Wetland vegetation in the sub(alpine) zone of the West Carpathians (Poland, Slovakia) was studied with particular reference to the following questions: (i) What are the main types of (sub)alpine fen, bog and spring vegetation above the timberline in the West Carpathians? (ii) Which major environmental gradients are associated with the variation in floristic composition? (iii) What determines the α-diversity of bryophytes and vascular plants in the different vegetation types? Vegetation plots were sampled and direct measurements of certain environmental characteristics recorded. Cluster analysis was used to distinguish the vegetation types, DCA and CCA to reveal the main vegetation gradients and environmental factors, and general regression models to identify the factors determining the α-diversity. Classification at the level of 12 clusters was ecologically and syntaxonomically interpretable. Two associations not mentioned in the most recent vegetation survey of Slovakia were distinguished and the syntaxonomical positions of others revised. The synthesis of collected and published vegetation data for the two countries has modified the classification concept of (sub)alpine wetlands in the West Carpathians. Whereas pH predominantly determined floristic differences among classes, different factors governed the species composition within classes. While the diversity of the vegetation of springs (Montio-Cardaminetea) was mostly determined by water chemistry, altitude and geomorphology appeared to be more important within fens and bogs. The species richness of spring vegetation was more influenced by mineral richness than water pH and for bryophyte richness the slope inclination was also important. The species richness of fens and bogs increased with pH. It is concluded that the ecological gradients influencing the floristic composition and species richness of (sub)alpine wetlands are strongly habitat-dependent.
Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) introductions were popular at the beginning of the 20th century when first animals were shipped from Austria to the Czech Republic and New Zealand. The historical record of the Czech introduction indicates Neuberg Mürzsteg Game Reserve in Eastern Alps, Styria, Austria as the main area of origin of founders. First animals for the New Zealand population are thought to have originated from Ebensee, Upper Austria, Austria and later more animals came from the Mürzsteg region. We sequenced mitochondrial control region of chamois from the introduced populations and their putative source areas, and we applied median-joining networks and Bayesian inference analysis to distinguish the regions of origin of female founders. We found the Mürzsteg region as the most likely source population for introductions to the Czech Republic and New Zealand, supplemented with close association with sequences from Ebensee in populations from the Czech Republic. Genetic diversity present in the Czech Republic was further relocated to the introduced populations in Slovakia in the 1960’s.
Habitat affinities of the red-listed and EU Habitat Directive moss species Hamatocaulis vernicosus and the more widely distributed allied species Scorpidium cossonii and Warnstorfia exannulata were analysed. Ecological preferences of these fen mosses, with respect to water pH, water conductivity, Ellenberg’s moisture and nutrient indicator values, were compared in three different European locations (Bohemian Massif, the West Carpathians and Bulgaria) using logistic regressions fitted by means of Huisman-Olff-Fresco models. Inter-specific co-occurrences of the species were also investigated. Warnstorfia exannulata preferred slightly acid conditions, about pH 5.6 at all the locations studied. Ecological behaviour of S. cossonii was very similar at all the locations, where it occupied base-rich habitats (pH > 7). The pH optimum of H. vernicosus, occupying habitats in the middle part of the base richness gradient, varied between locations from 6.0 in Bulgaria to 6.7–7.0 in the West Carpathians and Bohemian Massif. Niche diversification followed the gradient in Ellenberg nutrient indicator values and was similar at all the locations. In the Bohemian Massif and Bulgaria, the occurrence of W. exannulata was further associated with a relatively high moisture indicated by the Ellenberg indicator value. The results obtained from the Huisman-Olff-Fresco models accord with the results of inter-specific co-occurrences. Moreover, the latter method revealed a link between H. vernicosus and the occurrence of disjunctly occurring boreal sedges, suggesting the relic nature of H. vernicosus habitats at these locations.
