Abstract

Threatened (n = 59) and non-threatened (n = 308) Swedish forest vascular plant taxa were compared with regard to a number of variables, including distribution, site factors, taxonomy, morphology and flowering time. A majority of the threatened taxa occur in the southern deciduous woodlands, which only constitute c. 0.5% of the total forested area in Sweden. There are considerably more threatened taxa in southern than in northern Sweden; a consequence of the successively higher number of forest vascular plants from the north towards the south. Threatened taxa grow in forests with significantly higher soil fertility than non-threatened taxa. Significant differences were also revealed regarding light conditions, soil water conditions and month of flowering. Threatened taxa grow on soils with significantly higher pH and also with slightly more available nitrogen than non-threatened taxa, as measured with Ellenberg indicator values. Forest stands on fertile soils are uncommon in Sweden and they are also very species-rich. Soil-type rarity in combination with high species diversity in these soil types thus partly explain why taxa are included in the Swedish Red data list.

Published in

Ecography
1994, Volume: 17, number: 1, pages: 39-49
Publisher: MUNKSGAARD INT PUBL LTD

SLU Authors

• Gustafsson, Lena

  • Department of Ecology and Environmental Research, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Ecology
Forest Science
Botany


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1994.tb00075.x

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/51788