Assessing the effects of environmental changes in a landscape by means of ecological characteristics of plant species

In a cultural landscape located in the lowlands of northeast Germany the diversity of fern and flowering plants was recorded, and some biological–ecological characteristics of plant species, for example, time and degree of establishment, adaptation in relation to climatic conditions and to nutrient conditions of sites, were determined. These characteristics were used to describe the current status of the vegetation in relation to land uses and environmental factors. Based on historic records and recent investigations, changes in the naturalness of the vegetation, the loss of diversity of natural vegetation and the impact of human activities on the establishment of indigenous and non-indigenous species, could be detected. Most of the currently endangered plant species are adapted to nutrient-poor sites. Vegetation analysis formed the basis for the selection of those plant species, which may be suitable as indicators of environmental changes. Population sizes and dispersal patterns were mapped precisely according to the local occurrences of the species. As an example, the distribution of the ecological group of plant species favouring oligo-/mesotrophic sites was plotted as a grid map. The maps were used for the evaluation of the vegetation under the present environmental conditions and as a basis for a monitoring program. Changes in the dispersal patterns may allow the notion of effects of specific environmental factors on the vegetation if repeated recordings are performed.