominated community was found in most sites (90%), plots (55%), and along the entire elevational range we studied. D. muscoides, Plantago tubulosa, and Rockhausenia pygmaea were the most frequent species in the studied bofedales (in 30 of 31 sites). These species are usually cushion or carpet forming, so average plant cover was high in most plant communities where they occurred (89–98%). The seven plant communities (dominated by D. muscoides, R. pygmaea, Plantago tubulosa, P. rigida, Lachemilla diplophylla, Aciachne pulvinata and Juncus stipulatus) were consistent in their structural and compositional characteristics and maintained differences between them during our three-year study. Conclusions: We show that bofedal plant communities in the southern Peruvian Andes are more heterogeneous than the four broad types previously reported. This heterogeneity occurs at local site levels but also at landscape and regional scales. We highlight the importance of considering this heterogeneity when discussing and implementing management, restoration, and conservation actions in bofedales. Taxonomic reference: WFO (2024)


Neotropical vegetation types in Latin America and the Caribbean (creation: Gwendolyn Peyre).
Vegetation classification in the Neotropics – Novel insights from Latin America and the Caribbean

October 2024

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Our editorial introduces a Special Collection of scientific articles on current vegetation research in the most biodiverse of all biogeographic realms, the Neotropics. It contains nine scientific contributions dedicated to vegetation data, description and classification. Four research papers provide new vegetation classifications of important Neotropical biomes, namely the Arid Chaco in Argentina, Mexican temperate forests, and Andean wetlands in the Argentine Puna and southern Peru. Furthermore, one study provides a novel bioclimatic-vegetation classification approach applied to Mexican vegetation, while another proposes a new synthesis of the South American terrestrial biomes as geocomplexes. Finally, three vegetation databases are presented in the Special Collection: ArgVeg – Database of Central Argentina (GIVD ID: SA-AR-002), CACTUS – Vegetation database of the Dutch Caribbean Islands (GIVD ID: SA-00-004) and VegAndes: the vegetation database for the Latin American highlands (GIVD ID: SA-00-005). The Special Collection provides fundamental data and tools to better understand the diversity and complexity of Neotropical vegetation. Abbreviations: GIVD = Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases, IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science, IAVS-LACS = IAVS Regional Section for the Latin America and the Caribbean, VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey


Plant biogeography, endemism and vegetation types of Dena Mts, Zagros, West Iran

October 2024

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Questions: The highest mountain peak of Zagros is located in the Dena mountain system (4409 m a.s.l.), which is identified as the second richest center of plant endemism of Zagros. In this study we (1) investigate floristic affinities of Dena Mts to adjacent mountain ranges based on the endemic species of the Iranian Plateau, (2) identify the species reaching the subnival zone, and (3) characterize the plant communities of the subnival zone of Dena Mts. Study area: Dena Mts is a calcareous mountain system in southern Zagros, Iran. Methods: The list of taxa endemic to the Iranian Plateau present also in Dena Mts was taken from our previously published data. Novel vegetation data were collected using the methodology of Braun-Blanquet. Classification was carried out in JUICE using the Modified TWINSPAN method. Results: Of the 242 taxa endemic to the Iranian Plateau present in Dena Mts, 22 taxa are endemic to the latter. Dena Mts have the strongest floristic affinity with the Yazd-Kerman massif, with which they share 84 taxa compared to 51 taxa shared with Alborz, 37 taxa shared with the Azerbaijan Plateau, and 15 taxa shared with Kopet Dagh-Khorassan. In Dena Mts, 38 taxa reach the subnival zone, most of them being endemic to the Iranian Plateau (68%). From scree habitats in the subnival zone, two new plant associations are described, Aethionemetum umbellati and Zerdanetum anchonioidei. These constitute a newly described alliance Galion pseudokurdici, classified within the class Didymophyso aucheri-Dracocephaletea aucheri. Conclusions: Although Dena Mts lie within a protected area, this will not prevent shrinking of alpine and subnival habitats due to global warming. Consequently, strong attention to the conservation of all range-restricted species of this mountain system, especially of alpine and subnival species, is highly recommended. Taxonomic reference: Flora of Iran (Assadi et al. 1989–2021) and, for families not yet covered in the previous source, Flora Iranica (Rechinger 1963–2015).


