Effects of Bothriochloa ischaemum on the Diversity of Pannonian Sandy Grasslands

Szilárd Szentes, Károly Penksza, Eszter Saláta-Falusi (), László Sipos, Veronika Kozma-Bognár, Richárd Hoffmann and Zsombor Wagenhoffer
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Szilárd Szentes: Department of Animal Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Rottenbiller str. 50, 1077 Budapest, Hungary
Károly Penksza: Department of Botany, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
Eszter Saláta-Falusi: Department of Botany, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Páter Károly str. 1, 2100 Gödöllő, Hungary
László Sipos: Department of Postharvest, Commercial and Sensory Science, Institute of Food Science and Technology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Villányi str. 35-43, 1118 Budapest, Hungary
Veronika Kozma-Bognár: Department of Drone Technology and Image Processing, Dennis Gabor University, Fejér Lipót str. 70, 1119 Budapest, Hungary
Richárd Hoffmann: Institute of Agronomy, Department of Agronomy, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Science, Guba Sándor str. 40, 7400 Kaposvár, Hungary
Zsombor Wagenhoffer: Department of Animal Nutrition and Clinical Dietetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Rottenbiller str. 50, 1077 Budapest, Hungary

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-19

Abstract: Changes in land use and agricultural practices have altered the resilience of plant communities and can lead to the emergence of invasive species. One of these is the perennial grass species Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Kleng., whose diversity-reducing effects are known from several studies. Our exploratory questions were as follows: How does the presence of B. ischaemum affect the diversity and ratio of the species of sandy grasslands? To what extent does this diversity change depend on site characteristics? The supporting studies were carried out in five low-lying sand dune slacks and six relatively higher areas in the upper-intermediate part of the dunes and on an abandoned old field located in the Hungarian Great Plain in the Carpathian Basin. The cover of vascular plant species was recorded in all sampling sites in twelve 2 by 2 m plots, and the dataset was analysed using agglomerative cluster analyses and a non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test. Five significantly different groups were identified, separating the vegetation types of the sides of the sand dunes, the vegetation types of the dune slack and the old field, and a Stipa borysthenica Kolkov ex Prokudin-dominated vegetation type. Our results suggest that B. ischaemum is only present as small tussocks on the drier, more exposed sides of dunes, with 3.9–24.2% average coverage; is less able to outcompete Festuca vaginata Waldst. et Kit. ex Willd. and S. borysthenica ; and is only able to form large tussocks mainly in the lower dune slacks, with 45.6–79.5% average coverage. Here, in the wetter areas, it achieves high cover with a considerable accumulation of litter, and it becomes a dominant species in this association. The diversity-reducing effect of B. ischaemum on old-field grasslands depends on the age of the site and on the stability of the vegetation.

Keywords: C 4 grasses; climate change; land use; ecological function; habitat (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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