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Abstract Questions: How do published syntaxonomical data of exposed salt lake plant communities from particular countries correspond with our field data sampled throughout the Pannonian Basin? How do the soils and the duration of flooding affect the pattern of individual vegetation types? Is there geographical variation in the vegetation of soda pans within the studied area? Location: Pannonian Basin (lowland parts of Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Slovakia). Methods: We sampled the vegetation on exposed shores and the bottom of 24 soda pans using the nine-grade Braun-Blanquet scale. Three hundred and four phytosociological relevés were classified into clusters representing different associations using TWINSPAN. The relations between the vegetation types were displayed as spiderplots with Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). Chemical soil properties of 64 samples taken from various vegetation types were analysed. DCA with data attribute plots and the LOESS visualisation method were used to display quantitative data. Results: We identified eight clusters representing different associations occurring on the dried bottoms of soda pans: five associations in the class Crypsietea aculeatae, two associations in the class Thero-Salicornietea strictae and a single association in the class Festuco-Puccinellietea. The latter was found only in the littoral zone. Classes were distinct in measured soil properties. Thero-Salicornietea strictae occupied soils with higher values of EC, SAR and ESP. Communities of the class Crypsietea aculeatae occupied soils with higher amounts of Ca, Mg and TOC. Conclusions: We have not confirmed the associations Cyperetum pannonici, Atriplicetum prostratae, Heleochloëtum alopecuroidis and Chenopodietum urbici although all of these syntaxa belonging to the class Crypsietea aculeatae have been traditionally reported from exposed soda pans. The associations Camphorosmetum annuae, Lepidio crassifolii-Camphorosmetum annuae, Lepidietum crassifolii and Spergulario marginatae-Suaedetum prostratae, reported in several literature sources of the class Thero-Salicornietea strictae, were not confirmed in the examined area. They develop in other saline habitats, outside the soda pan bottoms, in the vegetation of the class Festuco-Puccinellietea. ? Nomenclature: Euro+Med (2015).? Abbreviations: Ca = calcium; Mg = magnesium; Na = sodium; ESP = exchangeable sodium percentage; DCA = Detrended correspondence analysis; LOESS = locally weighted scatterplot smoothing; SAR = sodium adsorption ratio; TOC = total organic carbon.? Submitted: 12 May 2016; first decision: 19 July 2016; accepted: 2 October 2017

A remarkable population of Carex extensa(Cyperaceae) was found south of Lake Ferto (Neusiedler See) in Hungary in 2012. This species typically occurs in coastal salt marshes in Europe and was hitherto unknown from the Pannonian Basin. The locality is situated in a territory which has been embanked in 1911. Keeping also in mind that the vegetation developed here from reed beds to saline habitats, we conclude that C. extensareached the salt marshes of the area through long distance dispersal by water birds from the European coast in the last century. Nevertheless, several other maritime littoral species grow in the region, and the possibility that there is a hidden population of C. extensaat another site(s) nearby cannot be excluded. Lake Ferto is often described as the “westernmost steppe lake” and supports one of the richest European inland littoral floras. Although it appears likely that C. extensahas only recently colonised the site, we consider this discovery to be of significant biogeographical importance.

This paper deals with ecology, syntaxonomy and nomenclature of species poor Pinus mugo agg. communities in Central Europe. Cluster analyses have generally confirmed the geographical and altitudinal differentiation of Pinus mugo scrubs on peaty soils, and refer to important differentiation between zonal dwarf pine stands and stands on raised bogs and their margins, or in inversion sites. Individual clusters markedly differ in their affinity to major ecological factors. They are associated with light availability and moisture, and correlated with low nutrient availability and acid soil reaction. Three main types are distinguished: subalpine communities of the Western Carpathians and Sudetes belonging to the Pinion mugo Pawlowski in Pawlowski et al. 1928 (the Roso pendulinae-Pinetea mugo Theurillat in Theurillat et al. 1995); slightly wooded raised bogs and their margins dominated by Pinus mugo s. str. in (montane) subalpine areas of European mountains (the Sphagno magellanici-Pinetum mugo Hadac, Ježek et Brezina 1969 nom. cons. propos.); and slightly wooded sub-continental Pinus rotundata stands of raised bogs and their margins (laggs) in montane areas of Hercynian-Sudetic region (the Pinetum rotundatae Kästner et Flößner 1933 corr. Mucina in Steiner 1993). Different physiognomy of raised bogs and bog margins plant communities, dominated by shrubs and trees, reflects the different ecological characteristics of their stands. Sphagno magellanici-Pinetum mugo and the Pinetum rotundatae were previously evaluated within the raised bog communities (the Oxycocco-Sphagnetea Br.-Bl. et R. Tx. ex Westhoff et al. 1946) and the montane spruce woodlands (the Vaccinio-Piceetea Br.-Bl. in Br.-Bl. et al. 1939), however we propose to include them within the Vaccinio uliginosi-Pinetea sylvestris Passarge 1968 class, which includes more or less peaty, azonal, oligotrophic coniferous tree- and shrub-communities in the boreal and mountain regions.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIMS: Invasive treatment for abdominal pain due to chronic pancreatitis may be either surgical or endoscopic, particularly in cases of ductal obstruction. To date, the data published on the effectiveness of these two forms of therapy have been mostly retrospective, and there have been no randomized studies. A prospective, randomized study comparing surgery with endoscopy in patients with painful obstructive chronic pancreatitis was therefore conducted.[nl] PATIENTS AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with pancreatic duct obstruction and pain were invited to participate in a randomized trial comparing endotherapy and surgery, the latter consisting of resection and drainage procedures, depending on the patient’s individual situation. Patients who did not agree to participation and randomization were also further assessed using the same follow-up protocol.[nl] RESULTS: Of 140 eligible patients, only 72 agreed to be randomized. Surgery consisted of resection (80 %) and drainage (20 %) procedures, while endotherapy included sphincterotomy and stenting (52 %) and/or stone removal (23 %). In the entire group, the initial success rates were similar for both groups, but at the 5-year follow-up, complete absence of pain was more frequent after surgery (37 % vs. 14 %), with the rate of partial relief being similar (49 % vs. 51 %). In the randomized subgroup, results were similar (pain absence 34 % after surgery vs. 15 % after endotherapy, relief 52 % after surgery vs. 46 % after endotherapy). The increase in body weight was also greater by 20 - 25 % in the surgical group, while new-onset diabetes developed with similar frequency in both groups (34 - 43 %), again with no differences between the results for the whole group and the randomized subgroup.[nl] CONCLUSIONS: Surgery is superior to endotherapy for long-term pain reduction in patients with painful obstructive chronic pancreatitis. Better selection of patients for endotherapy may be helpful in order to maximize results. Due to its low degree of invasiveness, however, endotherapy can be offered as a first-line treatment, with surgery being performed in case of failure and/or recurrence.