The only autochthonous population of Tatra chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica) occurs in the Tatra Mountains (northern Slovakia and southern Poland). Another population has been introduced to the Low Tatra Mts., while Alpine chamois (R. r. rupicapra) has been introduced to the neighbouring mountain ranges, Veľká Fatra and Slovenský raj. All these populations have undergone intensive bottlenecks. Any resulting low genetic variability would mean that only few genetic markers could be used for population genetic studies due to prevailing monomorphism. We tested 65 markers previously used in chamois or other Caprinae species, from which 20 most suitable loci for noninvasive genetic study of the Tatra chamois were selected. These polymorphic loci were used for optimisation of three multiplex sets and revealed a mean number of alleles of 2.1 and mean expected heterozygosity of 0.331 for the Tatra population. Low genetic diversity was also observed in the Low Tatra population while slightly higher values were obtained for Alpine chamois population in Slovenský raj. We subsequently assessed the amplification success rate for noninvasively obtained samples (faeces), which ranged from 85.1% to 92.7% for particular loci. The developed polymorphic microsatellite sets provide a unique tool for population genetic study of the endangered Tatra chamois, even when using noninvasive sampling, and is also suitable for Alpine chamois.
Bones were obtained from three fish species (brown trout Salmo trutta m. fario, grayling Thymallus thymallus and Carpathian sculpin Cottus poecilopus) for regression analysis. Bones used were chosen based upon frequency of occurrence in spraint samples and diagnostic value. Relationships between the length of diagnostic bones and fish length, fish length and weight, and standard length to total length, were assessed for the three fish species. Polynomial regression was deemed most suitable for the relationship between bone length and fish standard length, multiplicative between fish standard length and fish weight, and linear (brown trout) or polynomial (grayling and Carpathian sculpin) for standard length against total length. All calculated regressions were highly significant and displayed high coefficients of determination, ranging between 93.9 and 99.8 %. The uses of the bones examined, and the equations produced, are discussed in the light of their future use in estimating prey numbers, length and biomass in otter diet analysis.
The Rejvíz bog is an extensive mire complex in Central Europe, with up to 7 m deep sediments and two natural lakes. Recent vegetation is one of the best preserved examples of Pinus uncinata subsp. uliginosa (syn. P. rotundata) bog woodland in Central Europe. The origin and development of the mire and changes in the surrounding landscape vegetation are reconstructed using sediment stratigraphy, radiocarbon dating, pollen analysis and plant-macrofossils analysis, with particular emphasis on the processes that resulted in the origin of Rejvíz bog and on pine woodland dynamics. Based on identified species the water level changes were reconstructed. The sediment started to accumulate more than 9000 years ago at an open mixed-woodland spring with Dichodontium palustre. Later, poor fen vegetation with sedges and horsetails developed. Around 6170 cal. yr BC the fen became inundated for 2000 years and (semi)aquatic vegetation thrived. Next step in the succession followed a decline in water level which resulted in the development of drier oligothrophic vegetationwith a high representation of pine and dwarf shrubs. After ca 1020 cal. yr BC the mire became the bog it is now. Three wooded stages appeared in both the minerotrophic and ombrotrophic developmental phases: before 6720 cal. yr BC, during ca 1960–1020 cal. yr BC and recently. The vegetation in the surrounding landscape developed without marked human interventions up till ca the last six or five centuries, when deforestation and later settlement took place. Comparison with published data from the Góry Bystrzyckie/Orlické hory Mts suggests that not only regional, but also local vegetation changed in a similar way across the middle-altitude eastern Sudetes, following oscillations in climate rather than local changes in mire water regime.