Boreal forests of larch (Larix sibirica) and pine (Pinus sibirica) of the association Carici iljinii-Laricetum sibiricae Ermakov in Ermakov et Alsynbayev 2004 (alliance Pino sibiricae-Laricion sibiricae Ermakov et Theurillat all. nov.) from the Eastern Altai (Southern Siberia).
Comments on nomenclature of the order Rhododendro tomentosi-Laricetalia gmelinii and validation of the alliance Pino sibiricae-Laricion sibiricae

September 2024

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Zonal light-coniferous forests are widespread on long-frozen soils in Southern Siberia. Their individuality was first recognised in 1982 by Guinochet, who proposed a new suballiance for them, Pino-Laricenion sibiricae, within the alliance Vaccinio-Piceion. Later, attempts were made to raise the suballiance to the rank of an alliance. However, they failed to publish the name Pino sibiricae-Laricion sibiricae validly according to the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (ICPN). Therefore, the name is validated here after discussing the reasons for rejecting all previous proposals. The validity of the corrected and mutated syntaxon names Rhododendro tomentosi-Laricetalia gmelinii and Rhododendro tomentosi-Laricion gmelinii, which are related to the alliance Pino sibiricae-Laricion sibiricae, is confirmed. Corrections and mutations of two association names are also performed. Taxonomic reference: World Flora Online Plant List (WFO) (https://wfoplantlist.org/) [accessed 28 July 2024]. Abbreviations: ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Theurillat et al. 2021); WFO = World Flora Online Plant List.


Variation of FWCI values of articles in journals represented by at least five articles in the sample. The height of boxplots is proportional to the number of articles included in the sample. Note that the x-axis has a log-scaling. The length of the box-whisker plots indicates that except for Journal of Biogeography, the most-cited article in the sample performs at least 10 times better than the least cited one, while the difference was as big as 185 times in the case of Vegetation Classification and Survey.
Variables used in the regression modelling of the 177 articles and some further citation metrics, their val- ue distribution and their handling in the modelling.
Minimal adequate model to explain the log 10 -transformed Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI). The estimates for the predictors in the multiple and simple linear regressions as well as the associated R 2 adj. values are given. n.s. = non-significant.
Determinants of citation impact

August 2024

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186 Reads

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1 Citation

This article aims to quantitatively assess how different formal aspects – beyond the relevance and quality of a study – influence how often a scientific paper is cited. As a case study, I retrieved all publications co-authored by myself from the Scopus database, of which 174 could be used for regression modelling. The citation impact was quantified as Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), which is the citation number normalised by year, subject area and article type. I examined 13 easily accessible numeric and binary predictor variables, including the Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), open access, special feature, number of authors, length of article and title, as well as formal aspects of the title. In the minimal adequate model, these formal aspects explained 50.2% of the variance in FWCI, with the SNIP alone explaining only 26.8%. Other strong positive predictors were title brevity, article length, special feature and the use of a colon in the title. By contrast, open access and the formulation of titles as factual statements did not have a significant effect. For authors who wish to make their articles more impactful, the main recommendation is to shorten the title and to disregard using factual statements that make the title longer. Abbreviations: FWCI = Field-weighted Citation Impact; JIF = Journal Impact Factor; OA = open access; SNIP = Source Normalized Impact per Paper: VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey.


Proposal (39) to conserve the name Koelerietalia splendentis Horvatić 1973 as a nomen conservandum

August 2024

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47 Reads

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2 Citations

After a nomenclatural revision of the available names for the order of rocky grasslands of the Balkan Peninsula within the class Festuco-Brometea, based on Article 52 ICPN we propose the conservation of the name Koelerietalia splendentis against the name Halacsyetalia sendtneri. In syntaxonomic concepts not combining the limestone and serpentine rocky grasslands of the Balkans in a single order, the latter name would still be available as it is based on a different nomenclatural type. (39) Koelerietalia splendentisHorvatić 1973 nom. cons. propos. Typus: Chrysopogono grylli-Koelerion splendentisHorvatić 1973 (holotypus) (=) Halacsyetalia sendtneriRitter-Studnička 1970 Typus: Potentillion visianiiRitter-Studnička 1970 (lectotypus: Kuzmanović et al. 2016) Taxonomic reference: Mucina et al. (2016). Abbreviations: ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature, 4th edition (Theurillat et al. 2021).


