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3276781 
Journal Article 
Variation in dry grassland communities along a heavy metals gradient 
Woch, MW; Kapusta, P; Stefanowicz, AM 
2016 
Yes 
Ecotoxicology
ISSN: 0963-9292
EISSN: 1573-3017 
25 
1 
80-90 
English 
26493699 
WOS:000370715500008 
The aim of this study was to investigate the variation in plant communities growing on metal-enriched sites created by historical Zn-Pb mining. The study sites were 65 small heaps of waste rock covered by grassland vegetation and scattered mostly over agricultural land of southern Poland. The sites were described in terms of plant coverage, species richness and composition, and the composition of plant traits. They were classified using phytosociological methods and detrended correspondence analysis. Identified plant communities were compared for vegetation parameters and habitat properties (soil characteristics, distance from the forest) by analysis of variance. The variation in plant community parameters was explained by multiple regression, in which the predictors were properties of the habitat selected on the basis of factor analysis. Grasslands that developed at low and high concentrations of heavy metals in soil were similar to some extent: they were composed on average of 17-20 species (per 4 m(2)), and their total coverage exceeded 90 %. The species composition changed substantially with increasing contamination with heavy metals; metal-sensitive species withdrew, while the metal-tolerant became more abundant. Other important predictors of community structure were: proximity to the forest (responsible for the encroachment of competitive forest species and ruderals), and the thickness of the surface soil (shallow soil favored the formation of the heavy metal grassland). The heavy metal grassland was closely related to the dry calcareous grasslands. The former was an earlier succession stage of the latter at low contamination with heavy metals. 
Historical mining; Heavy metal; Dry grassland; Species richness; Species composition