Pannonian flora province
The Pannonian Floral Province is a floral area - a unit of the floral structure - in Central Europe . Due to a steep climatic gradient , a heterogeneous topography and a high variety of geological substrates, the province is one of the most varied landscapes in Central Europe. It was named after the Roman province of Pannonia and comprises the Hungarian Plain and adjacent areas of Hungary , Serbia , Romania , Slovakia , Moravia and Austria . The Pannonian Floral Province is the westernmost part of the South Siberian-Pontic-Pannonian Floral Region and borders within this superordinate structure in the east on the Pontic Floral Province . The South Siberian-Pontic-Pannonian flora region is in turn part of the Palearctic .
Climate and vegetation
The relatively warm and dry Pannonian climate exerts a strong influence on the flora in the Pannonian Flora Province . The total annual rainfall is less than 700 millimeters, sometimes less than 600, from May to July less than 250. Especially the summer temperatures are quite high and in July are between 19 and 21 ° C, which means a clear summer dry period for plants. The climate is similar to that in Ukraine and the Eastern Carpathians , but less continental. For this reason, dry, warm, summer forests and dry grasslands are typical habitats, but there are also wetlands, e.g. B. the Danube floodplains or the humid plain south of Vienna, namely where the groundwater just rises to the surface.
In contrast to the eastern provinces, where climatic, i.e. H. Primary steppes due to high temperatures and very little precipitation below 250 mm per year dominate over partially deep and nutrient-rich soils, the Pannonian is a potential forest area in terms of vegetation. It has been used by man and the like since the Neolithic Age. a. deforested by cattle grazing, which is why secondary steppes were created and steppe species were able to immigrate from the east. However, other authors assume that the large herbivores - forest elephant , forest rhinoceros and steppe rhinoceros , which may have been exterminated by humans in postglacial Europe - were able to keep larger areas free from forests. The natural landscape was probably a mosaic of open and wooded areas. In the Pannonian area there are also real steppes on a small scale, these are substrate steppes on unfavorable subsoil, namely rock, gravel, sand, loess and salt steppes. Substrate-related steppes partially form a mixture with low downy oak bush forest. This habitat is called forest steppe after a term from Russian geography .
Typical floral elements in the province are the forest steppe wormwood ( Artemisia pancicii ), the steppe pointed keel ( Oxytropis pilosa ) and the Neusiedlersee salt plumes ( Puccinellia peisonis ). The late carnation ( Dianthus serotinus ), the hill carnation ( Dianthus collinus ) and the Hainburg spring carnation ( Dianthus lumnitzeri ) are also endemic to the area . Many species come from more eastern provinces of the flora region and reach their westernmost distribution in the Pannonian area (e.g. Tátorján sea kale ( Crambe tataria )). However, there is also a strong sub-Mediterranean influence, as dry, warm summers are characteristic there too and sub-Mediterranean species such as downy oak ( Quercus pubescens ) and diptame ( Dictamnus albus ) therefore also thrive in the Pannonian region.
Meaning and condition
The Pannonian Flora Province is home to a significant number of endangered plants, some of which are only found here. Pannonian habitats can be considered particularly species-rich and biodiverse. A study for Lower Austria shows that dry and semi-arid grasslands are home to 165 and dry, warm forests and fringing communities 88 species which are considered endangered according to the Red List . For comparison, this applies to 96 species of alternating wet meadows, wet meadows and moors, 39 of alluvial forests and only 2 species of fat meadows .
The area has been used extensively by humans for thousands of years and the steppe character was preserved throughout the Holocene and until the 19th century steppe lawns and dry to moist meadows occupied large areas in the Pannonian flora province. Up until the first half of the 20th century, many areas were extensively grazed with goats, sheep, cows and horses and thus preserved. Multiple use as pasture and coppice in the form of small-scale structures was common. Due to the extensive abandonment of livestock farming and the motorization of agriculture, which is why horses no longer graze, and the conversion to intensive arable farming and viticulture, many areas have been plowed up and are cultivated using fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides as well as artificial irrigation. Together with the emissions caused by traffic and industry, this has negative effects on areas that are still intact. Those areas that generate too little profit are no longer cultivated and are becoming increasingly bushy. Today only small remnants of the original Pannonian plant communities are left. The other areas were and are being destroyed by intensive agriculture, afforestation, traffic routes, leisure facilities, landfills, etc.
