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Studies of pollen, seed set and experimental hybridizations were carried out to clarify breeding behavior and gene flow pathways in Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma. Seeds from hybridization (106 samples), open pollinated (34) and bagged (43) capitula were analyzed for breeding system using a flow-cytometric seed screen. In the section Erythrosperma, diploids are obligate sexuals, mostly allogamous; however, autogamy also occurs (in 28% of unpollinated capitula). Triploids are apomicts with residual sexuality (in 13% of capitula pollinated by pollen of diploids). Pollen of diploids in Taraxacum is usually approximately the same size (regular pollen). In our study, in the section Erythrosperma, many diploids (24%) produced pollen grains of different sizes (irregular pollen) and one plant produced no pollen. The pollen of triploids is either irregular (33%) or the triploids produce no pollen (67%). Consequently, the method of ploidy level assessment on the basis of pollen characteristics is not suitable for Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma. Low potential for polyploid hybrid formation between diploid maternal plants and polyploid pollen donors, considerable tendency to autogamy and no evidence of the formation of diploid progeny by polyploid maternal plants (facultative apomixis) indicates low intensity of gene flow within Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma. This, together with a lower population density and spatial isolation of ploidy levels, is expected to result in a lower rate of formation of new apomictic lineages. Thus, Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma appears evolutionarily more stable and taxonomically less complicated than sect. Ruderalia. The present study supports the agamospecies concept of Taraxacum sect. Erythrosperma.

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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.

The paper brings numerical classification of 48 new phytosociological relevés of dry grassland vegetation from the Slovenský kras Mts and the Aggteleki-karszt Mts located on the border between Slovakia and Hungary (Central Europe). We performed a comparison of two classification approaches (an unsupervised method -modified TWINSPAN, and a supervised approach -electronic expert system based on formal definitions of associations), which were applied on the same dataset. Four associations were distinguished: Campanulo divergentiformis-Festucetum pallentis Zólyomi (1936) IzvlečekV članku je predstavljena numerična klasifikacija 48 novih fitocenoloških popisov vegetacije suhih travnikov iz hribovja Slovenský kras in Aggteleki-karszt na meji med Slovaško in Madžarsko (srednja Evropa). Naredili smo primerjavo dveh klasifikacijskih metod (nenadzorovano metodo -modificirani TWINSPAN, in nadzorovano metodo -elektronski ekspertni sistem, ki temelji na formalnih definicijah asociacij), ki smo ju opravili na istem podatkovnem nizu. Ločili smo štiri asociacije: Campanulo divergentiformis-Festucetum pallentis Zólyomi (1936)

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