The association Veronico-Mimuletum guttati Niemann 1965 in Pomerania

Abstract

Veronico-Mimuletum guttati, a poorly known association of species-rich helophyte beds communities was characterizedbased on 21 phytosociological relevés. Its new 14 localities in Pomerania and floristic differentiation in Central Europe are presented. New subassociations of the Veronico-Mimuletum guttati cardaminetosum amarae have been distinguished on the basis of differing floristic composition. It is further differentiated into two syntaxa: spring variant noted in spring areas and typical variant noted in banks of rivers, ditches and water-logged meadows.

Veronico beccabungae-Mimuletum guttati, a new plant community in Slovakia

“…In North America, M. guttatus inhabits various freshwater habitats with cold and flowing waters at altitudes up to 4,100 m. It commonly colonizes a wide range of substrates with pH values ranging from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline [14]. Similar habitat preferences have been also reported in Central Europe, where it usually thrives along small streams or in ditches, springs, and the littoral zone of ponds with clear and cold waters in hilly regions [13,[15][16][17][18]. Although M. guttatus is able to grow in various wetland plant communities in Europe, only a single association in which this species codominates the community, the Veronico beccabungae-Mimuletum guttati (alliance Glycerio-Sparganion) association, has been found.…”

“…However, new information on the association Veronico beccabungae-Mimuletum guttati can be expected to be found in other habitats and regions of Slovakia, primarily in hilly areas where M. guttatus occurs [13,31]. Similar habitats with ecological properties close to those in Slovakia are known from other European countries, such as Great Britain, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland [15][16][17][18]20,32], as well as from the native range of M. guttatus in North America [14]. However, the species' habitat niche in these countries is much broader than in Slovakia.…”

“…Our data together with those of relevés from Germany and partially those from the Czech Republic [15,16] placed in the first cluster were differentiated by specific combinations of spring species. Several other wetland species, such as Achillea ptarmica, Caltha palustris, Cardamine amara, Galium palustre, Juncus effusus, Myosotis scorpioides agg., and Stellaria alsine showed the floristic similarity of this cluster with the second cluster comprised of relevés from Poland [18]. The third cluster, with only a few relevés from the Czech Republic [16], had a distinct species composition.…”

“…To compare the species composition of Veronico beccabungae-Mimuletum guttati assemblages throughout Central Europe, hierarchical cluster analysis of Bray-Curtis dissimilarity index values calculated from logarithmically transformed species data (group linkage method = flexible beta with β = −0.25) and detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) were used. For these analyses, we used published phytosociological information from Germany, the Czech Republic, and Poland [15,16,18], as well as unpublished relevés from Slovakia, for a total of 55 relevés. Diagnostic species of each relevé group (cluster) were determined according to the combined concepts of frequency and fidelity to measure the species concentration in vegetation units [23].…”

“…This association was described for the first time by Niemann [15] in the hilly region of Thüringen in Germany. In addition to this occurrence in Germany [15,19], this community has been also documented in relevés for areas in the Czech Republic and Poland [17,18,20].…”