Flow chart illustrating step by step methods and the sources of information applied to compute the Mexican vegetation formation bioclimatic map (sources: INEGI2016; Velázquez et al. 2016).
Vegetation pattern map of Mexico. On the whole, 17 native vegetation types, as a result of bioclimate and physiognomic land cover date map crossing, were depicted.
Legend of the vegetation pattern map of Mexico. Colours relate to map cartographic classes. Numbers in brackets correspond to km² covered by each class.
A coupled cartographic approach between bioclimatology and vegetation formations of Mexico

July 2024

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185 Reads

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2 Citations

Aims: The task of classifying and naming Mexican vegetation types has been undertaken by previous botanists, ecologists, and mapping agencies. However, discrepancies remain due to the lack of criteria and joint efforts from a geographical and botanical perspective. We aim to unravel the complex interactions between climate and vegetation in Mexico using climatic data and advanced mapping techniques, display in maps the transition from land cover to vegetation maps and couple geobotanical and bioclimatological approaches to provide a sound, unified system for identifying Mexican bioclimatic physiognomic patterns. Methods: Bioclimatic mapping was developed from the Digital Climatic Atlas of Mexico data source. In addition, land cover and vegetation data were obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico regrouped as described by the Standardized Hierarchical Vegetation Classification. These data were analysed via standard map crossing technics using geographic information systems. Results and conclusions: The results revealed five ombrotypes and five thermotypes, leading to the identification of 13 different bioclimatic classes, which, when combined with physiognomic types, led us to recognize 11 forests, 3 shrublands and 3 herbaceous formations (at a scale of 1:4,000,000). The core outcome is a detailed bioclimatic/physiognomic vegetation map including forests, shrublands and areas dominated by Herbaceous/Non-Vascular formations. The map highlights the critical importance of harmonising methodologies to ensure comprehensive and accurate insights into Mexico’s bioclimatic diversity. Taxonomic reference: Villaseñor et al. (2005). Syntaxonomic reference: Velázquez et al. (2021). Abbreviations: INEGI = Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía; SECLAVEMEX = Standardized Hierarchical Vegetation Classification; WBCS = Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System.


Potential distribution of major plant units under climate change scenarios along an aridity gradient in Namibia

June 2024

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129 Reads

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5 Citations

Objectives: Climate change is expected to have major impacts on plant species distribution worldwide. These changes can affect plant species in three ways: the timing of seasonal activities (phenology), physiology and distribution. This study aims to predict the effect of shifting climatic conditions on the major vegetation units along an aridity gradient through Namibia. Study area: Namibia’s vegetation is characterised by open woodland in the northeast to low open shrubland in the southern part of the country. These differences are a result of increasing aridity from north to south with a rainfall gradient from 100 mm to 600 mm. Namibia is projected to have an increase in annual mean temperature of 2°C by the end of the 21st century. Methods: A vegetation classification was done for 1,986 relevés using cluster analysis, a Multi-Response Permutation Procedure and indicator species analysis. The current distribution of the vegetation classes was modelled with Random Forest. Future projections for the most important climate variables were used to model the potential distribution of the vegetation units in 2080. This modelling approach used two scenarios of Representative Concentration Pathways (4.5 and 8.5) from two Global Climate Models – the IPSL–CM5A–LR and HAdGEM2–ES. Results: The predicted distribution shows a high expansion potential of Eragrostis rigidior­­-Peltophorum africanum mesic thornbush savannas, Combretum africanum-Terminalia sericea broad-leafed savannas and Senegalia mellifera-Dichrostachys cinerea degraded thornbush savannas towards the south under both scenarios. Conclusions: The model indicated the ability to classify and predict vegetation units to future climatic conditions. Half of the vegetation units are expected to undergo significant contraction. Overall, RCP8.5 conditions favour the proliferation of certain vegetation types, particularly Combretum collinum-Terminalia sericea broad-leafed savannas and Senegalia mellifera-Dichrostachys cinerea degraded thornbush savannas, potentially displacing other vegetation types. Taxonomic reference: Klaassen and Kwembeya (2013) for vascular plants, except Kyalangalilwa et al. (2013) for the genera Senegalia and Vachellia s.l. (Fabaceae). Abbreviations: CDM = Community Distribution Model; CMIP5 = Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5; EVI = Enhanced Vegetation Index; GCM = General Circulation Model; IV = Indicator Value; ISA = Indicator Species Analysis; MAP = mean annual precipitation; MAT = mean annual temperature; MRPP = Multi-Response Permutation Procedure; NMS = Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling; RF = Random Forest; RCPs = Representative Concentration Pathways; SDM = species distribution model.


