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[Aims] (a) To determine the contribution of current macro-environmental factors in explaining the phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation, (b) to map and describe spatial patterns in their phylogenetic structure and (c) to examine which lineages are the most important contributors to phylogenetic clustering and whether their contribution varies across forest types and regions. [Location] Europe. [Taxon] Angiosperms. [Methods] We analysed the phylogenetic structure of 61,816 georeferenced forest vegetation plots across Europe considering alternative metrics either sensitive to basal (ancient evolutionary dynamics) or terminal (recent dynamics) branching in the phylogeny. We used boosted regression trees to model metrics of the phylogenetic structure as a function of current macro-environmental factors. We also identified clades encompassing significantly more taxa than under random expectation in phylogenetically clustered plots. [Results] Phylogenetic clustering was driven by climatic stress and instability and was strong in the areas glaciated during the Pleistocene, likely reflecting limited postglacial migration, and to a lower extent in areas of northern-central Europe and in summer-dry Mediterranean regions. Phylogenetic overdispersion was frequent in the hemiboreal zone in Russia, in some areas around the Mediterranean Basin, and along the Atlantic seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula. The families Ericaceae, Poaceae and Fagaceae were overrepresented in clustered plots in different regions of Europe. [Main conclusions] We provide the first maps and analyses on the phylogenetic structure of European forest vegetation at the plot level. Our results highlight the role of environmental filtering, postglacial dispersal limitation and spatial transitions between major biomes in determining the distribution of plant lineages in Europe., The study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (19-28491X). IB and JAC were funded by the Basque Government (IT936-16). JCS considers this work a contribution to his VILLUM Investigator project “Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World” funded by VILLUM FONDEN (grant 16549).

© 2020 The Authors. Applied Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science Questions: Which are the main wet and mesic grassland vegetation types along the climatic gradient on the southern margin of the Pannonian basin? Which are the most important environmental gradients that determine their distribution and species composition?. Location: The southern margin of the Pannonian plain (N and E Slovenia, N Croatia, N Serbia). Methods: A database of 2,575 vegetation plots originally assigned to the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea was compiled. Semi-supervised classification based on the K-means algorithm was applied to assign plots into 12 a-priori alliances and to search for new alliances. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) ordination with Ellenberg's indicator values and bioclimatic variables were applied to show the influence of ecological conditions on species composition. The plots within each alliance were further classified into associations using the beta flexible method. Results: Classification resulted in 12 alliances recognized in the EuroVegChecklist, and two new groups appeared. The first group occurs in the eastern part of the research area, where many ruderal species appear. This group was treated as a new alliance, Salvio nemorosae-Arrhenatherion forming a vicariant syntaxon of the alliance Arrhenatherion. The second group occurs in the western part. It is a transitional group between mesic (Arrhenatherion) and wet meadows (Deschampsion) and can be treated as Alopecurion. Besides, three new associations and six new subassociations were described, together with the typification of seven associations and of three subassociations. Numerical analyses revealed floristic, ecological and geographical differentiation among analysed vegetation types. Conclusions: The communities showed typical Central European features in the western part, but their floristic and ecological conditions changed towards the eastern part, where the continental influence was more pronounced. The vegetation structure and plant species composition in the studied area were influenced by soil moisture and soil nutrient availability as well as by strong biogeographical and climatic gradients.

Datos disponibles en https://github.com/fmsabatini/sPlotOpen_Code, EU H2020 project BACI, Grant No. 640176 (...), Sabatini, F.M., Lenoir, J., Hattab, T., Arnst, E.A., Chytrý, M., Dengler, J., De Ruffray, P., Hennekens, S.M., Jandt, U., Jansen, F., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Kattge, J., Levesley, A., Pillar, V.D., Purschke, O., Sandel, B., Sultana, F., Aavik, T., Aćić, S., Acosta, A.T.R., Agrillo, E., Alvarez, M., Apostolova, I., Arfin Khan, M.A.S., Arroyo, L., Attorre, F., Aubin, I., Banerjee, A., Bauters, M., Bergeron, Y., Bergmeier, E., Biurrun, I., Bjorkman, A.D., Bonari, G., Bondareva, V., Brunet, J., Čarni, A., Casella, L., Cayuela, L., Černý, T., Chepinoga, V., Csiky, J., Ćušterevska, R., De Bie, E., de Gasper, A.L., De Sanctis, M., Dimopoulos, P., Dolezal, J., Dziuba, T., El-Sheikh, M.A.E.-R.M., Enquist, B., Ewald, J., Fazayeli, F., Field, R., Finckh, M., Gachet, S., Galán-de-Mera, A., Garbolino, E., Gholizadeh, H., Giorgis, M., Golub, V., Alsos, I.G., Grytnes, J.-A., Guerin, G.R., Gutiérrez, A.G., Haider, S., Hatim, M.Z., Hérault, B., Hinojos Mendoza, G., Hölzel, N., Homeier, J., Hubau, W., Indreica, A., Janssen, J.A.M., Jedrzejek, B., Jentsch, A., Jürgens, N., Kącki, Z., Kapfer, J., Karger, D.N., Kavgacı, A., Kearsley, E., Kessler, M., Khanina, L., Killeen, T., Korolyuk, A., Kreft, H., Kühl, H.S., Kuzemko, A., Landucci, F., Lengyel, A., Lens, F., Lingner, D.V., Liu, H., Lysenko, T., Mahecha, M.D., Marcenò, C., Martynenko, V., Moeslund, J.E., Monteagudo Mendoza, A., Mucina, L., Müller, J.V., Munzinger, J., Naqinezhad, A., Noroozi, J., Nowak, A., Onyshchenko, V., Overbeck, G.E., Pärtel, M., Pauchard, A., Peet, R.K., Peñuelas, J., Pérez-Haase, A., Peterka, T., Petřík, P., Peyre, G., Phillips, O.L., Prokhorov, V., Rašomavičius, V., Revermann, R., Rivas-Torres, G., Rodwell, J.S., Ruprecht, E., Rūsiņa, S., Samimi, C., Schmidt, M., Schrodt, F., Shan, H., Shirokikh, P., Šibík, J., Šilc, U., Sklenář, P., Škvorc, Ž., Sparrow, B., Sperandii, M.G., Stančić, Z., Svenning, J.-C., Tang, Z., Tang, C.Q., Tsiripidis, I., Vanselow, K.A., Vásquez Martínez, R., Vassilev, K., Vélez-Martin, E., Venanzoni, R., Vibrans, A.C., Violle, C., Virtanen, R., von Wehrden, H., Wagner, V., Walker, D.A., Waller, D.M., Wang, H.-F., Wesche, K., Whitfeld, T.J.S., Willner, W., Wiser, S.K., Wohlgemuth, T., Yamalov, S., Zobel, M., Bruelheide, H.

