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The extreme species richness of some temperate grasslands is a globally relevant yet understudied phenomenon. Until now, few records from thoroughly sampled, though not permanently fixed, vegetation plots were available. We therefore established a network of 40 permanent 4 × 4-m2 plots in species-rich grasslands of the White Carpathians (Czechia), Ukraine, Hungary and Romania. Thirty-one of them form the main dataset comprising plots from discrete forest-steppe grasslands (the Brachypodio-Molinietum association of the Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati alliance), while nine of them forms the local dataset from a single locality in the White Carpathians, whose vegetation lacks most forest-steppe species and is transitional between the Bromion erecti and Arrhenatherion elatioris alliances (the Anthoxantho-Agrostietum and Anthyllido vulnerariae-Trifolietum montani associations). The permanent plots contain a nested subplot of 1 m2, except for five plots from Ukraine and Romania. Most plots harboured at least 80 vascular plant species per 16 m2, with the mean richness of 16-m2 plots was 95.3 species in the main dataset and 84 species in the local dataset. Mean richness of the 1-m2 subplots, presumably reflecting local environmental conditions and competitive relationships more than that of 16 m2 plots, did not vary between the two datasets, with a general mean of 57.6 species. Species counts of 16-m2 plots and 1-m2 subplots correlated, albeit only moderately, only in the main dataset. The presented datasets may be used for comparative analyses as well as for a future revisiting of the plots and may bring novel insights into the dynamics of extreme species richness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liliová hora hill near Luleč is an important locality of thermophilous flora in the Vyškov region, already mentioned in the classic botanical works of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. In later years, however, relatively little data were published about the local flora and some information is available only in herbaria. The local vegetation is also little explored. In the years 2011–2020, we visited the site several times and in this paper we present the knowledge gained about the occurrence of some remarkable thermophilous plant species. Phytosociological relevés of the vegetation including these species, as well as other interesting places with close-to-natural and semi-natural vegetation, are included. We discuss our findings in a floristic, ecological and phytogeographical context. Despite the observed successional changes, Liliová hora hill remains an important botanical locality and we recommend it to the further attention of naturalists and nature conservation bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Coppice-with-standards restoration experiment was conducted in oak-dominated forest. [•] Vegetation response was positively correlated with tree thinning intensity. [•] Conservation-valued light-demanding oligotrophic species increased. [•] Ruderal species increased significantly after more intense thinning. [•] A wider but cautious restoration of this management is recommended. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, we examined to what extent the internal site factors (light and soil conditions) are responsible for herb layer diversity in oak-dominated forest stands growing on different substrates in central Bohemia (Czech Republic). We collected data on herb layer diversity, light and nutrient availability at nine oak stands, representing the range of environmental variability for these types of forests in the region. We found that species richness increased with light availability, but only if the site occupied predominantly by fast-colonizing species was excluded from the analysis ( P < 0.05). Species richness correlated positively with soil pH and negatively with nitrogen (N) concentration in humus ( P < 0.05). The highest species richness was found at sites with not only low N soil concentration, but also simultaneously with high phosphorus (P) soil concentration. Despite this finding, however, herb layer diversity is evidently threatened much more in P-rich soils than in P-poor soils. It seems that the enhancement of N in an ecosystem due to litter accumulation and N deposition generally leads to only a minor increase in N availability at P-poor sites, but a considerable increase at P-rich sites. Therefore, species richness can be exceptionally high at P-rich sites, but only under conditions of strong N limitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]