(a) Map showing the distribution of vegetation plots from dataset of pistachio open woodlands (110 relevés) with blue circles represent the Pistacietum khinjuk, red circles the Pistacietum verae. (b) Map showing distribution of the plots from the second comparative dataset (1,276 relevés) including woody and grassland phytocoenoses with close relationship with analysed vegetation in the Irano-Turanian or Mediterranean regions: Carpino-Fagetea forests (352 relevés), Pino-Juniperetea and Juniperetea pseudosabinae stands (119 relevés), Quercetea ilicis and Quercetea pubescentis forests from (321 relevés), Crataego-Prunetea shrubland (146 relevés), Prangetea ulopterae tall-forb communities (156 relevés) and Stipo-Trachynietea distachyae pseudosteppes (180 relevés).
NMDS ordination of 1,276 plots presenting the relationships between pistachio open woodlands all types of naturally occurring woody and related grassland phytocoenoses analysed in this study. Abbreviations: 1 – Pistacietea verae (110 relevés, Tajikistan and Iran), 2 – Carpino-Fagetea (352 relevés, Tajikistan), 3 – Pino-Juniperetea and Juniperetea pseudosabinae (119 relevés, Tajikistan), 4 – Quercetea ilicis and Quercetea pubescentis (213 relevés, Mediterranean Basin), 5 – Crataego-Prunetea (146 relevés, Tajikistan), 6 – Prangetea ulopterae (156 relevés, Tajikistan) and 7 – Stipo-Trachynietea distachyae (180 relevés, Tajikistan).
Boxplots showing median (line), mean (red dot), quartiles, outliers and the range of (a) annual mean temperature, (b) temperature annual range, (c) mean temperature of the warmest quarter, (d) mean temperature of the coldest quarter, (e) sum of annual precipitation, (f) precipitation of the warmest quarter and (g) precipitation of the coldest quarter for (from left to right) šhiblyak (Crataego-Prunetea, Tajikistan), Juniper woods (Pino-Juniperetea and Juniperetea pseudosabinae, Tajikistan), pistacio open woodlands (Pistacietea verae, Tajikistan and Iran) and Mediterranean scrubs (Quercetea ilicis, Mediterranean Basin). Different letters indicate significant differences among the groups after the Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test with p < 0.05.
Boxplots showing median (line), mean (red dot), quartiles, outliers and the range of species richness of (a) Mediterranean, (b) Irano-Turanian, (c) Central Asian and (d) Eurosiberian elements for (from left to right) šhiblyak (Crataego-Prunetea, Tajikistan), Juniper woods (Pino-Juniperetea and Juniperetea pseudosabinae, Tajikistan), pistacio open woodlands (Pistacietea verae, Tajikistan and Iran) and Mediterranean scrubs (Quercetea ilicis, Mediterranean Basin). Different letters indicate significant differences among the groups after the Kruskal–Wallis rank sum test with p < 0.05.
Photographs of pistachio open woodlands: (a) Pistacietum verae near Norak, Tajikistan (Photo: S. Świerszcz) and (b) Pistacietum khinjuk near Ramhormoz, Iran (Photo: A. Naqinezhad).
The Pistacietea verae: a new class of open, deciduous woodlands in Middle and Southwestern Asia

June 2024

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150 Reads

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2 Citations

Aims: To analyse the syntaxonomy of open, deciduous woodlands at the southern margin of the steppe zone in the colline and montane belts of the Pamir-Alai, western Tian Shan and Iranian Mountains (Irano-Turanian region). Study area: Tajikistan (Middle Asia) and Iran (Southwestern Asia). Methods: We prepared two datasets: the first dataset contained 110 relevés from Tajikistan and Iran representing pistachio groves, the second one was a comparative dataset of 1,276 relevés of pistachio groves and floristically related woody and grassland phytocoenoses from the Irano-Turanian and Mediterranean regions. These two datasets were classified separately with the modified TWINSPAN algorithm with pseudospecies cut levels 0%, 2%, 10% and 25%, and total inertia as a measure of cluster heterogeneity. Diagnostic species were identified using the phi coefficient as a fidelity measure. A NMDS ordination was used to explore the relationships between the distinguished groups. Results: We found that Pistacia open woodlands are very distinctive in terms of species composition, including numerous endemics. Our observations in Pamir-Alai, Kopet-Dagh, Zagros, Alborz and other Central and southern mountains of Iran proved that pistachio open woodlands form distinct zonal vegetation of the colline-montane belt. We thus propose a new class Pistacietea verae, with the order Pistacietalia verae and appropriate type alliance Pistacion verae, including two associations: Pistacietum verae and Pistacietum khinjuk. Conclusions: Our research has shown that the Pistacia open woodlands are a distinct vegetation typical of the Irano-Turanian region and due to its specific ecology, phytogeography and unique species composition, should be regarded as a vegetation class Pistacietea verae. It needs further examination and comparison with similar vegetation in the western Irano-Turanian and Hindu Kush regions. Recognizing the unique pistachio open woodlands as a distinct vegetation class in the Irano-Turanian region is crucial for establishing effective conservation strategies in these understudied yet ecologically significant ecosystems, spanning potentially from the Zagros, Alborz and other Central and southern Mountains of Iran to Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Taxonomic reference: Plants of the World Online (POWO 2023), with World Flora Online (WFO 2023) for some problematic cases and Nobis et al. (2020) for Stipa spp. Syntaxonomic references: Mucina et al. (2016) for SE European syntaxa, Nowak et al. (2022a, 2022b) for all other syntaxa. Abbreviations: NMDS = Non-metric multidimensional scaling.