Aims: Biodiversity is traditionally studied mostly at the species level, but biogeographical and macroecological studies at higher taxonomic levels can provide valuable insights into the evolutionary processes at large spatial scales. Our aim was to assess the representation of vascular plant families within different vegetation formations across Europe. Location: Europe. Methods: We used a data set of 816,005 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA). For each plot, we calculated the relative species richness of each plant family as the number of species belonging to that family divided by the total number of species. We mapped the relative species richness, averaged across all plots in 50 km × 50 km grid cells, for each family and broad habitat groups: forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We also calculated the absolute species richness and the Shannon diversity index for each family. Results: We produced 522 maps of mean relative species richness for a total of 152 vascular plant families occurring in forests, grasslands, scrub and wetlands. We found distinct spatial patterns for many combinations of families and habitat groups. The resulting series of 522 maps is freely available, both as images and GIS layers. Conclusions: The distinct spatial patterns revealed in the maps suggest that the relative species richness of plant families at the community level reflects the evolutionary history of individual families. We believe that the maps and associated data can inspire further biogeographical and macroecological studies and strengthen the ongoing integration of phylogenetic, functional and taxonomic diversity concepts., MV, IA, JPC, ZL, IK, AJ and MC were funded by the Czech Science Foundation, programme EXPRO (project no. 19-28491X); JDi by the Czech Science Foundation (18-02773S); IB and JAC by the Basque Government (IT936-16); AČ by the Slovenian Research Agency (ARRS, P1-0236); AK by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine (project no. 2020.01/0140); JŠ by the Slovak Research and Development Agency (APVV 16-0431); KV by the National Science Fund (Contract DCOST 01/7/19.10.2018).

As key components of landscapes, edges have received considerable scientific attention in anthropogenic ecosystems. However, edges in natural and semi-natural forest–grassland mosaics have received less attention, despite the fact that they cover a considerable proportion of these mosaic ecosystems. We studied forest edges in a semi-natural forest– grassland mosaic ecosystem of the Samobor Mountains (Croatia). Our aim was to compare the species composition, diversity and ecological indicator values of forest edges to those of the interior parts of the adjacent forest and grassland habitats. The vegetation was studied in 80 plots established in forest patch interiors, north-facing forest edges, south- facing forest edges and grassland interiors. We found that edges had a unique species composition, containing species from both the forest and the grassland interiors plus their own edge-related species (i.e. species that significantly preferred the edge habitat). These local edge-related species did not correspond to regionally-identified edge- related species. Compared to the forest and the grassland interiors, we revealed increased species richness in north-facing edges but not in south-facing edges. The mean light availability and nutrient supply indicator values of the edges were intermediate between those of the forest interiors and the grasslands. The mean soil moisture indicator values of the edges were similar to those of the grasslands. Our results show that edges form a unique component of forest–grassland mosaics, and they contribute considerably to landscape complexity, which should be taken into account during conservation decisions and habitat management.

Aims: The effect of biogeographical processes on the spatial turnover component of beta-diversity over large spatial extents remains scarcely understood. Here, we aim at disentangling the roles of environmental and historical factors on plant taxonomic and phylogenetic turnover, while controlling for the effects of species richness and rarity. Location: European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests in Europe. Methods: We aggregated plant species occurrences from vegetation plots in spatial grid cells of 0.25º × 0.25º to calculate the spatial turnover component of taxonomic (TBD) and phylogenetic (PBD) beta-diversity for each cell. We also calculated the deviation of PBD given TBD (PBD), which measures the importance of phylogenetic turnover after factoring out taxonomic turnover. Beta-diversity was calculated for each grid cell as the mean pairwise dissimilarity between the focal cell and all other cells. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the relationships between environmental (climate, soil pH, and distance from the geographical distribution limit of beech) and historical (distance from beech glacial refugia) predictors and beta-diversity metrics. Results: We found a geographically consistent variation in taxonomic and phylogenetic turnover. Overall, TBD and PBD increased significantly toward more extreme climatic conditions, on more acidic soils, and toward the margins of beech distribution. The effects of environmental variables and the distance from glacial refugia on beta-diversity metrics were mediated by species richness and rarity. Phylogenetic turnover was low in relation to taxonomic turnover (i.e., high PBD) in areas closer to glacial refugia. Conclusions: Continental-scale patterns of beta-diversity in European beech forests are the result of complementary ecological and evolutionary processes. In general, beech forests are taxonomically and phylogenetically more distinct in climatically marginal areas of their European range. However, the spatial variation of beta-diversity in European beech forest flora is still strongly characterized by the distribution of groups of closely related species that evolved or survived in glacial refugia., The study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project no.19-28491X). I.B. and J.A.C. were funded by the Basque Government (IT936-16).

[Aim]To analyse the biogeographic patterns of Temperate Deciduous Forests (TDFs) in Western Eurasia based on different life-forms and forests layers and explore their relationships with the current climate, Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climate and topography., [Location] Western Eurasia., [Methods] We delimited nine regions encompassing the variability of TDFs in Western Eurasia and collected 1000 vegetation plots from each. We deconstructed the plant communities into three layers, tree, shrub and floor. We used (i) generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to analyse the influence of current climate, historical climate and topography on species richness by accounting for regional effects and (ii) redundancy analysis (RDA) with variance partitioning to describe the variation in life forms along abiotic gradients. The three forest layers were analysed jointly and separately., [Results] The Balkans, Alps and Carpathians appeared to be the richest in plant species, whereas the British Isles and the Hyrcanian region were the poorest. Annual temperature range and annual mean temperature were the best predictors of species richness for the whole dataset and for the shrub layer. The tree layer richness was mainly explained by the annual temperature range and by elevation, whereas the forest floor richness was more related to the annual temperature range and the annual mean temperature differences between the LGM and current climate. The current climate was the main predictor of the composition of the whole community, the tree layer and the floor layer, while the shrub layer was also influenced by historical climate., [Main conclusions] Our overview of the diversity of temperate deciduous forests in Western Eurasia demonstrates different patterns and drivers across life-forms and forest layers. While the diversity of trees is mainly linked to current climatic conditions, the shrub layer is also driven by postglacial-glacial climatic stability, suggesting a different origin from forest trees., The authors are indebted to the custodians of the EVA databases for providing the vegetation-plot data, and to all the scientists who sampled these plots. MC, IK, PN and CM were funded by grant no. 19-28491X of the Czech Science Foundation and JL, IB, JAC and CM by grant no. IT936-16 of the Basque Government. The data used for this survey have been extracted with the permission of the EVA (European Vegetation Archive) and the Hyrcanian Forest Vegetation Database.