Bílé Karpaty Mts harbour some of the most species-rich managed grasslands in Europe, which contain a number of rare and disjunctly distributed species. Besides specific local environmental factors, the long Holocene history may explain the uniqueness of these grasslands. However, historical interpretations of the palaeoecological evidence from the region are far from unequivocal. While palaeomalacological data indicate persistence of open habitats throughout the entire Holocene, fragmentary pollen data support the hypothesis of a medieval origin of the grasslands. This paper reviews the available phytogeographical, archaeological and palaeoecological knowledge that provides indirect evidence for a prehistoric origin of the grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts. High concentration of rare heliophilous species with a disjunct distribution in the south-western part of the Bílé Karpaty Mts suggest their long-term persistence. The archaeological findings provide evidence for the existence of prehistoric human settlement in this region since the Neolithic (Middle Holocene). Direct evidence for the existence of open human-influenced habitats before medieval times, based on the results of a multi-proxy analysis (macrofossils, molluscs and pollen) of an organic sediment dated back to Roman Age, is also provided. The results indicate the existence of an ancient cultural landscape with a mosaic of open grasslands, natural forests and fields. It is concluded that the evidence presented in this paper supports the hypothesis of prehistoric, rather than a medieval origin of the species-rich grasslands in the Bílé Karpaty Mts.
Species richness and above-ground biomass of vascular plants and bryophytes of poor acidic fens (the Sphagno recurvi-Caricion canescentis alliance), rich Sphagnum fens (the Caricion fuscae and Sphagno warnstorfii-Tomenthypnion alliances) and calcareous spring fens (the Caricion davallianae alliance including tufa-forming spring fens) were studied. The study area was in the western parts of the Outer Carpathians in the border region of the Czech and Slovak Republics. The numbers of species were recorded in plots ranging from 0.00196 to 16m2 and correlated with chemical factors and above-ground biomass. The chemical properties of springwater (mainly pH, conductivity, Ca2+, Mg2+) were the main factors influencing the species richness of vascular plants. Tufa-forming calcareous fen communities (Carici flavae-Cratoneuretum) had the highest species richness of vascular plants. In contrast, the highest species richness of bryophytes occurred at pHneutral sites, in peat forming calcareous fen communities (Valeriano-Caricetum flavae) and in those with Sphagnum warnstorfii and S. teres. Bryophyte species richness of small plots was correlated with the iron concentration in the springwater. The differences in species richness of calcareous fens were related to the mowing regime. Litter mass had a negative effect on the species richness of vascular plants. Mosses responded to high amounts of litter or vascular plant biomass by a significant decrease in biomass. Two types of Sphagnum fens: (a) strongly dominated by Sphagnum flexuosum or S. palustre (rich in phosphates) and (b) polydominant (poor in phosphates), were also compared. In the former, the slope of the regression for the dependence of bryophyte species richness on plot size was less steep.
Central European lowland wet meadows are habitats of great conservation interest, however, their phytosociological status has been to a large extent dependent on specific phytosociological traditions in different countries. In order to bridge the gaps between different national schemes of vegetation classification, a statistical analysis of variation in species composition of these meadows in the Czech Republic, E Austria, Slovakia, Hungary and NE Croatia was performed, using a data set of 387 geographically stratified vegetation relevés sampled at altitudes < 350 m. Principal coordinates analysiswas used to identify and partial out the noise component in the variation in this data set. The relevés were classified by cluster analysis. A new method for identifying the optimal number of clusters was developed, based on species fidelity to particular clusters. This method suggested the optimum level of classification with three clusters and secondary optimum levels with five and nine clusters. Classification based on three clusters separated the traditional phytosociological alliances of Calthion palustris and Molinion caeruleae, both with a suboceanic phytogeographical affinity, and a group of flooded meadows of large river alluvia, with a continental affinity. The latter group included the traditional alliances of Agrostion albae, Alopecurion pratensis, Cnidion venosi, Deschampsion cespitosae and Veronico longifoliae-Lysimachion vulgaris; however, the internal heterogeneity of this group did not reflect putative boundaries between these alliances as proposed in the phytosociological literature. Therefore we suggest to unite these alliances in a single alliance Deschampsion cespitosae Horvatić 1930 (the oldest valid name). Classification with nine clusters was interpreted at the level of broad phytosociological associations. Particular clusters were characterized by statistically defined groups of diagnostic species and related to macroclimatic variables.