Plant height is measured in meters and relates to fully developed mature generative plants growing in the wild. The data were taken preferably from Kleyer et al. (2008), Guarino et al. (2019), Kaplan et al. (2019), French Flora database (2020) and complemented by additional sources such as national and regional floras. Each species is characterized by a mean value calculated across available datasets.
Axmanová, I. (2022). Plant height. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Kaplan, Z., Danihelka, J., Chrtek, J. Jr., Kirschner, J., Kubát, K., Štěpánek, J. & Štech, M. (Eds) (2019). Klíč ke květeně České republiky [Key to the flora of the Czech Republic]. Ed. 2. Praha: Academia.
Kleyer, M., Bekker, R. M., Knevel, I. C., Bakker, J. P., Thompson, K., Sonnenschein, M., … Peco, B. (2008). The LEDA Traitbase: A database of life-history traits of the Northwest European flora. Journal of Ecology, 96(6), 1266–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2008.01430.x
Life span categories reflect the length of life duration of individual species. Annual plants finish their life cycle within one growing season. Biennial or short-lived plants are overwintering, growing only vegetatively in the first season and fruiting in the following season/s. Most of them are monocarpic, i.e. they finish their life cycle after producing fruits. Perennial plants can stay in vegetative form for several seasons, repeatedly flower and produce seeds (polycarpic strategy). Some species were assigned to more than one category because of their different life span in different parts of Europe, e.g., annual life span in northern Europe and biennial or short-lived life span in the Mediterranean.
The data were compiled from Klotz et al. 2002, Săvulescu (1952-76) and complemented by additional sources such as national and regional floras. If possible we used also the life form assessment to decide the life span category.
Dřevojan, P., Čeplová, N., Štěpánková, P., & Axmanová, I. (2023). Life span. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Klotz, S., Kühn, I. & Durka, W. (2002). BIOLFLOR – Eine Datenbank zu biologisch-ökologischen Merkmalen der Gefäßpflanzen in Deutschland. Schriftenreihe für Vegetationskunde, 38, 1–334.
Săvulescu, T. (Ed.) (1952–1976). Flora Republicii Populare Române – Flora Republicii Socialiste România. Vols 1–13. București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Române, Academia Republicii Socialiste România.
The main categories of the life-form classification follow the system of Raunkiaer (1934), which is based on the position of the buds that survive the unfavourable season. In addition, we use auxiliary categories where it is possible to use finer differentiation.
At least one main category is assigned to each species, while some species can belong to more than one main category. Phanerophyte is a perennial woody or succulent plant with regenerative buds higher than 30 cm above the soil surface (includes trees, shrubs and tall succulents, excludes lianas and epiphytes). Chamaephyte is a perennial herb, low woody plant or succulent with regenerative buds above ground level, but not taller than 30 cm (includes dwarf shrubs, semi-shrubs, small succulents and some herbs). Hemicryptophyte is a perennial or biennial herb with regenerative buds on shoots at the ground level. Geophyte is a perennial plant with regenerative buds located belowground, usually with bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes. Hydrophyte is a plant that survives unfavourable seasons by means of buds that are at the bottom of a water body. Therophyte is a summer- or winter-annual herb that survives adverse seasons only as seeds and germinates in autumn, winter or spring. Epiphyte is either parasitic or non-parasitic plant that grows on other plants.
Auxiliary categories are only used for some species. Tree is a phanerophyte with a stem and a crown. Shrub is a phanerophyte branching from the stem base. Woody liana is a phanerophyte in the form of a long-stemmed woody vine. Semi-shrub (i.e. suffruticose chamaephyte) is a chamaephyte with shoots that usually grow straight up, bear leaves and flowers and die at the end of the growing season except for their lower part, which bears buds. Dwarf shrub is a chamaephyte with shoots that lignify instead of dying. Herbaceous liana is a hemicryptophyte, geophyte or therophyte with climbing aboveground stems.
Data were compiled from several databases and floras (Săvulescu 1952–1976, Horváth et al. 1995, Klotz et al. 2002, Tavşanoğlu & Pausas 2018, Guarino et al. 2019, Kaplan et al. 2019, French Flora database), European broad-scale studies (Wagner et al. 2017, Giulio et al. 2020), and different online sources (e.g. GreekFlora.gr). In the case of different assessments in original data sources, we critically revised them using additional sources.