Aim: Vegetation types of Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests dominated by Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea were studied in various areas. However, a comprehensive formal vegetation classification of these forests based on a detailed data analysis has never been developed. Our aim is to provide the first broad-scale classification of these pine forests based on a large data set of vegetation plots. Location: Southern Europe, North Africa, Levant, Anatolia, Crimea and the Caucasus. Methods: We prepared a data set of European and Mediterranean pine forest vegetation plots. We selected 7,277 plots dominated by the cold-sensitive Mediterranean pine species Pinus brutia, Pinus halepensis, Pinus pinaster and Pinus pinea. We classified these plots using TWINSPAN, interpreted the ecologically and biogeographically homogeneous TWINSPAN clusters as alliances, and developed an expert system for automatic vegetation classification at the class, order and alliance levels. Results: We described Pinetea halepensis as a new class for the Mediterranean lowland to submontane pine forests, included in the existing Pinetalia halepensis order, and distinguished 12 alliances of native thermophilous pine forests, including four newly described and three informal groups merging supposedly native stands and old-established plantations. The main gradients in species composition reflect elevational vegetation belts and the west-east, and partly north-south, biogeographical differences. Both temperature and precipitation seasonality co-vary with these gradients. Conclusions: We provide the first formal classification at the order and alliance levels for all the Mediterranean thermophilous pine forests based on vegetation-plot data. This classification includes traditional syntaxa, which have been critically revised, and a new class and four new alliances. We also outline a methodological workflow that might be useful for other vegetation classification syntheses. The expert system, which is jointly based on pine dominance and species composition, is a tool for applying this classification in research and nature conservation survey, monitoring and management. Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University; Free University of Bozen-Bolzano [TN201H]; Czech Science FoundationGrant Agency of the Czech Republic [19-28491X]; Plan Propio of the UCLM [2020-GRIN-29214]; European Social Fund (POCH); National Funds (MCTES) through a Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia postdoctoral fellowship [SFRH/BPD/115057/2016, UIDB/04033/2020] GB was funded by the post-doc programme of the Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University and by the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano through the CONplant project (TN201H), JD, IK, LT and MC by the Czech Science Foundation (19-28491X), FFG by the Plan Propio of the UCLM (2020-GRIN-29214), TMH by the European Social Fund (POCH), by National Funds (MCTES) through a Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia postdoctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/115057/2016) and project no. UIDB/04033/2020.

The article deals with wet meadow plant communities of the alliance Trifolion pallidi that appear on the periodically inundated or waterlogged sites on the riverside terraces or gentle slopes along watercourses. These plant communities are often endangered by inappropriate hydrological interventions or management practices. All available vegetation plots representing this vegetation type were collected, organized in a database, and numerically elaborated. This vegetation type appears in the southeastern part of the Pannonian Plain, which is still under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, its southern border is formed by southern outcrops of the Pannonian Plain and its northern border coincides with the influence of the Mediterranean climate (line Slavonsko Gorje-Fruška Gora-Vršačke Planine). Numerical analysis established four plant associations—Trifolio pallidi–Alopecuretum pratensis, Ventenato dubii–Trifolietum pallidi, Ranunculo strigulosi–Alopecuretum pratensis, and Ornithogalo pyramidale–Trifolietum pallidi. Each association was elaborated in detail: diagnostic plant species, nomenclature, geographical distribution, climatic and ecological conditions, and possible division into subassociations. Results are presented in a distribution map, figures resulting from numerical analysis, and a synoptic table. The hydrological gradient was found as the most important factor shaping the studied plant communities. The article also brings new field data on this vegetation type, which has not been sampled for decades and is in process of evaluation to be included as a special habitat type in the Habitat Directive.

[Questions] European woodlands harbor at least 386 alien plant species but the factors driving local invasions remain unknown. By using a large vegetation-plot database, we asked how local richness and abundance of alien species vary by regions, elevation, climate, soil properties, human disturbance, and habitat types., [Location] Western, central and southern Europe., [Methods] We linked consolidated data from the European Vegetation Archive (16,211 plots) to a habitat classification scheme, climate, soil properties and human disturbance variables. In addition, we used 250 km × 250 km regional grid cells to test whether local patterns differ among regions. We used generalized additive models (GAMs) and quantile GAMs to explore how relative alien species richness and the sum of alien species covers per plot relate to predictors. Random Forest analyses (RFs) were employed to assess the importance of individual predictors that were not multicollinear., [Results] Relative alien species richness and the sum of alien species covers varied across regions and habitat types, with effects being more pronounced at the maximum rather than average responses. Both response variables declined with increasing elevation and distance to the nearest road or railroad and increased with the amount of sealed soil. Maxima in fitted functions matched plots from regional invasion hotspots in northwestern and central Europe. RFs accounted for 39.6% and 20.9% of the total variation in relative alien species richness and the sum of alien species covers, respectively, with region and habitat being the most important variables., [Conclusions] The importance of maximum response quantiles and the prevalence of regional hotspots point to invasion debt in European woodlands. As alien plants expand further, their species richness and abundance in woodlands will be likely driven by the shared effects of the introduction and planting history, differences in the invaded habitat types, and dispersal corridors., VW initiated this study as a part of the InvasEVe project financed by the SoMoPro II program and considers it as part of her Discovery Grant from the Canadian Natural Science and Engineering Research Council. VW's research leading to these results has acquired a financial grant from the People Program (Marie Curie Action) of the Seventh Framework Program of the EU according to REA Grant Agreement No. 291782, and it was further co-financed by the South-Moravian Region. MV and MC were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (19-28491X). PP and JP were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (19-28807X) and the Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO 67985939). JCS considers this work a contribution to his VILLUM Investigator project “Biodiversity Dynamics in a Changing World” funded by VILLUM FONDEN (grant 16549). IB and JAC were funded by the Basque Government (IT936-16). FFG was funded by the Plan Propio of the UCLM (2020-GRIN-29214)

