Grasslands of Central-Europe - New EDGG Special Feature published in Tuexenia

The 13th EDGG Special Feature in Tuexenia, complements the series of special features devoted to Palaearctic steppes and semi-natural grasslands. It focuses on the conservation, management, restoration and biodiversity of semi-natural and natural grasslands in Central Europe. It was edited by Balázs Deák, Thomas Becker, Steffen Boch and Viktoria Wagner (Deák et al. 2018). Altogether 43 authors from six countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Switzerland and Ukraine) contributed to the published papers. 

The paper of Boch et al. (2018) investigates the effects of grazing management on the species richness of bryophyte species in mesic grasslands. Bódis et al. (2018) studied the habitat preferences of the endangered lizard-orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum. The paper of Bittnerová et al. (2018) deals with the patterns of aboveground vegetation and soil seed bank along a successional gradient from grassland to forest. Didukh & Vasheniak (2018) described the vegetation of limestone outcrops in Podillia (Ukraine). Molnár et al. (2018) studied the factors influencing the distribution of the endangered Sternbergia colchiciflora in grassland habitats preserved in Pannonian cemeteries. Sopotlieva et al. (2018) revealed the ecosystem conditions of Bulgarian grasslands which are located outside of the Natura 2000 network. Szabó & Ruprecht (2018) finally pointed on the potential of seed banks in the recovery of Stipa-dominated and steppe-like dry grasslands. 

The publications are all open access, and freely available from the journal website, from http://www.zobodat.at/publikation_series.php?id=20993 and in the near future also from the re-launched EDGG website. 

Contributions in the Special Feature 

Bittnerová, S., Ujházy, K., Hegedüšová, K., Škodová, I., Ujházyová, M. & Janišová, M. (2018): Soil seed bank and above-ground vegetation changes during grassland succession: Is space-for-time substitution an alternative to re-sampling? Tuexenia 38: 347–370. 

Boch, S., Müller, J., Prati, D. & Fischer, M. (2018): Low-intensity management promotes bryophyte diversity in grasslands. – Tuexenia 38: 311-328. 

Bódis, B., Biró, É., Nagy, T., Takács, A., Molnár V., A. & Lukács, B.A. (2018): Habitat preferences of the rare lizard-orchid Himantoglossum adriaticum H. Baumann. Tuexenia 38: 329–345. 

Deák, B., Becker, T., Boch, S. & Wagner, V. (2018): Conservation, management and restoration of semi-natural and natural grasslands in Central Europe – Editorial to the 13th EDGG Special Feature. Tuexenia 38: 305–310. 

Didukh, Y.P. & Vasheniak, Y.A. (2018): Vegetation of limestone outcrops in Western and Central Podillia (Ukraine). Tuexenia 38: 419–444. 

Molnár V., A., Mészáros, A., Csathó, A.I., Balogh, G., Takács, A., Löki, V., Lovas-Kiss, A., Tökölyi, J., Somlyay, L. & Bauer, N. (2018): Distribution and seed production of the rare, dry grassland specialist Sternbergia colchiciflora (Amaryllidaceae) in Pannonian cemeteries. Tuexenia 38: 371–384. 

Sopotlieva, D., Velev, N., Tsvetkova, N., Vassilev, V. & Apostolova, I. (2018): Ecosystem condition assessment of semi-natural grasslands outside the Natura 2000 network in Bulgaria, using vegetation data. Tuexenia 38: 385–404. 

Szabó, A. & Ruprecht, E. (2018): Restoration possibilities of dry grasslands afforested by pine: the role of seed bank and remnant vegetation. Tuexenia 38: 405–418.