Dřevojan, P., Čeplová, N., Štěpánková, P., & Axmanová, I. (2023) Life form. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Giulio, S., Acosta, A. T. R., Carboni, M., Campos, J. A., Chytrý, M., Loidi, J., … Marcenò, C. (2020). Alien flora across European coastal dunes. Applied Vegetation Science, 23(3), 317–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12490
GreekFlora.gr. Available at https://www.greekflora.gr/ [accessed June 2020]
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Horváth, F., Dobolyi, Z. K., Morschhauser, T., Lõkös, L., Karas, L. & Szerdahelyi, T. (1995). Flóra adatbázis 1.2 – taxonlista és attribútum-állomány. [FLORA database 1.2 – lists of taxa and relevant attributes.] Vácrátót: FLÓRA munkacsoport, MTA-ÖBKI, MTM Növénytára.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Kaplan Z., Danihelka J., Chrtek J. Jr., Kirschner J., Kubát K., Štěpánek J. & Štech M. (Eds.) (2019). Klíč ke květeně České republiky [Key to the flora of the Czech Republic]. Ed. 2. Praha: Academia.
Klotz, S., Kühn, I. & Durka, W. (2002). BIOLFLOR – Eine Datenbank zu biologisch-ökologischen Merkmalen der Gefäßpflanzen in Deutschland. Schriftenreihe für Vegetationskunde, 38, 1–334.
Raunkiaer C. (1934). The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Tavşanoğlu, Ç., & Pausas, J. (2018). A functional trait database for Mediterranean Basin plants. Scientific Data, 5, 180135. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2018.135
Wagner, V., Chytrý, M., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Pergl, J., Hennekens, S., Biurrun, I., … Pyšek, P. (2017). Alien plant invasions in European woodlands. Diversity and Distributions, 23(9), 969–981. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12592
Săvulescu, T. (Ed.) (1952–1976). Flora Republicii Populare Române – Flora Republicii Socialiste România. Vols 1–13. București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Române, Academia Republicii Socialiste România.
The months of the beginning and end of flowering across Europe are given. The data were compiled from Kaplan et al. 2019, French Flora database and Guarino et al. 2019. For each species, we provide a maximal flowering range across available sources.
Axmanová, I. (2022). Flowering period. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
GreekFlora.gr. Available at https://www.greekflora.gr/ [accessed June 2020]
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Kaplan Z., Danihelka J., Chrtek J. Jr., Kirschner J., Kubát K., Štěpánek J. & Štech M. (eds) (2019) Klíč ke květeně České republiky [Key to the flora of the Czech Republic]. Ed. 2. – Academia, Praha.
Ladouceur, E., Bonomi, C., Bruelheide, H., Klimešová, J., Burrascano, S., Poschlod, P., … Jiménez-Alfaro, B. (2019). The functional trait spectrum of European temperate grasslands. Journal of Vegetation Science, 30(5), 777–788. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12784
Săvulescu, T. (Ed.) (1952–1976). Flora Republicii Populare Române – Flora Republicii Socialiste România. Vols 1–13. București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Române, Academia Republicii Socialiste România.
Seed mass represent the mean weight of 1000 seeds in a dry state, measured in grams. The data were taken preferably from Kleyer et al. (2008), Hintze et al. (2013), García-Gutiérrez et al. (2018) and Seed Information Database (Royal Botanic Gardens Kew 2021) and complemented by additional sources such as national and regional floras. Each species is characterized by a mean value calculated across available datasets. Upon request, minimum, maximum and median values are also available.
Axmanová, I. (2022). Seed mass. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
García-Gutiérrez, T., Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Fernández-Pascual, E., & Müller, J. V. (2018). Functional diversity and ecological requirements of alpine vegetation types in a biogeographical transition zone. Phytocoenologia, 77–89. https://doi.org/10.1127/phyto/2017/0224
Hintze, C., Heydel, F., Hoppe, C., Cunze, S., König, A., & Tackenberg, O. (2013). D3: The Dispersal and Diaspore Database – Baseline data and statistics on seed dispersal. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 15(3), 180–192. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ppees.2013.02.001
Kleyer, M., Bekker, R. M., Knevel, I. C., Bakker, J. P., Thompson, K., Sonnenschein, M., … Peco, B. (2008). The LEDA Traitbase: A database of life-history traits of the Northwest European flora. Journal of Ecology, 96(6), 1266–1274. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2745.2008.01430.x
Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. (2021). Seed Information Database (SID). Version 7.1. Available at: http://data.kew.org/sid/ [accessed May 2021]
Dispersal mode (dispersal syndrome, dispersal type) characterizes plant dispersal ability. It is represented by following categories: (i) local non-specific dispersal, which combines self-dispersal (autochory) and dispersal initiated by wind, where diaspores do not have any efficient special dispersal features, including several dispersal modes (namely ballochory, blastochory, boleochory, barochory); (ii) myrmecochory (ant dispersal); (iii) wind dispersal (anemochory), diaspores have special dispersal features such as hem, pappus, trichomes, dusty seeds or the species are tumbleweeds; (iv) animal dispersal includes dyszoochory, i.e. diaspores foraged by animals, which sometimes hide them as stock; (v) endozoochory, i.e. dispersal in animal gastrointestinal tract, and (vi) epizoochory, i.e., dispersal of diaspores attached on animal fur; special case is the (vii) anthropochory, i.e. human dispersal and (viii) hydrochory (water dispersal). Please note that hydrochory is not considered in the dispersal distance classes classification.