Aim The EUNIS Habitat Classification is a widely used reference framework for European habitat types (habitats), but it lacks formal definitions of individual habitats that would enable their unequivocal identification. Our goal was to develop a tool for assigning vegetation-plot records to the habitats of the EUNIS system, use it to classify a European vegetation-plot database, and compile statistically-derived characteristic species combinations and distribution maps for these habitats. Location Europe. Methods We developed the classification expert system EUNIS-ESy, which contains definitions of individual EUNIS habitats based on their species composition and geographic location. Each habitat was formally defined as a formula in a computer language combining algebraic and set-theoretic concepts with formal logical operators. We applied this expert system to classify 1,261,373 vegetation plots from the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and other databases. Then we determined diagnostic, constant and dominant species for each habitat by calculating species-to-habitat fidelity and constancy (occurrence frequency) in the classified data set. Finally, we mapped the plot locations for each habitat. Results Formal definitions were developed for 199 habitats at Level 3 of the EUNIS hierarchy, including 25 coastal, 18 wetland, 55 grassland, 43 shrubland, 46 forest and 12 man-made habitats. The expert system classified 1,125,121 vegetation plots to these habitat groups and 73,188 to other habitats, while 63,064 plots remained unclassified or were classified to more than one habitat. Data on each habitat were summarized in factsheets containing habitat description, distribution map, corresponding syntaxa and characteristic species combination. Conclusions EUNIS habitats were characterized for the first time in terms of their species composition and distribution, based on a classification of a European database of vegetation plots using the newly developed electronic expert system EUNIS-ESy. The data provided and the expert system have considerable potential for future use in European nature conservation planning, monitoring and assessment. The previous versions of the expert system and related reports were produced within a contract from the European Environment Agency to Wageningen Environmental Research and Masaryk University. The opinions expressed are those of the contractor and do not represent the Agency's official position. EVA data management and preparation of this paper were supported by the Czech Science Foundation (project no. 19-28491X to MC, LT, IK, TP, CM, JDa, MH, PN, DZ, GB, AJ, AKu, ZL and DV). IB and JAC were supported by the Basque Government (project no. T936-16). TB, ET, and LK were supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (TB and ET project no. AAAA-A18-118052590019-7; LK project no. AAAA-A19-119012490096-2).

U radu je predstavljena nedestruktivna procjena koncentracije fotosintetskih pigmenata (ukupnih klorofila i karotenoida) u lišću hrasta lužnjaka pomoću prijenosnog optičkog klorofilmetra CCM-200. Istraživanje je provedeno 2015. godine na biljnom materijalu izloženom različitim tretmanima vlažnosti tla. U kontrolnom tertmanu sadržaj vlage u tlu održavan je iznad poljskog vodnog kapaciteta, dok je u sušnom tretmanu biljkama voda bila uskraćena 112 dana (1. 4. – 21. 7.). U drugom dijelu vegetacijskog razdoblja (22. 7. – 22. 10.) u oba tretmana vlaga tla održavana je iznad poljskog vodnog kapaciteta. Na temelju lišća uzorkovanoga istovremeno u oba tretmana i to sredinom jeseni (27. 10.) izrađene su kalibracijske jednadžbe koje opisuju odnos indeksa relativnog sadržaja klorofila izmjerenoga pomoću klorofilmetra i stvarne koncentracije fotosintetskih pigmenata (utvrđene laboratorijski) pred sam kraj vegetacijskog razdoblja. Jednadžbe su konstruirane posebno za kontrolni, a posebno za sušni tretman. S obzirom na takav dizajn pokusa i vrijeme uzorkovanja, primarni cilj rada bio je ispitati utjecaj dugotrajnog sušnog razdoblja na homogenost parametara kalibracijskih jednadžbi (Y-odsječaka i nagiba pravaca). Na temelju dobivenih rezultata zaključeno je da parametri kalibracijskih jednadžbi nisu bili utjecani sušnim tretmanom. Prema tome, rezultati istraživanja ukazuju na to da klorofilmetar CCM-200, uz primjenu odgovarjućih kalibracijskih jednadžbi, predstavlja pouzdan alat za nedestruktivnu procjenu koncentracije ukupnih klorofila i karotenoida u lišću hrasta lužnjaka, bez obzira na različite režime vlažnosti tla kojima je biljni materijal bio izložen tijekom vegetacijskog razdoblja. Uz to, u radu je utvrđeno da bi preciznost procjene stvarne koncentracije fotosintetskih pigmenata bilo moguće i dodatno poboljšati korekcijom klorofilnog indeksa sa specifičnom lisnom masom., The concentration of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids) in leaves of forest trees is a good indicator of the photosynthetic efficiency, level of nutrition with nitrogen and autumn leaf senescence. Thus the photosynthetic pigment concentrations is one of the most significant parameters related to the physiological status of plant. Change in pigment concentrations of leaves indicate presence of environmental stress. Well-timed detection of environmental stress play a crucial role in preventing damage on seedlings and saplings in forest nurseries and wood mass production in forest cultures and plantations. Traditional methods for determining the concentrations of photosynthetic pigments represent an obstacle to continuous monitoring concentrations of photosynthetic pigment in leaves of forest trees, primarily because they are relatively expensive, long lasting and require destruction of plant material. However, portable optical chlorophyll meters such as CCM-200 (Opti-Sciences, Tyngsboro, Massachusetts, USA) and SPAD-502 (Minolta Camera Co., Osaka, Japan) is a reliable alternative to traditional laboratory methods. To use chlorophyll meters as a tool for estimating photosynthetic pigment concentrations in leaves, it is necessary to construct regression equations (calibration equations) that reliably describe the relationships between the relative index of the total chlorophyll content in leaves (CCI) and the total pigment concentrations in leaves, determined by standard laboratory methods. In the present study, we set up experiment to establish the ability of the hand-held CCM-200 chlorophyll meter to accurately estimate the content of the photosynthetic pigments in leaves of Quercus robur L. with contrast level of soil moisture. The objectives of the present work were: (i) determine whether the long-lasting drought period significantly influences the relationship between the CCI obtined by CCM-200 and the concentration of photosynthetic pigments (total chlorophyll and carotenoid); (ii) construct calibration equations for non-destructive estimation of photosynthetic pigments in Q. robur leaves; (iii) to analyse the improvement estimation of photosynthetic pigments concentration when CCI was corrected with specific leaf mass. The research was carried out during the year 2015 on 60 two-years old plants grown in the greenhouse located in the Croatian Forestry Institute Jastrebarsko. Plant material was grown in 50 liter containers previously filled with soil originating from a natural oak stand. In the spring of the 2015, at the beginning of the study the mean height of investigated plants was 23.9 ± 4.8 cm. During the study, plant material was exposure to different level of soil moisture. In control treatment soil water content was kept above field capacity, while in drought treatment plants were exposed to water reduction during 112 days (1st of April – 21st of July). In second part of growing season (22nd of July – 22nd of October) in both treatments soil water content was kept above field capacity (Figure 1). Calibration equations, that describe relationship between relative chlorophyll content index measured with chlorophyll meter and actual photosynthetic pigment concentrations in sampled leaves (laboratory determined) at the end of growing season (27th of October), were constructed for both treatments (Table 2 and 3; Figure 4 and 5). Obtined results show that parameters of calibration equations were not affected by drought treatment (Table 4). Therefore, when using appropriate calibration equations, clorophyll meter CCM-200 can be considered as reliable tool for non-destructive estimation of total chlorophylls and carotenoids in Q. robur leaves, regardless of different soil water regimes during the growing season. Additionaly, this research confirmed that it is possible to improve the estimation of actual photosynthetic pigment concentration by using chlorophyll content index corrected with specific leaf mass (Table 2 and 3; Figure 4 and 5).

