Relict Mediterranean edaphic steppes on deep clayey soils
Lygeo-Stipetalia tenacissimae Br.-Bl. et O. de Bolòs 1958
Lygeo-Stipetalia tenacissimae Br.-Bl. et O. de Bolòs 1958
lyg12 | Unlike Rivas-Martínez et al. (2002b: 510; 2011: 286), who conceptually identified the Lygeo-Stipetalia with the Thero-Brachypodietalia (and suggested the latter name to be rejected as nomen ambiguum), we consider both orders as separate entities. We wish to underline here the ecological difference between these syntaxa and suggest that the Lygeo-Stipetalia is considered a unit of true (non-anthropogenic) relict (albeit edaphic) steppe communities, frequently found on specific, deep, clayey Miocene sediments forming 'Mediterranean badlands'. The remnants of such steppes remind us of the potentially larger distribution of such vegetation in the Mediterranean during the glacial maxima. (L. Mucina).