Floristic characteristics of meadows and certain adjacent communities in western and central part of the Kolbuszowa Plateau

Abstract

The subject of research were meadow, pastures, rush, psammophilous and mat-grass sward communities that occur in 48 villages in the western and central parts of the Kolbuszowa Plateau. 550 phytosociological relevés were taken with the Braun-Blanquet method in three growing seasons in the years 2011–2013. The vascular flora of meadows, pastures and wetlands in the central and western parts of the Kolbuszowa Plateau was characterized taking into account many features, such as: the botanical family, the utility group, biopersistence, biological life-form, frequency of occurrence, origin, habitat, medicinal properties, melliferous potential, and phytosociological class. The plant patches that occur in the Kolbuszowa Plateau consisted of 338 species including 42 grasses, 29 legumes, 37 sedges, sieve and horsetails, 30 trees and shrubs, as well as 208 herbs and weeds. Most numerous were the species belonging to the following botanical families: Asteracea, Poaceae and Cyperaceae. The biggest occurrence could be noticed for Holcus lanatus and Juncus effusus. The largest group were the species that occur infrequently. In terms of phytosociological affiliation, the most frequent were the species of Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, then Phragmitetea, and Artemisietea vulgaris classes. Most frequent were indigenous plant species. Medicinal and poisonous plants accounted for 36.1 %, while plants that are the source of pollen as well melliferous plants accounted for as much as 65.7% of the entire flora.