Since grasslands provide many ecosystem services, there are often different opinions on their management (e.g., agronomy, ecology, botany). Multidisciplinary research on this topic is therefore needed. This article focuses on the impact of ecological conditions, functional groups, ecological strategies, floristic composition (through habitat preference of species), major floristic gradients (presented as first two NMDS axes), and the management of forage quality. We estimated the forage quality using indicator values. All of the available vegetation plots in the region on wet and mesic meadows, managed pastures, and tall-herb meadow/pasture fringes on deeper or shallower soils (i.e., grasslands) were collected, organized in a database, and elaborated according to standard procedure. We used a widely accepted grassland classification system that uses floristic composition to define grassland types. Based on an NMDS ordination diagram and according to functional groups, ecological strategies, and habitat preferences (behavior of species) and management, we defined three major groups: mesic meadows (mowed), wet meadows (mowed), and pastures (grazed). We correlated all groups’ functional groups, ecological strategies, habitat preferences (behavior of species), major floristic gradients, management, and forage quality. We found that forage quality mainly depends on moisture conditions and that nutrients and grazing are less important. Within the grasslands under consideration, mesic meadows and mesic pastures have the highest forage quality. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Croatia is among the most ecologically diverse and floristically rich countries in Europe, with a great variety of communities. The vegetation elaboration according to the standard central European method was initiated in Croatia at the beginning of the 20thcentury. In previous overviews of Croatian vegetation, the number of classes and alliances was underrepresented in relation to the country’s floristic richness. Furthermore, the level of knowledge and the amount of available data varied greatly among the various types of vegetation. The aims of this paper are mainly to compile a stabile syntaxonomic list of classes, orders and alliances dominated by vascular plants in Croatia and to adjust Croatian vegetation to the new European syntaxonomic system (EuroVegChecklist). It introduces a consistent description of high-rank syntaxa in Croatian. In conclusion, the vegetation of Croatia comprises 66 classes, 121 orders and 201 alliances. The number of syntaxa shows vegetation diversity that is rather high compared to most other European countries; this is related to the high floristic richness and endemism. The list points out the obvious problems and gaps in our knowledge of vegetation in Croatia and can serve as a baseline for the future vegetation studies.

U radu je istražen potencijal prijenosnog optičkog klorofilmetra CCM-200 (Opti-Sciences, Tyngsboro, MA, USA) u svrhu utvrđivanja stanja ishrane hrasta lužnjaka s dušikom na temelju uzorkovanja različitih tipovia lišća (lišće proljetnih i sekundarnih izbojaka). Istraživanje je provedeno na 30 biljaka uzgajanih u pokusnom nasadu tijekom dva vegetacijska razdoblja (2009. i 2010. godine). Meteorološke prilike i gnojidbeni tretman koji je bio proveden u rano proljeće 2009. godine uvjetovali su razlike između istraživanih godina s obzirom na razvoj izbojaka tijekom tercijarnoga porasta (što predstavlja potencijalni pokretač translokacije dušika u krošnjama istraživanih biljaka). Na temelju lišća proljetnih i sekundarnih izbojaka, uzorkovanoga u srpnju i rujnu 2009. i 2010. godine konstruirano je ukupno osam kalibracijskih jednadžbi. Te jednadžbe pouzdano opisuju (p < 0,001) odnos između klorofilnoga indeksa izmjerenoga pomoću klorofilmetra i koncentracije ukupnoga dušika u lišću proljetnih i skundarnih izbojaka s obzirom na vrijeme uzorkovanja. Pomoću ANCOVA-e ispitan je utjecaj tipa uzorkovanoga lišća na homogenost parametara kalibracijskih jednadžbi (Y-odsječaka i nagiba pravaca) s obzirom na vrijeme uzorkovanja. Tip lišća nije značajno utjecao na nagibe pravaca, ali značajno je utjecao na njihove Y-odsječke u tri od ukupno četiri promatrana vremena uzorkovanja. Homogenost parametara kalibracijskih jednadžbi konstruiranih na temelju različitih tipova lišća utvrđena je samo u rujnu 2009. godine, kada je pod utjecajem produkcije tercijarnih izbojaka došlo do izjednačenja koncentracije ukupnoga dušika u oba tipa uzorkovanoga lišća. Prema tomu, jednom konstruiranu kalibracijsku jednadžbu nije moguće istovremeno koristiti za preciznu procjenu ukupne koncentracije dušika u različitim tipovima lišća. Takav rezultat dovodi u pitanje praktičnost i pouzdanost procjene stanja ishrane hrasta lužnjaka s dušikom pomoću klorofilmetra CCM-200., In this paper we investigated potential of portable chlorophyll meter CCM-200 (Opti-Sciences, Tyngsboro, MA, USA) to estimate total nitrogen concentration in different types of Pedunculate oak leaves. Research was conducted on 30 plants grown in field trial, during two vegetation periods (in years 2009 and 2010). Fertilization treatment (carried out in early spring in 2009) and meteorological conditions caused differences between investigated years regarding third-flush shoots (that can be considered as potential trigger for translocation of nitrogen in leaves and branches of investigated plants). Eight calibration curves was constructed based on spring and second-flush leaves, sampled in July and September in 2009 and 2010. These equations shown to be are reliable (p < 0,001) in describing relationship between chlorophyll content index, measured with chlorophyll meter, and total nitrogen concentration in spring and second-flush leaves, regarding moments of sampling (July and September 2009 and 2010). Influence of leaf flush type on homogeneity of equation parameters (i.e. slope and intercept), regarding moment of sampling, was tested using ANCOVA. Leaf flush type (spring or second-flush) did not have significant influence on slope, but did influenced intercepts in three moments of sampling (July 2009, and July and September 2010). Homogeneity of equation parameters was observed only for one moment of sampling, e.g. September in 2009, when third-flush shoots occurred which resulted in levelling of total nitrogen concentration in sampled leaves.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are used to project how suitable ranges of species shift under a warming climate. Conservation management, however, commonly targets habitat types rather than individual species. Such habitat types are often defined by the co-occurrence of a set of characteristic species. Here, we develop a co-occurrence-based index (CRI); which measures how the representation of habitat types in a particular area may change in a future climate. The index is based on stacking projections of distribution models of characteristic species and accounts for changes both in potential range size of each species individually and in spatial range overlap among characteristic species, i.e. co-occurrence patterns. We illustrate the approach by modelling the changing representation of 68 habitat types in Austria under two different climate scenarios. We base index calculations on SDM projections under either the assumption of unrestricted mobility (‘full-dispersal’) or of complete immobility (‘no-dispersal’) of individual species. Moreover, we compare results to those achieved with a simpler occurrence-based index (OI); which only accounts for change in species’ range sizes. All three alternative index calculations suggest that most modelled habitat types will lose area (in particular mires, wetlands and siliceous alpine grasslands) and only a minority will profit from a warming climate (in particular forests of dry and warm sites). ‘Full-dispersal’ CRI and OI are closely, but not perfectly correlated. Importantly, for more than half of the habitat types, accounting for changing co-occurrence patterns amplifies projected losses. The ‘no-dispersal’ CRI (CRInd) delivers the most alarming projections, indicating considerable spatial turn-over of sites suitable to the habitat types. Taken together, our results suggest that modelling re-distribution of habitat types which are defined by species combinations needs to account for modifications of co-occurrence patterns. Moreover, conservation should acknowledge that novel combinations of species will likely emerge under a warming climate.

