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Formation and succession of alvar communities in the Baltic land uplift area
Author(s) -
Zobel Martin,
Kont Are
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
nordic journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.333
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1756-1051
pISSN - 0107-055X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-1051.1992.tb01302.x
Subject(s) - transect , ecological succession , grassland , ecology , grazing , plant community , humus , soil water , primary succession , biology , physical geography , geography
Calciphilous plant communities, soil and geomorphology along the gradient of elevation in land uplift area in the coast of western Estonia were described. In grazed areas, species rich alvar grassland is a final stage in successional sere. The differences in site history in various points of the transect were reflected by the variability of underlying deposits. When soils with different ages but having similar parent material were compared, some successional trends (decrease of the content of Ca, increase of the content of P and humus supply) became evident. Species composition of plant communities was determined mainly by local ecological conditions (moisture level, soil pH, also grazing) at any particular site. Differences between communities of the same association but with different successional age were negligible.