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Diversity and environmental variability of riparian tall herb fringe communities of the order Convolvuletalia sepium in Polish river valleys
The riparian tall herb fringe communities of the order Convolvuletalia sepium represent an integral part of the natural vegetation in river valleys. The major objective of this study was to assess the relationships between the diversity and variability of these communities and various environmental factors. The survey was conducted in northwestern Poland, along 101 randomly selected 1-2-km long sections of 24 rivers and the Szczecin Lagoon. Samples were collected in 2008-2013 in all types of tall herb fringe vegetation found in the surveyed river sections. Data collected included hydrogeomorphic variables, soil parameters, potential and actual vegetation, and dominant land use form. A total of 24 vegetation units were documented, based on 300 sample plots (relevés).-
Tall herb fringe communities occurring in valleys of large rivers (Senecionetum fluviatilis, Fallopio-Cucubaletum bacciferi, Achilleo salicifoliae-Cuscutetum lupuliformis, Convolvulo sepium-Cuscutetum europaeae typicum and chaerophylletosum bulbosi subass. nov., Rubus caesius community, Solidago gigantea community) exhibited floristic and ecological differences in comparison with plant communities from small rivers (Eupatorietum cannabini typicum, aegopodietosum and cardaminetosum amarae subass. nov., Epilobio hirsuti-Convolvuletum sepium, Soncho palustris-Archangelicetum litoralis, Convolvulo sepium-Cuscutetum europaeae aegopodietosum, Urtico-Convolvuletum sepium typicum and aegopodietosum, Urtica dioica community, Galeopsis speciosa community, Rubus idaeus community). This finding fully justified their division into two alliances: the Senecionion fluviatilis and the Archangelicion litoralis, respectively.-
Significant differences between the tall herb fringe communities associated with large rivers and the plant communities occurring along small rivers included plant species richness, moss layer cover, contribution of river corridor plants, level of invasion, influence of adjacent plant communities on the floristic composition, relative elevation and distance away from the riverbed, degree of shading, proportions of all grain size fractions, soil pH, contents of organic matter, humus, organic carbon, total nitrogen, bioavailable phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and calcium in the soil. The differences in environmental characteristics of individual plant communities were significant as well; they showed that most vegetation units were well defined.-
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