Aim: Formalized classifications synthesizing vegetation data at the continental scale are being attempted only now, although they are of key importance for nature conservation planning. Therefore, we aim to provide a vegetation classification and to describe the main biogeographical patterns of floodplain forests and alder carrs in Europe. Location: Europe. Methods: A database of more than 40 000 vegetation plots of floodplain forests and alder carrs across Europe was compiled. After geographic stratification, 16 392 plots were available for classification, which was performed using the supervised method Cocktail. We also searched for new associations using semi-supervised K-means classification. The main biogeographic patterns and climate-related gradients in species composition were determined using detrended correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. Results: Thirty associations of floodplain forests and alder carrs were distinguished, which belong to five alliances. The Alnion incanae includes riparian, seepage and hardwood floodplain forests in the nemoral and hemiboreal zones (dominated by Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior) and in the boreal zone (dominated by A. incana). The Osmundo-Alnion represents oceanic vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa, Fraxinus angustifolia and F. excelsior distributed mostly on the Iberian Peninsula and composed of species with Atlantic distribution and Iberian endemics. The Populion albae comprises floodplain forests frequently dominated by Fraxinus angustifolia, Populus alba and P. nigra that are widespread in floodplains of large rivers under summer-dry climates in the Mediterranean region. The Platanion orientalis represents eastern Mediterranean floodplain forests dominated by Platanus orientalis. The Alnion glutinosae includes forest swamps dominated by Alnus glutinosa distributed mostly in the nemoral and hemiboreal zones. The main biogeographic patterns within European floodplain forests and alder carrs reflect the climatic contrasts between the Mediterranean, nemoral, boreal and mountain regions. Oceanic floodplain forests differ from those in the rest of Europe. The hydrological regime appears to be the most important factor influencing species composition within regions. Conclusions: This study is the first applying a formalized classification at the association level for a broad vegetation type at the continental scale. The proposed classification provides the scientific basis for the necessary improvement of the habitat classification systems used in European nature conservation.

International audience; Aim. We investigate whether (1) environmental predictors allow to delineate the distribution of discrete community types at the continental scale and (2) how data completeness influences model generalization in relation to the compositional variation of the modelled entities. Location. Europe. Methods. We used comprehensive datasets of two community types of conservation concern in Europe: acidophilous beech forests and base‐rich fens. We computed community distribution models (CDMs) calibrated with environmental predictors to predict the occurrence of both community types, evaluating geographical transferability, interpolation and extrapolation under different scenarios of sampling bias. We used generalized dissimilarity modelling (GDM) to assess the role of geographical and environmental drivers in compositional variation within the predicted distributions. Results. For the two community types, CDMs computed for the whole study area provided good performance when evaluated by random cross‐validation and external validation. Geographical transferability provided lower but relatively good performance, while model extrapolation performed poorly when compared with interpolation. Generalized dissimilarity modelling showed a predominant effect of geographical distance on compositional variation, complemented with the environmental predictors that also influenced habitat suitability. Main conclusions. Correlative approaches typically used for modelling the distribution of individual species are also useful for delineating the potential area of occupancy of community types at the continental scale, when using consistent definitions of the modelled entity and high data completeness. The combination of CDMs with GDM further improves the understanding of diversity patterns of plant communities, providing spatially explicit information for mapping vegetation diversity and related habitat types at large scales.

The aim of this study is to classify and describe all plant communities with Quercus coccifera covering the entire eastern Adriatic coast and islands from north Croatia to south Albania, and to relate their species composition, chorotypes and life forms to environmental factors using Pignatti ecological indicator values. From a total of 70 phytosociological relevés we identified and described four floristically and ecologically distinctive vegetation communities (two new proposed subassociations, one association and stand each) using TWINSPAN and the Braun-Blanquet classification scheme. In Croatia and Montenegro, Q. coccifera is forming macchia within the Fraxino orni-Quercetum cocciferae pistacietosum lentisci. Q. coccifera occurs only sparsely in south Croatia as a shrubland within Fraxino orni-Quercetum cocciferae nerietosum oleandri subassociations or macchia within the Erico arboreae-Arbutetum unedonis association. Despite the difference in biogeographic position and bioclimates, low shrubbery Albanian Q. coccifera stands are more closely related to the Q. coccifera communities from the western Mediterranean. Eastern Adriatic communities appear exclusively within the Quercetea ilicis vegetation zone and spread within the meso- Mediterranean belt. They nevertheless are an important part of the region’s natural heritage and management plans must ensure that all forms of land are used in a sustainable way.