Habitat characterization and mapping on the western slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon

June 2024

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211 Reads

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2 Citations

Aims: Lebanon is renowned in the Levant for its distinctive vegetation types with some biodiversity hostposts as Mount Hermon, with rare and endangered endemic plant species. We aim to present the ecological characteristics and spatial distribution of habitat types present on its western slopes through the analysis of plant communities. Study area: Mount Hermon, Lebanon. Methods: We surveyed 169 plots, each spanning an area of 314 m², from 2020 to 2023, in the district of Rashaya, calculated compositional dissimilarity using the Bray–Curtis index, conducted hierarchical clustering analysis using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), applied the Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) method to investigate the relationship between species frequency per site and environmental parameters, and identified significant diagnostic species for each group. Results: We recorded 383 taxa, including 27 narrow endemics. Ten habitat types are described; three at the oro-Mediterranean level: hedgehog-heaths of Astragalus echinus and Noaea mucronata, hedgehog-heaths of Tanacetum densum and Astragalus cruentiflorus, cliffs of Rosularia sempervivum subsp. libanotica; three at the supra-Mediterranean level: grasslands with Eryngium glomeratum, woodlands of Quercus infectoria, Q. coccifera and Crataegus azarolus, evergreen woodlands of Q. coccifera; four at the montane level: scree deciduous woodlands of Prunus korshinskyi and Lonicera nummulariifolia, woodlands of deciduous P. korshinskyi and evergreen Q. coccifera, shrublands of Astragalus gummifer, and deciduous woodlands of Quercus look and Acer monspessulanum subsp. microphyllum. Four environmental variables exhibited significant influences in shaping vegetation composition: elevation, mean annual temperature, slope and northness. Conclusions: Five habitats are novelties proposed as sub-types for the national typology. Floristic affinities with Mount Barouk are highlighted. The nature reserve on the western slopes of Mount Hermon encompasses the majority of the identified habitats. The insights from this study and the habitat map are useful for the development of a management plan and conservation measures. Taxonomic reference: International Plant Names Index (IPNI 2023). Abbreviations: EUNIS = European Nature Information System; NMDS = nonmetric multidimensional scaling; UPGMA = unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean; WGS84 = World Geodetic System, 1984.


Spatial distribution of the 12,694 vegetation plots contained in NBGVD in March 2024. The grey shading indicates the geographic scope of NBGVD, while the colour intensity of the 100 km × 100 km grid cells represents the number of plots contained in NBGVD.
Temporal distribution of the 12,694 vegetation plots contained in the NBGVD in March 2024.
Distribution of the plot sizes of the 12,694 vegetation plots contained in the NBGVD in March 2024.
Distribution of coordinate precision of the 12,694 vegetation plots contained in the NBGVD in March 2024.
Decision tree (grey) on how to contribute grassland plots s.l. from the Nordic-Baltic region to national and international vegetation-plot databases to achieve optimal benefit for data contributors and for science. The black lines indicate the flow of data to databases of higher aggregation levels.
Nordic-Baltic Grassland Vegetation Database (NBGVD) – current state and future prospects