History of exploration
Due to the great diversity of species, the Pannonian region aroused the interest of botanists and florists early on. The hour of birth of the work Rariorum aliquot stirpium per Pannonium, Austriam et vicinas quasdam Provincias observatum Historia (research of some rarer species of plants observed in Hungary, Austria and certain neighboring provinces) by the important botanist Charles de l'Écluse ( lat.Carolus Clusius ) can be seen as the hour of birth . be valid. The first major standard work on the Pannonian flora was created by the Burgenland - Hungarian botanist Pál Kitaibel and his sponsor Franz Adam von Waldstein in the form of Descriptiones et icones plantarum rariorum Hungariae (descriptions and illustrations of rare plants in Hungary) between 1799 / 1802–1812. Later, among others , August Neilreich ( Flora von Wien , 1846; Flora in Nieder-Österreich , 1859, 1866), Kerner von Marilaun ( Das Pflanzenleben der Donauländer , 1863) and Friedrich Karl Max Vierhapper ( The limits of the Pannonian vegetation in Lower Austria , 1922) with the Pannonian flora.
Pannonian flora province in Austria
After the Alps , the Pannonian lowlands and hills are the second largest large landscape in Austria and of particular biogeographical interest. In Austria belong the Weinviertel , the eastern Waldviertel ( Horner Basin , lower Kamptal ), parts of the Wachau , the Marchfeld , the Tullnerfeld , the Vienna Basin , the Alpenostrand along the Thermenlinie , the edge and the foothills of the Leithagebirge , the largest part of Vienna , the Parndorfer Platte , the Seewinkel , the lower layers of the Central Burgenland and part of the Southern Burgenland to the Pannonian Province. In addition, inner-alpine dry valleys, specifically the uppermost Inntal , the Virgental , the Mölltal and only hinted at the middle Murtal , have a share in the province as exclaves . The Pannonian flora province is divided into two flora districts in Austria: the Eupannonicum as a "real" Pannonian area and the Praenoricum. The latter is located in southern Burgenland and is more strongly influenced by the sub-Illyrian climate and is therefore a little more humid and cooler. The rest of Austria belongs to the Central European flora region .
According to the Fauna-Flora-Habitat Directive of the European Union , the “Pannonian Biogeographical Region” ends at the Austrian border or does not cross it. The Pannonian of Austria is instead added to the “Continental Biogeographical Region”. This absurd classification, which contradicts natural conditions, is due to the fact that this biogeographical region did not exist when Austria joined the EU and the directive has not been amended since then.
The following habitats are typical for the Pannonian Flora Province in Austria:
- Pannonian downy oak forests: these occupy the warmest and driest slopes and form an exclave of the sub-Mediterranean vegetation zone and the southeastern steppe forest zone. These are low and gaps in the bush, which are thought to have arisen as a result of extensive re-use over centuries. Typical species are the eponymous downy oak ( Quercus pubescens ) and the like. a. Privet ( Ligustrum vulgare ) and warty spindle bush ( Euonymus verrucosus ) as well as in the herb layer purple beef tongue ( Buglossoides purpurocaerulea ) and purple orchid ( Orchis purpurea ).
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Forest fringes and secondary steppes :
- Fringing societies consist primarily of tall perennials that benefit from the favorable conditions at the fringes - the soil is deep, the eaves are better than in the forest, there is more light available, the location is sheltered from the wind and agricultural use is limited. Typical species are diptame ( Dictamnus albus ) and blood cranesbill ( Geranium sanguineum ).
- The Pannonian meadow steppe was created on former forest floor through waste and extensive grazing over the centuries. The location is extremely rich in species and flowers, typical species include many other spring Adonis ( Adonis vernalis ), purple mullein ( Verbascum phoeniceum ) and Austrian flax ( Linum austriacum ).
- Lawn steppe: these fully dry lawns exist on shallow but fine earth soils that do not allow forest growth. Some of these are primary steppes, others are caused by soil erosion as a result of centuries of grazing and lead to the substrate steppes, which they are very similar in floristic terms. Typical types include a. Pasque flower ( Pulsatilla grandis ), cheekbones ( Dorycnium germanicum ) and cypress spurge ( Euphorbia cyparissias ).
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Substrate steppes exist where the soil does not allow high vegetation:
- There are rock steppes where the rock reaches just below or to the surface. The species represented show clear xeromorphoses, i.e. adaptations to the dryness through wax coatings, narrow or folded leaves or white felted hair. Typical representatives include a. Sand cinquefoil ( Potentilla incana ), Austrian black salsify ( Scorzonera austriaca ) and Hainburg spring carnation ( Dianthus lumnitzeri ).
- Serpentine vegetation arises from ultrabasic rocks, which presumably inhibit plant growth through the excretion of toxic heavy metals. A corresponding area is located in Dunkelsteinerwald , typical species are European Pelzfarn ( Notholaena marantae ) and serpentine spleenwort ( Asplenium cuneifolium ).