The forests in the Spačva Basin are a complex of lowland forests in the region of Slavonia (eastern Croatia). The present state of the forests is strongly influenced by intensive exploitation and hydro-ameliorative activities carried out in the past. The aim of this study was to consider the extent of changes in species composition, and the extent of environmental changes in forest communities of the Spačva Basin in relation to research conducted between 1969 and 1971. The species composition of four communities (Carpino betuli- Quercetum roboris, Genisto elatae- Quercetum roboris aceretosum tatarici, and caricetosum remotae, and Leucojo-Fraxinetum angustifoliae) is studied by comparing 41 old and 57 new relevés. Changes were estimated using ordinations (RDA, CCA, DCA) and changes in species frequency and cover. A general trend of moisture reduction was noticeable among all communities. All vegetation types are becoming floristically more similar. An increase in frequency and cover of flood intolerant woody species (such as Carpinus betulus, Cornus sanguinea, Tilia tomentosa, and Acer tataricum) as well as a decrease of vernal species related to wet habitats are particularly evident. The succession of all studied communities is resulting in loss of the mosaic community pattern characteristic of lowland alluvial forests.

QuestionsWhat are the main floristic patterns in European beech forests? Which classification at the alliance and suballiance level is the most convincing?LocationEurope and Asia Minor.MethodsWe applied a TWINSPAN classification to a data set of 24605 releves covering the whole range of Fagus sylvatica forests and the western part of Fagus orientalis forests. We identified 24 operational phytosociological units' (OPUs), which were used for further analysis. The position of each OPU along the soil pH and temperature gradient was evaluated using Ellenberg Indicator Values. Fidelity of species to OPUs was calculated using the phi coefficient and constancy ratio. We compared alternative alliance concepts, corresponding to groups of OPUs, in terms of number and frequency of diagnostic species. We also established formal definitions for the various alliance concepts based on comparison of the total cover of the diagnostic species groups, and evaluated alternative geographical subdivisions of beech forests.ResultsThe first and second division levels of TWINSPAN followed the temperature and soil pH gradients, while lower divisions were mainly geographical. We grouped the 22 OPUs of Fagus sylvatica forests into acidophytic, meso-basiphytic and thermo-basiphytic beech forests, and separated two OPUs of F.orientalis forests. However, a solution with only two ecologically defined alliances of F.sylvatica forests (acidophytic vs basiphytic) was clearly superior with regard to number and frequency of diagnostic species. In contrast, when comparing groupings with three to six geographical alliances of basiphytic beech forests, respectively, we did not find a strongly superior solution.ConclusionsWe propose to classify F.sylvatica forests into 15 suballiances - three acidophytic and 12 basiphytic ones. Separating these two groups at alliance or order level was clearly supported by our results. Concerning the grouping of the 12 basiphytic suballiances into ecological or geographical alliances, as advocated by many authors, we failed to find an optimal solution. Therefore, we propose a multi-dimensional classification of basiphytic beech forests, including both ecological and geographical groups as equally valid concepts which may be used alternatively depending on the purpose and context of the classification.

Aim: Woodlands make up a third of European territory and carry out important ecosystem functions, yet a comprehensive overview of their invasion by alien plants has never been undertaken across this continent. Location: Europe. Methods: We extracted data from 251,740 vegetation plots stored in the recently compiled European Vegetation Archive. After filtering (resulting in 83,396 plots; 39 regions; 1970–2015 time period), we analysed the species pool and frequency of alien vascular plants with respect to geographic origin and life-forms, and the levels of invasion across the European Nature Information System (EUNIS) woodland habitats. Results: We found a total of 386 alien plant species (comprising 7% of all recorded vascular plants). Aliens originating from outside of and from within Europe were almost equally represented in the species pool (192 vs. 181 species) but relative frequency was skewed towards the former group (77% vs. 22%) due, to some extent, to the frequent occurrence of Impatiens parviflora (21% frequency among alien plants). Phanerophytes were the most species-rich life-form (148 species) and had the highest representation in terms of relative frequency (39%) among aliens in the dataset. Apart from Europe (181 species), North America was the most important source of alien plants (109 species). At the local scale, temperate and boreal softwood riparian woodland (5%) and mire and mountain coniferous woodland (

Syntaxonomy, ecology and distribution patterns of thermophilous deciduous forests of the class Quercetea pubescentis remain understudied in the Western Balkans. Some oak forest types have not been investigated to date in large parts of the region and classification of many traditionally distinguished types has not been critically revised based on numerical data analysis. This is particularly true for the acido-thermophilous communities dominated by Quercus petraea, that are transitional between thermophilous and meso-acidophilous oak forests and were traditionally classified mostly to the class Quercetea robori-petraeae. Numerical analysis of nearly 3000 relevés allowed us to approach these issues. We classified thermophilous deciduous forests of the Western Balkans into six types reflecting the main broad-scale ecological and phytogeographical patterns in species composition within the study area: type 1 – sub-Mediterranean forests dominated by Quercus pubescens and/or Carpinus orientalis ; type 2 – sub-Mediterranean and continental Quercus pubescens forests without Carpinus orientalis ; type 3 – meso-thermophilous supra-Mediterranean and/or relict communities dominated by Ostrya carpinifolia ; type 4 – thermophilous continental forests of deep, neutral to slightly acidic soils dominated by Quercus frainetto and/or Quercus cerris ; type 5 – acido-thermophilous continental forests dominated by Quercus petraea and/or Quercus cerris ; type 6 – acido- thermophilous northern Dinaric-southern Pannonian Quercus petraea dominated forests. A detrended correspondence analysis revealed that the variation in species composition mainly follows a geographical southwest-northeast gradient, reflecting the broad-scale ecological (macroclimatic and geological) and phytogeographical (turnover of dominant tree species) gradients. There is also a significant role of light regime, which mainly reflects local management practice, level of disturbance and the hemeroby of particular sites. Contrary to most traditional classifications, we place the acidothermophilous forests of the Western Balkans (type 6) into the class Quercetea pubescentis.