May 2024

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282 Reads

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2 Citations

This Long Database Report describes the historical background and current contents of the Nordic-Baltic Grassland Vegetation Database (NBGVD) (GIVD-code EU-00-002). NBGVD is the EDGG-associated collaborative vegetation-plot database that collects vegetation-plot data of grasslands and other open habitats (except segetal and deep aquatic vegetation) from the Nordic-Baltic region excluding Germany, namely Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, N Poland, NW Russia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, and Sweden. Target vegetation types are lowland grasslands and heathlands, arctic-alpine communities, coastal communities, non-forested mires and other wetlands, rocky, tall-herb and ruderal communities. As of March 2024, it included 12,694 relevés recorded between 1910 and 2023. These were mainly digitised from literature sources (84%), while the remainder comes from individual unpublished sources (16%). The data quality is high, with bryophytes and lichens being treated in more than 80% of all plots and measured environmental variables such as topography and soil characteristics often available in standardised form. A peculiarity of the Nordic-Baltic region are the relatively small plot sizes compared to other regions (median: 4 m²). The available data stem from 35 vegetation classes, with Koelerio-Corynephoretea, Festuco-Brometea, Sedo-Scleranthetea, Molinio-Arrhenatheretea and Scheuchzerio-Caricetea being most frequent. We conclude that NBGVD provides valuable data, allowing interesting analyses at the regional scale and fills gaps in continental to global analyses. Still, since there are many more data around, we ask interested readers to contribute their own data or help find and digitise old data from the literature. Taxonomic reference: TURBOVEG species list “Europe”. Syntaxonomic reference: Mucina et al. (2016). Abbreviations: EDGG = Eurasian Dry Grassland Group, EVA = European Vegetation Archive, GIVD = Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases, NBGVD = Nordic-Baltic Grassland Vegetation Database


Dry grasslands and thorn-cushion communities of Armenia: a first syntaxonomic classification

May 2024

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544 Reads

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4 Citations

Aim: To provide the first syntaxonomic, plot-based classification of the dry grasslands and thorn-cushion communities in Armenia. Study area: Armenia. Methods: We sampled 111 vegetation plots (10 m²) and recorded environmental and structural parameters. We collected additional 487 relevés from surrounding countries for a broad-scale comparison. We used modified TWINSPAN to derive a syntaxonomic classification system, whose units were then compared among each other regarding species composition, structure, site conditions and distribution. Results: The classification of Armenian vegetation plots resulted in a 12-cluster solution. Unsupervised classification of the broad-scale dataset yielded five main groups, which were used for the high-level syntaxonomic assignments of the Armenian data. We assigned about half of the plots of the Armenian dataset to the Festuco-Brometea, while the remaining represented a potential new class, preliminarily called “Ziziphora tenuior-Stipa arabica grasslands”. Most of the syntaxa below class level are new to science, therefore we provide formal descriptions of three orders (Plantagini atratae-Bromopsietalia variegatae, Onobrychido transcaucasicae-Stipetalia pulcherrimae, Cousinio brachypterae-Stipetalia arabicae), four alliances (Acantholimono caryophyllacei-Stipion holosericeae, Artemision fragrantis, Onobrychido michauxii-Stipion capillatae, Onobrychido transcaucasicae-Stipion pulcherrimae) and six associations. We found significant differences in the topographic, climatic and soil characteristics, and structural parameters, species life forms and distribution range types between the grassland types at different syntaxonomic levels. The mean species richness was 47.3 (vascular plants: 46.8, bryophytes: 0.4, lichens: 0.1). Conclusions: We found remarkable differences of the Armenian dry grasslands from the previously known units and described most of the higher syntaxa and all the associations as new to science. Our study provides arguments for a potential new class of Ziziphora tenuior-Stipa arabica grasslands separate both from the Euro-Siberian Festuco-Brometea and the Anatolian Astragalo-Brometea. Finally, we found plot scale richness of vascular plants clearly above the Palaearctic average of dry grasslands and that of non-vascular plants clearly below, which calls for further biodiversity analyses. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med (2023) for vascular plants, Hodgetts et al. (2020) for bryophytes, Nimis et al. (2018) for lichens except for Xanthoparmelia camtschadalis (Ach.) Hale. Abbreviations: EDGG = Eurasian Dry Grassland Group; DCA = detrended correspondence analysis; ICPN = International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Theurillat et al. 2021); TWINSPAN = two-way indicator species analysis.


Nomenclatural revision of the syntaxa of European coastal dune vegetation

March 2024

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274 Reads

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3 Citations

This manuscript provides a review of the phytosociological nomenclature of the European syntaxa included in the classes Ammophiletea arundinaceae , Honckenyo peploidis-Elymetea arenarii , and Koelerio glaucae-Corynephoretea canescentis . The nomenclature has been refined and updated following the 4 th edition of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (ICPN). In the Appendix, we submit two proposals ( 37, 38 ) to conserve the names Ammophilion arundinaceae Braun-Blanquet 1933 and Medicagini marinae-Ammophiletum arundinaceae Braun-Blanquet 1933. Taxonomic reference : see references in the main text. Syntaxonomic reference : see references in the main text. Abbreviations : EVCC = European Vegetation Classification Committee; ICPN = 4 th edition of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature (Theurillat et al. 2021).


