Plant society

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A plant association , also Phytozönon , is an abstract plant community ( Phytozoenose ) with a typical composition of the kinds . Plants often grow in such characteristic societies , depending on their ecological location, and form the botanical part of biotopes . Because of the rule- socialization of species is called the doctrine of the plant societies as plant sociology . The study of plant communities is called phytozoenology .

Science and application

Depending on ecological demands, potency (or tolerance ) and competitive strength, plant communities develop in the course of succession , which can be named by a specific species composition. Plant communities are mapped through vegetation photographs, determined in a tabular comparison, then described and classified in the plant-sociological systematics according to the descriptive empirical method of plant sociology .

Plant communities are ecologically related to their locations. Heinz Ellenberg examined the correlations between the ecological demands of the species and their locations and established the term pointer value . Vegetation recordings thus allow clear conclusions to be drawn about the ecological, abiotic location factors of a plant population. Reinhold Tüxen has emphasized that plant communities are built up through the combination of species and therefore the characteristic set of species must be taken into account when concluding a plant community on the location in order to determine not only the biotic and inorganic but also anthropogenic influences on the location.

Most are also zoocoenosis , the communities of animals at their significantly influenced by the plant communities habitat adjusted. The plant community is in interaction and dependence with the animal communities (zoo community). The groups often influence each other (see biocenosis ). A specific associated zoo community can also be assigned to a plant community. Conversely, the occurrence of animals in a plant community can provide information about their ecological demands. Plant communities can be differentiated according to their formation.

Due to these deducible factors, these plant communities are often the basis for the classification and assessment of biotopes in biotope mapping . Plant sociology is therefore an important tool in applied landscape ecology . Here the real vegetation endowment, which consists of substitute societies, is recorded. The potential natural vegetation can be derived from the substitute societies, soil and climate, and the original natural vegetation can be reconstructed using organic finds and climate models . Botany, zoology , soil science , landscape planning and nature conservation , for example, use the concept of potential natural vegetation (pnV) or today's potentially natural vegetation (hpnV).

In the various succession theories ( climax vegetation , mosaic cycle concept , mega- herbivore theory), plant society plays a key role in classifying and discussing various stages of succession and courses of succession in terrestrial and semiterrestrial ecosystems .

Classification and characterization of plant communities

The frequency of occurrence of different species and their loyalty to the vegetation units play a decisive role in determining the plant community:

In addition, the presence or absence of certain groups of species is assessed as an indication of the plant community. Species groups result from similar ecological properties ( ecological species groups ), similar sociological behavior ( sociological species groups ) or a regular common (statistically secured) occurrence in vegetation units ( floristic species groups ).

A distinction is made between natural and human or animal ( anthropogenic or zoogenic ) plant communities.

Examples of plant communities

Forests - see Central European Forest Societies

Deciduous forest - class with several orders
Buchenwald - order with several associations
Kalkbeuchenwald - Association with several associations
Orchid-beech forest (on dry sites) - association
Class, ending in -etea : Querco-Fagetea (deciduous forests)
Order, ending in -etalia : Fagetalia sylvaticae (often abbreviated just Fagetalia )
Association, ending in -ion : Fagion sylvaticae (often abbreviated just Fagion )
Association , ending in -etum : Carici-Fagetum

In the full name (analogous to the name of a species), the name of the first descriptor of the relevant company and the year of the description are given. This is especially important when different authors have described similar-sounding societies or when the same name is used by different authors with different meanings. If a described company is later regrouped in the system, the name of the first descriptor is put in brackets and the name of the author who changed it is added. If the spelling is simply changed, em stands. (for emendavit ). Author names (especially well-known and common ones) are often abbreviated for reasons of space.

Examples:
  • Association: Carici-Fagetum Rübel 1930 ex Moor 1952 em. Lohm. 1953
  • Association: Carici albae-Tilietum cordatae Müller et Görs 1958
  • Association: Dentario heptaphylli-Fagetum (Br.-Bl. 1932) Th.Müll. 1966
  • Order: Quercetalia pubescenti-petreae Klika 1933 corr. Moravec in Beguin et Theurillat 1984

See also

literature

  • Josef Schmithüsen: General vegetation geography . Berlin 1961.
  • Josias Braun-Blanquet: Plant Sociology . Vienna 1964.
  • Reinhold Tüxen: Plant sociology as a synthetic science . In: Miscellaneous Papers. Vol. 5, pp. 141-159. Wageningen 1970.
  • Reinhold Tüxen: The plant communities of Northwest Germany . Apprenticeship 1974
  • Erich Oberdorfer: South German plant communities . Vol. I-IV. Jena 1977ff.
  • Heinz Ellenberg : Vegetation of Central Europe with the Alps from an ecological, dynamic and historical perspective. 5th, heavily changed and improved edition. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-8001-2696-6 .
  • Erwin Rennwald: Directory and Red List of Plant Associations in Germany . 2000., 800 pp. + CD-ROM., PB, BfN / LVH, ISBN 3-7843-3505-5

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ At this level of observation, the concept of societies overlaps with the plant formations of geobotany
  2. ↑ On this level, the concept of societies overlaps with the plant communities of geobotany

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Josias Braun-Blanquet: Plant sociology. Vienna 1964.
  2. ↑ Reinhold Tüxen: Plant sociology as a synthetic science. In: Miscellaneous Papers. Vol. 5, pp. 141-159. Wageningen 1970.