The dispersal modes are mainly estimated from species' morphological characteristics.
Lososová Z., Axmanová I., Chytrý M., Midolo G., Abdulhak S., Karger D.N., Renaud J., Van Es J., Vittoz P. & Thuiller W. (2023). Seed dispersal distance classes and dispersal modes for the European flora. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(9), 1485–1494.
Vittoz P. & Engler R. (2007). Seed dispersal distances: a typology based on dispersal modes and plant traits. Botanica Helvetica, 117, 109–124.
Dispersal distance classes are represented by ordered classes from 1 to 7, where classes 1 to 6 represent a gradient from short-distance dispersal to long-scale dispersal. The last class represents the dispersal mediated by humans. For species of the last class the assignment to the previous six classes and natural dispersal mode are given. The assignment of individual plants follows Lososová et al. (2023), a dataset prepared using the adjusted methodology of Vittoz & Engler (2007).
To assign plants into dispersal distance classes, several plant characteristics were obtained from various sources, namely plant height, life form, predominant dispersal mode, seed mass, typical habitat, plant geographical origin and information on dispersal by humans. In contrast to the original approach of Vittoz & Engler (2007), definitions of the dispersal distance classes were slightly modified.
Class 1 contains species shorter than 0.3 m. Their seeds do not have any specific dispersal features. Species are mostly self-dispersed, although seed dispersal can be initiated by wind, e.g., by shaking the fruit, which causes the diaspore to fall down. Class 2 is the most species-rich, including species with non-specific local dispersal strategy taller than 0.3 m. Class 3 includes ant-dispersed (myrmecochorous) species and wind-dispersed (anemochorous) forest herbs and dwarf shrubs. Class 4 is the least species-rich, including less efficient wind-dispersed woody plants and tumbleweeds. Class 5 includes wind-dispersed herbs and shrubs of open habitats and wind-dispersed trees with more efficient dispersal units (with trichomes). Class 6 includes species with different modes of animal dispersal. They can be dyszoochorous (i.e., foraged by animals, which sometimes hide them as stock), endozoochorous (i.e., dispersal in animal gastrointestinal tract), and epizoochorous (i.e., dispersal on animal fur). Finally, class 7 contains human-dispersed (antropochorous) species.
The species of the last class are also classified into one of the previous six classes based on their natural dispersal mode. Only classes 1-6 can be used in studies at the landscape scale where it is assumed that most species disperse naturally. All seven classes can be used in studies at a broader geographical scale where rare events of long-distance human dispersal are important.
Classes
Lososová Z., Axmanová I., Chytrý M., Midolo G., Abdulhak S., Karger D.N., Renaud J., Van Es J., Vittoz P. & Thuiller W. (2023). Seed dispersal distance classes and dispersal modes for the European flora. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32(9), 1485–1494.
Vittoz P. & Engler R. (2007). Seed dispersal distances: a typology based on dispersal modes and plant traits. Botanica Helvetica, 117, 109–124.
Origin in Europe was assessed according to the geographic origin of the species. Native taxa are plants that are native to at least part of Europe, although some of them are nowadays alien in other European regions. Species introduced intentionally or unintentionally by humans to Europe from other continents are alien (non-native) plants. We distinguished two categories of alien plants according to their residence time. Archaeophytes are plants introduced to Europe until the Middle Ages, while neophytes are plants introduced after 1500 AD. Data were compiled from Pyšek et al. (2012), GloNAF database (van Kleunen et al 2019), Verloove (2019), Euro+Med database (2021), POWO database (POWO 2021), complemented by additional sources such as national and regional floras.
