The North Caucasus is still one of the least studied regions in Europe regarding syntaxonomy. We investigated dry grasslands in the central part of the North Caucasus, namely in the Stavropol Kray region of Russia. We sampled 47 vegetation plots (relevés) of 10 m2 size (3.16 × 3.16 m) at elevations from 470 to 1150 m a.s.l. To determine the scale-dependent species richness patterns, we recorded five nested-plot series of 0.0001 to 100 m² in...

Colchis (Caucasus Ecoregion, Euxinian Province) is a region with unique Tertiary relict biota and high species and vegetation diversity. However, its vegetation has been only little studied by Braun- Blanquet methods so far. Based on original field data (20 phytosociological relevés), we describe a novel vegetation type of calciphilous and thermophilous Carpinus orientalis forests in western Geor- gia (Campanulo alliariifoliae-Carpinetum orientalis ass. nova). This species-rich community inhabits sunny limestone slopes and is developed under a...

Nuphar pumilais a glacial relict, which is nowadays rare throughout Europe and red-listed in most European regions. In Switzerland only three autochthonous populations and one population of the hybrid with N. lutea (N. ×spenneriana) have survived to date, one of them in the canton of Zurich. To protect this species regionally, the canton of Zurich has commissioned the ex situ propagation of speci-mens, which then had been introduced to 37 water bodies in protected areas,...

We report new maxima of vascular plant species richness ever recorded in 10-m2 plots (115 and 110 species in two adjacent plots). Both come from a steppe meadow at a well-known site Valea Lui Craiu, located in the Fânaţele Clujului grassland complex close to the city of Cluj in Transylvania, Romania, where maximum values have been observed before. We also correct the previously pub-lished maximum of 106 species, which was recorded in a 10.9-m2 plot...