Main zonal formations of Europe (following Bohn et al. 2000) and corresponding EVC classes. Orange: mediterranean sclerophyllous forests and scrub (Quercetea ilicis); yellow-green: submediterranean deciduous broad-leaved forests (Quercetea pubescentis); dark green: cool-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests (Quercetea robori-petraeae, Carpino-Fagetea); lilac: boreal, hemiboreal and temperate-montane coniferous and mixed broad-leaved-coniferous forests (Vaccinio-Piceetea); pale pink: subarctic and temperate-subalpine open woodland and scrub (Betulo-Alnetea viridis).
Plot locations in Austria (green dots) and adjacent areas (green numbers, indicating the number of plots from northern Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia, respectively).
How to classify forests? A case study from Central Europe

March 2024

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332 Reads

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2 Citations

Aims : Inconsistent treatment of the vegetation layers is one of the main problems in the floristic classification of forests. In this study I investigate whether a classification based solely on woody species leads to units similar to the Braun-Blanquet system or to something completely different. Study area : Austria (Central Europe) and adjacent regions. Methods : 23,681 forest relevés from the Austrian Vegetation Database were classified using TWINSPAN. Spruce and pine plantations and stands with a cover of non-native woody species > 5% were excluded from the dataset. Only native tree and shrub species were used in the classification while herbs, dwarf shrubs, cryptogams and all records of woody species in the herb layer were omitted. Results : The TWINSPAN classification revealed elevation (i.e., climate) as the main floristic gradient in the data set. Within lowland communities, soil moisture was the dominant factor. The higher units of the Braun-Blanquet system were mostly well reproduced. Conclusions : The higher levels of the phytosociological forest classification (class, order, partly also alliance) can basically be defined by taking only the shrub and tree layer into account. However, all past and current classifications suffer from arbitrary exceptions to this rule. This leads to many inconsistencies and blurs the main biogeographical patterns within European forests. Here I argue that using the tree and shrub species for defining the higher levels and the understorey species for defining the lower ones is best suited to meet the properties that users would expect from a good forest classification. Taxonomic reference : Fischer et al. (2008). Syntaxonomic reference : Mucina et al. (2016) if not stated otherwise. Abbreviations : EVC = EuroVegChecklist (Mucina et al. 2016).


Literature survey showing the variable use of the name Cardamino-Montion with regard to shading and elevation.
Proposal (36) to conserve the name Philonotidion seriatae Hinterlang 1992 for the species-poor, bryophyte-dominated, non-calcareous arctic-alpine spring vegetation of Europe

March 2024

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62 Reads

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2 Citations

According to the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature, a younger name of a syntaxon may be conserved against its older name to improve the stability of the nomenclature and avoid misunderstandings in scientific communication. Here, we propose conserving the name Philonotidion seriatae Hinterlang 1992 for arctic-alpine, bryophyte-dominated, non-calcareous spring vegetation against the names Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925, Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1926, and Montion Maas 1959. In current vegetation classification systems, the two name-giving taxa of Cardamino-Montion no longer indicate the character of the vegetation corresponding to the nomenclatural type of this alliance and are instead characteristic of other currently distinguished alliances. Maintaining the oldest name Cardamino-Montion in strict adherence to the Code would be a source of errors. In the current vegetation classification systems, two similar but counter-intuitive names would then have to be used: Cardamino-Montion for arctic-alpine springs (although the name-giving taxa are more indicative of montane springs) and Epilobio nutantis-Montion for montane springs (although the name-giving taxon Epilobium nutans is indicative of arctic-alpine vegetation). Hence, there is a risk that the name Cardamino-Montion may gradually become ambiguous. We also propose conserving the name Philonotidion seriatae against Mniobryo-Epilobion hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 to prevent confusion in case of a merger of these alliances. (36) Philonotidion seriatae Hinterlang 1992 Typus: Cratoneuro-Philonotidetum Geissler 1976 (holotypus) (=) Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925 Typus: Bryetum schleicheri Braun-Blanquet 1925 [≡ Montio fontanae-Bryetum schleicheri Braun-Blanquet 1925 nom. corr. et invers. (alternative name)] (holotypus) (=) Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1926 nom. superfl. [≡ Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925] (=) Mniobryo-Epilobion hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 Typus: Mniobryo-Epilobietum hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 (lectotypus selected by Zechmeister & Mucina 1994) (=) Montion Maas 1959 nom. superfl. [≡ Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925] Taxonomic reference : Euro+Med PlantBase (http://europlusmed.org; accessed 4 January 2024)


