Phytosociology, ecology and conservation status of Salvia brachyodon (Lamiaceae), a narrow endemic of Eastern Adriatic

We studied the site ecology of Salvia brachyodon (Lamiaceae), a narrow endemic of the eastern Adriatic, which is now restricted to only three sites, using the sigmatistic method and numerical analyses. Four floristically and ecologically well-defined groups of stands, representing different syntaxa, were identified, corresponding to the sampling sites. The majority of stands represent dry eastern (sub)Mediterranean rocky grasslands at different successional stages towards (sub)Mediterranean forest vegetation. Compared to the evolutionary and ecologically closely related and sympatric S. officinalis, the morphologically easily distinguishable S. brachyodon differs in its flowering phenology and prefers relatively cooler, wetter, deeper and nutrient richer soils, which are developed on dolomite or dolomitic limestone at higher elevated sites. Despite its ability to cope with interspecific competition by means of clonal reproduction better than its congener, the populations are severely threatened by abandonment of traditional land use and by fires, making the species endangered (EN) according to IUCN criteria.

The Role of Small Farm Activities for the Sustainable Management of Agricultural Landscapes: Case Studies from Europe

In Europe, a broad variety of agricultural landscape types have originated as a result of traditional farming activities and landscape diversity maintenance over centuries. The rapid development of socio-economic activities during the twentieth century caused significant loss of traditional rural landscapes. Traditional/historical European agricultural landscape types (EALs) represent a type of cultural landscape with many specific unique cultural, historical, and biodiversity patterns. Despite their high value, maintenance in practice is lacking. European farmers and landowners need to learn how to implement innovative multifunctional farming techniques within these landscapes. An online interactive educational tool of the ERASMUS+ FEAL project (FEAL: multifunctional Farming for the sustainability of European Agricultural Landscapes) deals with these topics. Case studies from the FEAL project showed the best examples of sustainable agricultural management practices in different types of EALs. The aim of this article was to evaluate case studies within coordination of information on the environment (CORINE) Land Cover (CLC) 2012 classes representing traditional land use forms, nature and landscape protection areas, and ecologically important areas, as well as High Nature Value (HNV) farmland. Results based on 28 case studies from five European countries interpreted the positive external effects of farms on values of EALs. A prevailing number of farms exhibited a coincidence between CLC 2012 classes with traditional land use forms and HNV farmland and protected areas. Regarding land cover classes with traditional land use forms, key words selected by farmers gave importance to recreation and tourism, furthering of biodiversity, direct sale, social farming, renewable energy, and traditional building. The highest frequencies of the key words were achieved in CLC 2012 classes concerning (to some degree) natural and semi-natural ecosystems.

The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group – conserving grassland habitats in the Palaearctic region

Grassland ecosystems of Europe comprise a variety of mostly semi-natural habitats, which have developed over long periods of traditional land-use regimes, such as grazing and mowing, and they support a remarkable level of biodiversity. At some scales, the species diversity of these habitats is greater than that of tropical rain forests. Such valuable habitats are currently facing several threats, some natural but mostly anthropogenic, and many of them are threatened with extinction. The Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG, www.eddg.org) was established in 2008 by scientists, conservationists and others who are involved in the study and conservation of grassland habitats. The organization currently has 1299 members from a total of 64 countries. Since 2004, the EDGG has organized an annual scientific conference in different parts of Europe. Since 2009, the EDGG has also organized international field workshops to collect diversity data on the plant species composition of dry grasslands and related communities in understudied regions of the Palaearctic. These data are collated in the GrassPlot database and used as a resource for collaborative research. We hope to expand this initiative to also include data on arthropod taxa. The next EDGG conference will be held in Bilbao in 2020.