The last version of Red List was published already more than 10 years ago but the knowledge of the flora of Slovakia has substantially improved due to large-scale mapping projects and taxonomical research. Therefore an updated fifth edition of the Red List is presented in this paper. For evaluation, we accepted IUCN categories (ER, CR, EN, VU, NT, LC, DD, NA, NE) and criteria (A-D), which were used first time in the history of Slovak Red Lists of ferns and flowering plants. In total 1 218 taxa are listed (the complete list of taxa is given in Electronic Appendix 1), which is nearly 34 % of the total number of 3 619 native taxa and archaeophytes of the flora of Slovakia. More than 80 taxa (7 %) were not confirmed in the flora (66 Regionally Extinct, 17 Probably Regionally Extinct), 155 taxa are evaluated as Critically Endangered (13 %), 171 Endangered (14 %) and 201 taxa are regarded Vulnerable (17 %). The largest group represent 347 taxa evaluated as Near Threatened (29 %), 162 taxa are assessed as Least Concern (13 %), 91 taxa are in category Data Deficient (7 %), and 8 taxa belong to categories of Not Evaluated and Not Applicable (1 %). In this Red List, 27 taxa are included as new for the flora of Slovakia and 14 taxa were rediscovered. Short history of Slovak Red lists of rare and threatened plants is also briefly mentioned.
Methods: Two thousand four hundred and thirty-seven relev es from halophytic and sub-halophytic habitats were classified using a modified TWINSPAN. The crispness of classification was checked. DCA and CCA with climate data as explanatory variables were applied.
Little is known about the suite of ecological conditions under which characteristic species may continue to develop under the pressure of recent habitat deterioration. We aimed to determine the niche of three indicator species of the priority habitat Pannonic salt steppes and to find out how their vegetation composition, land use, and soil chemistry mirror the current condition of their typical habitat. A plot-based vegetation survey was conducted in degraded and in pristine (reference) inland salt steppes in East-Central Europe. We confirmed decreased habitat quality at their northern geographical limit. Most of the sites there showed a strong prevalence of generalists (e.g., Elytrigia repens) and lack of specialists, both resulting from lowered habitat extremity and inappropriate land use (abandonment). A small proportion of plots (19%) were in the same good condition as the reference vegetation in the central area. Soil analyses revealed that the studied halophytes are able to persist on desalinized soils if the land use is suitable. The occurrence of the annual Camphorosma annua (Amaranthaceae) was driven largely by abiotic stress; grazing alone is insufficient for its long-term persistence, while the perennial Artemisia santonicum (Asteraceae) and Tripolium pannonicum (Asteraceae) have higher survival chances as they are able to coexist with generalists. Overall habitat quality can be reliably determined from the analyzed ecological conditions of indicator species. The outcomes of the presented work are relevant for conservation practice and can serve as a quick tool for assessing the current stage of other grassland habitats.
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