Relationship between extreme species richness and Holocene persistence of forest-steppe grasslands in Transylvania, Romania

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00027073%3A_____%2F24%3AN0000070" target="_blank" >RIV/00027073:_____/24:N0000070 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/67985939:_____/24:00601379 RIV/00216224:14310/24:00138452 RIV/00216208:11310/24:10492705

Result on the web

<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836241266428" target="_blank" >https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09596836241266428</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09596836241266428" target="_blank" >10.1177/09596836241266428</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Relationship between extreme species richness and Holocene persistence of forest-steppe grasslands in Transylvania, Romania

Original language description

The most species-rich grasslands worldwide are known from the Carpathian Mts and their periphery in East-Central Europe. They occur in forest-steppe regions, transitional between temperate forest and arid steppe biomes. Their climate, largely suitable for forests, raises questions about the origin of these grasslands. Have they been forested in the past, or locally maintained through a disturbance regime? We addressed these questions to contribute to the broader understanding of Holocene dynamics of open habitats in temperate Europe. We employed soil charcoal analysis and soil morphology to reconstruct past representation of woody species with fine spatial resolution. Our study area was Romanian Transylvania, a region renowned for a well-developed forest-steppe. Six soil profiles along a climatic gradient were assessed: four in forest-steppe grasslands, two in grasslands in adjacent forest region (forest grasslands). The results revealed profound differences between forest-steppe and forest grasslands. Forest-steppe profiles showed Phaeozems with low specific anthracomass of woody species and continuous dominance by Juniperus, suggesting a long-term presence of grasslands. Forest grasslands showed Luvisols with higher anthracomass and abundant charcoal of broad-leaved trees, indicating establishment after deforestation. The high radiocarbon ages of charcoals in basal soil horizons point to a glacial origin of soils and the link of forest-steppe grasslands to glacial forests. Siberian hemiboreal forests and related grasslands may be modern analogues of the reconstructed ecosystems, sharing many species with present day forest-steppe. We suggest that disturbances such as fire, herbivore grazing, and human activities have played an important role in shaping the forest-steppe over time, contributing to the formation of today's richest grasslands.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GA20-09895S" target="_blank" >GA20-09895S: Biodiversity, disturbance history and soil memory: testing the Holocene continuity of species-rich forest-steppe ecosystems</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

HOLOCENE

ISSN

0959-6836

e-ISSN

1477-0911

Volume of the periodical

34

Issue of the periodical within the volume

11

Country of publishing house

GB - UNITED KINGDOM

Number of pages

11

Pages from-to

1627-1637

UT code for WoS article

001281798000001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85200264609