Biurrun, Idoia/0000-0002-1454-0433; Rojo, Maria Pilar Rodriguez/0000-0001-5449-9386; Ermakov, Nikolai/0000-0001-7550-990X; De Sanctis, Michele/0000-0002-7280-6199; Svenning, Jens-Christian/0000-0002-3415-0862; Virtanen, Risto/0000-0002-8295-8217; Agrillo, Emiliano/0000-0003-2346-8346; Onyshchenko, Viktor/0000-0001-9079-7241; Marceno, Corrado/0000-0003-4361-5200; Willner, Wolfgang/0000-0003-1591-8386; Fernandez-Gonzalez, Federico/0000-0003-1234-4065; Jansen, Florian/0000-0002-0331-5185; Swacha, Grzegorz/0000-0002-6380-2954; Dengler, Jurgen/0000-0003-3221-660X; Guarino, Riccardo/0000-0003-0106-9416; Sopotlieva, Desislava/0000-0002-9281-7039; Venanzoni, Roberto/0000-0002-7768-0468; Chytry, Milan/0000-0002-8122-3075; Kuzemko, Anna/0000-0002-9425-2756; Danihelka, Jiri/0000-0002-2640-7867; Kuzemko, Anna/0000-0002-9425-2756; Venanzoni, Roberto/0000-0002-7768-0468; Gavilan, Rosario G./0000-0002-1022-445X; Jansen, Florian/0000-0002-0331-5185; Wohlgemuth, Thomas/0000-0002-4623-0894; Svenning, Jens-Christian/0000-0002-3415-0862; Sibik, Jozef/0000-0002-5949-862X; Casella, Laura/0000-0003-2550-3010; Lenoir, Jonathan/0000-0003-0638-9582; Attorre, Fabio/0000-0002-7744-2195; Kacki, Zygmunt/0000-0002-2241-1631; Jandt, Ute/0000-0002-3177-3669; Carni, Andraz/0000-0002-8909-4298; Jirousek, Martin/0000-0002-4293-478X; GARCIA-MIJANGOS, ITZIAR/0000-0002-6642-7782; Campos, Juan Antonio/0000-0001-5992-2753; Fanelli, Giuliano/0000-0002-3143-1212; Haveman, Rense/0000-0001-9127-4549; Acic, Svetlana/0000-0001-6553-3797; De Bie, Els/0000-0001-7679-743X; Font, Xavier/0000-0002-7253-8905; Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold/0000-0001-8591-7149; Martynenko, Vasiliy/0000-0002-9071-3789; Jimenez-Alfaro, Borja/0000-0001-6601-9597; Ejrnaes, Rasmus/0000-0003-2538-8606; Carlon Ruiz, Luis/0000-0003-3442-8710; Angelini, Pierangela/0000-0002-5321-9757; Silc, Urban/0000-0002-3052-699X; Landucci, Flavia/0000-0002-6848-0384; Ewald, Jorg/0000-0002-2758-9324; Dziuba, Tetiana/0000-0001-8621-0890 WOS: 000368074600018 The European Vegetation Archive (EVA) is a centralized database of European vegetation plots developed by the IAVS Working Group European Vegetation Survey. It has been in development since 2012 and first made available for use in research projects in 2014. It stores copies of national and regional vegetation-plot databases on a single software platform. Data storage in EVA does not affect on-going independent development of the contributing databases, which remain the property of the data contributors. EVA uses a prototype of the database management software TURBOVEG 3 developed for joint management of multiple databases that use different species lists. This is facilitated by the SynBioSys Taxon Database, a system of taxon names and concepts used in the individual European databases and their corresponding names on a unified list of European flora. TURBOVEG 3 also includes procedures for handling data requests, selections and provisions according to the approved EVA Data Property and Governance Rules. By 30 June 2015, 61 databases from all European regions have joined EVA, contributing in total 1 027 376 vegetation plots, 82% of them with geographic coordinates, from 57 countries. EVA provides a unique data source for large-scale analyses of European vegetation diversity both for fundamental research and nature conservation applications. Updated information on EVA is available online at http://euroveg.org/eva-database. Czech Science Foundation (Centre of Excellence PLADIAS) [14-36079G] Our major thanks go to thousands of European vegetation scientists of several generations who collected the original vegetation-plot data in the field, published them or made their unpublished data available to others, and to those who spent myriad hours digitizing data and managing the contributing databases. EVA data management has been partly funded by the Czech Science Foundation (Centre of Excellence PLADIAS, 14-36079G).

The Eastern Adriatic region, encompassing Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, is considered an important area of natural populations of wild grapevines (Vitis vinifera ssp. sylvestris). The wild grapevine arises in the Eastern Adriatic region in a contact zone of the EU-Mediterranean and the sub-Mediterranean characterized by typical karst relief. This study focuses on the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) analysis of wild grapevines and the biodiversity of accompanying woody species to better understand the genetic variation of the sylvestris populations of the Eastern Adriatic region and to investigate how this variation fits within today’s wild grapevine distribution in the European continent. The allelic variation at nine cpDNA microsatellite loci of wild individuals was used to characterize haplotype diversity in 53 individuals from four population sites. All individuals were grouped into two chlorotypes: A and D, D being the rare haplotype among wild populations on the European continent. In total, 52 woody plant species were identified. However, the studied vegetation structures have been affected by permanent human pressure on natural resources and the preservation status of the collection sites. Based on our results, we conclude that the investigated areas were probably shelter zones for wild grapevine preservation during the unfavorable glaciation era.

Questions: How does the floristic composition of plant species of meadows and mesic pastures vary along a broad geographical gradient in the NW Balkans? How does the current phytosociological classification of the Molinio-Arrhenatheretea vegetation differ among the NW Balkan countries? Location: NW Balkans (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia). Methods: 3635 releves originally assigned to the class Molinio-Arrhenatheretea were classified with a beta flexible method, and the crispness of classification was checked. DCA ordination with Pignatti indicator values and climate data were applied to show the influence of site conditions on species composition. Results: The classification was best interpreted at the level of 13 clusters, but could also be interpreted at the level of three groups of clusters. The first division was according to geography and climate: the first and third groups were concentrated in the NW part, while the second was restricted to the eastern part of the study area. The most important variable was site moisture, followed by nutrients and altitude, which corresponded with a west-east direction. The first group was very diverse and included communities on the wettest and most nutrient-rich sites (Potentillion anserinae, Cynosurion cristati, Calthion palustris, Molinion caeruleae, Molinio-Hordeion). The second group comprised mesophilous continental grasslands (Trifolio-Ranunculion pedati, Trifolion pallidi, Trifolion resupinati), while the third group consisted of grasslands from regions with abundant precipitation (Arrhenatherion elatioris, Deschampsion cespitosae, Pancicion serbicae, Triseto flavescentis-Polygonion bistortae). Conclusions: Our analysis can be used to unify different phytosociological classifications in different countries, also showing the transitional forms of well-known Central European vegetation types that have a different floristic composition and ecology in the Balkans. This knowledge will enable classification of the same vegetation types in neighbouring Balkan countries that are less studied.