IDENTIFICATION OF THE MAIN FUNCTIONAL GROUPS IN THE DRY GRASSLANDS OF FESTUCETALIA VALESIACAE FROM NORTH-EASTERN ROMANIA

Journal of Plant Development

Cătălin TĂNASE¹  Constantin MARDARI¹ 

[1] Faculty of Biology, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University from Iaşi, 20A Carol I, 700505, Iaşi – Romania;

关键词: xeric grasslands;    functional approach;    RLQ;    North-Eastern Romania;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Plant functional traits and plant functional groups are increasingly used to assess the effect of the change in land use on plant species or plant communities, in nature conservation projects, to detect patterns in the expansion some invasive species or to asses the processes of succession or competition in plant communities. In this study, the main objective was to identify the main plant functional groups (based on plant traits) which co-exist in different plant communities of the dry grasslands (Festucetalia valesiacae) from North-Eastern Romania using the RLQ analysis (considering the plant traits, environment characteristics and vegetation). As RLQ analysis mainly revealed a soil moisture-soil nutrients gradient along the first axis, a transition from species with traits specific to more dry conditions and less available nutrients to moister and higher nutrients availability sites was observed (from perennial species with short flowering range and traits oriented to resources retention in storage organs to annual species with long flowering range and traits oriented to resource acquisition). Plant functional groups were identified using species scores along the first two RLQ axes via k-means clustering which generated six groups displayed along the above mentioned gradients. The floristic composition of the identified functional groups suggested that, in the context of Festucetalia valesiacae vegetation type from North-Eastern Romania, plant communities developed in areas with lower values for soil moisture and nutrients could possibly be richer in autochore and barochore geophyte and hemicryptophyte species with short flowering range and mixed reproduction type. As soil moisture and nutrients increase, in the floristic composition could possibly occur more anthropochore and zoochore therophyte species with long flowering range, mainly reproducing by seeds and, also, some taller endozoochore shrubs species.

【 授权许可】

Unknown