- Gravel steppes are present on some pre-alpine rivers and in the Steinfeld north of Wiener Neustadt . In terms of plant sociology, they are similar to the limestone rock steppes and a. the habitat for sand violets ( Viola rupestris ) and common snail clover ( Medicago prostrata ).
- Loess steppes step v. a. in the Weinviertel and are known for the species that are very rare in the area, which they harbor and whose distribution center is much further east. Noteworthy spots are at Goggendorf and Oberschoderlee ( Europa-Hornmelde ( Krascheninnikovia ceratoides )), at Jetzelsdorf ( Halbstrauch-Radmelde ( Bassia prostrata )), at Ottenthal ( Tátorján sea kale ( Crambe tataria )) and at Stillfried an der March ( Kamm-Quecke ( Agropyron pectiniforme )). The loess steppes are probably remnants of Pleistocene and postglacial cold steppes.
- Pannonian sand steppes , because of their low water holding capacity, belong to the extreme ecological locations that can only be colonized by appropriate specialists. They were formed during the last ice age and post-ice age through fine sediment deposits that were blown out of the rivers, especially the Danube, and were later stabilized by the vegetation. Through clearing and overgrazing in the Middle Ages, moving dunes were created in Marchfeld , which could only be tamed by reforestation. Today there are still basic sand areas in the nature reserve Sandberge Oberweiden as well as very acidic sand dunes on the March . Typical species are straw flower ( Helichrysum arenarium ) and spring spörgel ( Spergula morisonii ).
- Salt steppes exist in Burgenland in Seewinkel and in Lower Austria near Zwingendorf and Baumgarten an der March . They were created by the presence of salt-rich soil horizons and the warm summer climate, through which the salt rose to the surface. The salts are poisonous for most plants, only a few require it, some are salt-tolerant, including the beach milkweed ( Glaux maritima ) and the salt-steppe wormwood ( Artemisia santonicum ).
Web links
literature
- Manfred A. Fischer , Karl Oswald, Wolfgang Adler: Excursion flora for Austria, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. 3rd, improved edition. State of Upper Austria, Biology Center of the Upper Austrian State Museums, Linz 2008, ISBN 978-3-85474-187-9 , pp. 120f, 127.
- Luise Schratt-Ehrendorfer: The flora of the steppes of Lower Austria: flora and vegetation, location diversity and endangerment. In: Heinz Wiesbauer (Ed.): The steppe is alive - rocky steppes and dry grasslands in Lower Austria , St. Pölten 2008, ISBN 3-901542-28-0
- Manfred A. Fischer: A touch of the Orient - Pannonian vegetation and flora. In: Nature in the Heart of Central Europe , 2002, ISBN 3-85214-776-X
- Wolfgang Willner: Pannonian steppe grasslands in Austria. In: Henryk Baumbach, Stephan Pfützenreuter (Hrsg.): Steppe habitats in Europe: Endangerment, conservation measures and protection. Thuringian Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, Environment and Nature Conservation (TMLFUN), Erfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3-00-044248-3 , p. 155. (PDF; 549 kB)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Wolfgang Willner: Pannonian steppe lawns in Austria. In: Henryk Baumbach, Stephan Pfützenreuter (Hrsg.): Steppe habitats in Europe: Endangerment, conservation measures and protection. Thuringian Ministry of Agriculture, Forests, Environment and Nature Conservation (TMLFUN), Erfurt 2013, ISBN 978-3-00-044248-3 , p. 155. (PDF; 549 kB)
- ↑ Margret Bunzel-Drüke, Joachim Drüke, Henning Vierhaus: The influence of large herbivores on the natural landscape of Central Europe. In: in: Heinz Wiesbauer (Ed.): The steppe is alive - rock steppes and dry grasslands in Lower Austria , St. Pölten 2008, p. 64f, ISBN 3-901542-28-0
- ^ Luise Schratt: Red List of Endangered Ferns and Flowering Plants of Lower Austria , unpublished, 1990; quoted from: MA22: Biotopschutz in Wien , Wien 2007
- ↑ Manfred A. Fischer: A touch of the Orient - Pannonian vegetation and flora. In: Nature in the Heart of Central Europe , 2002, ISBN 3-85214-776-X
- ^ Marianne Klemun, Manfred A. Fischer: From "rarity" to endangered biodiversity (aspects of the history of research into the flora of Austria). In: Association for Research into Austria's Flora (ed.): Neilreichia , Volume 1, 2001, ISSN 1681-5947 Online (PDF; 1 MB)
- ↑ Manfred A. Fischer, Josef Fally: Plant Guide Burgenland , Deutschkreutz 2006, p. 18f, ISBN 3-901573-09-7