Development of the normalized citation rate for selected ecological journals over the past four years. Citations refer to citations in any journal included in the Scopus database in the year 2023 to articles of the year on the x-axis in the given journal. Normalization was done over all articles published in the 30 journals of Table 2 in the respective year. Accordingly, a value of 1.0 means a citation rate corresponding to the mean citation rate of all articles of the 30 journals in the respective year (averaged on a per-article base), while 1.5 means a 50% higher and 0.5 a 50% lower citation rate. For visibility reasons only 9 out of the 30 journals are shown, including the most-cited and least-cited journal, as well as VCS and the two other IAVS journals (coloured). Over the four-year period, VCS shows an accelerated increase in citation rate, Applied Vegetation Science a monotonous decrease and Journal of Vegetation Science strong interannual fluctuations without clear trend (for details see Table 2 and Suppl. material 1).
Vegetation Classification and Survey is performing well

January 2024

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268 Reads

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10 Citations

On the occasion of the completion of the fourth volume of Vegetation Classification and Survey (VCS), we have analysed the performance of the journal since its inception. The number of papers and pages show a moderate increase over the years. VCS has been included in the Scopus database for more than a year and received its first CiteScore of 2.0 in summer 2023 but is not yet included in the Web of Science Core Edition. We therefore used data from the Scopus database to compare the citation impact of articles in VCS with that of 29 other ecological journals. By calculating normalized citation rates per journal and publication year, we found that VCS started at the bottom of the rankings in the first two years (28 th out of 30) but improved to 26 th in 2022 and 14 th in 2023. Together with the known time lag and the strong positive relationships between the different citation metrics, this allows a projection of the future development of the CiteScores and, after inclusion in the Web of Science, the Journal Impact Factor (JIF). Using the Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) from the Scopus database, we identified the top 12 out of 95 VCS articles published in the first four years that received more citations than expected for their age and field. We also present the four Editors’ Choice papers of 2023, among which Strohbach and Strohbach (2023; Vegetation Classification and Survey 4: 241–284) received the Editors’ Award in 2023. We conclude that VCS is on the right track, supported by the fact that in 2024 most authors will still be charged no or very low article processing charges (APCs). Abbreviations : APC = article processing charge; IAVS = International Association for Vegetation Science; JIF = Journal Impact Factor; OA = open access; VCS = Vegetation Classification and Survey; WoS = Web of Science Core Edition.


Invasive species over-stabilise the vegetation of a mobile dunefield, Manawatū, New Zealand, disrupting natural succession

December 2023

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78 Reads

Aims : Mobile, coastal dunefields around the world are under threat from invasive plants, which may out-compete native plant species. These aliens may also accelerate stabilisation of the dunes, to the complete exclusion of early successional native flora. In a mobile dunefield we examine the impact of the increasing abundance of alien species on substrate stability and successional trends of the native vegetation. Study area : Tawhirihoe Scientific Reserve, Manawatū, New Zealand. Methods : We recorded species’ covers and environmental factors in quadrats placed randomly over the mobile dunefield, and analysed the vegetation and its successional patterns via multivariate analysis. We explored the degrees of stabilisation and nativeness, referencing changes over the last three decades. Results : Our analysis reveals seven vegetation types, three with a high native component and following an established successional trend, and the others becoming dominated by alien grasses and herbs, and associated with increasing dune stability. Biodiversity is trending towards aliens, especially behind the foredunes, and aliens occupy nearly double the area of the mobile dunefield as do natives. Coverage of unvegetated or mobile sand has declined to 21 % and is projected to decline further. Conclusions : Only the foredunes and dune-slack wetlands are now in a mostly natural state, while native rear dune vegetation is becoming rare, and natural succession appears to be interrupted. Alien species over-stabilise the dunefield, facilitating further alien invasion, the longer-term implications of which are unknown. Intervention to destabilise the dunefield seems the most viable management option. Taxonomic reference : Nga Tipu o Aotearoa (http://nzflora.landcareresearch.co.nz) [accessed 10 Jan 2023].


Journal metrics


56%

Acceptance rate


2.0 (2022)

CiteScore™


40 days

Submission to first decision


109 days

Submission to final decision


0.647 (2022)

SNIP


0.337 (2022)

SJR


EUR 2000

Article processing charge

Editors