Axmanová, I. (2022). Origin in Europe. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
van Kleunen, M., Pyšek, P., Dawson, W., Essl, F., Kreft, H., Pergl, J. et al. (2019). The Global Naturalized Alien Floras (GloNAF) database. Ecology, 100(1):e02542. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2542
Euro+Med (2021). Euro+Med PlantBase – the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity. Available at http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/query.asp [accessed May 2021]
POWO (2021). Plants of the World Online. Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Available at http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ [accessed May 2021]
Pyšek P., Danihelka J., Sádlo J., Chrtek J. Jr., Chytrý M., … Tichý L. (2012) Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic (2nd edition): checklist update, taxonomic diversity and invasion patterns. Preslia 84(2), 155–255.
Verloove, F. (2019). Manual of the Alien Plants of Belgium. Available at http://alienplantsbelgium.be/ [accessed May 2019]
Categories of substrate humidity do not reflect fine differences of various habitats, on the contrary, they are defined very broadly. These categories can be derived also from the ordinal scale for moisture (1-12) defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). Plants adapted to growing in dry soils, or soils that frequently dry out, are assigned to a category Dry, which corresponds to the first four degrees of the Ellenberg scale (1-4). Accordingly, plants of mesic habitats are assigned to the category Mesic (5 and 6 of the Ellenberg scale), plants of wet to soaked, poorly aerated soils are in the category Wet (7-9), and finally, aquatic plants are assigned to the category Water (10-12). If available, we used Ellenberg-type indicator values aggregated to broader categories, in other cases, categories were assigned according to the knowledge of local experts.
Data were compiled from several sources available across Europe, namely the indicator-value datasets for Great Britain (Hill et al. 2000), Cantabrian Range in Spain (Jiménez-Alfaro et al. 2021), France (Julve 2015), Germany (Ellenberg et al. 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner 2010), Switzerland (Landolt et al. 2010), Austria (Karrer 1992), Czech Republic (Chytrý et al. 2018), Hungary (Borhidi 1995), Ukraine (Didukh 2011), Italy (Guarino & La Rosa 2019, with additional corrections by R. Guarino), Southern Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al. 2002) and European mires (Hájek et al. 2020).
Axmanová, I. (2022). Substrate humidity relationship. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Dřevojan, P., Sádlo, J. & Zelený, D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia, 90, 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg, H., Weber, H. E., Düll, R., Wirth, V., Werner, W. & Paulißen, D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Carlón, L., Fernández-Pascual, E., Acedo, C., Alfaro-Saiz, E., Alonso Redondo, R., … Vázquez, V. M. (2021). Checklist of the vascular plants of the Cantabrian mountains. Mediterranean Botany, 42, e74570.
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen. Mitteilungen der forstlichen Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193-242.
Landolt, E., Bäumler, B., Erhardt, A., Hegg, O., Klötzli, F., Lämmler, W., … Wohlgemuth, T. (2010). Flora indicativa – Ökologische Zeigerwerte und biologische Kennzeichen zur Flora der Schweiz und der Alpen. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Categories of substrate reaction do not reflect fine differences of various habitats, on the contrary, they are defined very broadly. These categories can be derived also from the ordinal scale for reaction (1-9) defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). Plants adapted to growing in very acidic soils are assigned to a category Acidic, which corresponds to the first four degrees of the Ellenberg scale (1-4). Accordingly, plants of intermediate habitats are assigned to the category Slightly acidic (5 and 6 of the Ellenberg scale), plants of calcium-rich substrates are in the category Alkaline (7-9). If available, we used Ellenberg-type indicator values aggregated to broader categories, in other cases, categories were assigned according to the knowledge of local experts.
Data were compiled from several sources available across Europe, namely the indicator-value datasets for Great Britain (Hill et al. 2000), Cantabrian Range in Spain (Jiménez-Alfaro et al. 2021), France (Julve 2015), Germany (Ellenberg et al. 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner 2010), Switzerland (Landolt et al. 2010), Austria (Karrer 1992), Czech Republic (Chytrý et al. 2018), Hungary (Borhidi 1995), Ukraine (Didukh 2011), Italy (Guarino & La Rosa 2019, with additional corrections by R. Guarino), Southern Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al. 2002).
Axmanová, I. (2022). Substrate reaction relationship. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Dřevojan, P., Sádlo, J. & Zelený, D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia, 90, 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg, H., Weber, H. E., Düll, R., Wirth, V., Werner, W. & Paulißen, D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hájek, M., Dítě, D., Horsáková, V., Mikulášková, E., Peterka, T., Navrátilová, J., … Horsák, M. (2020). Towards the pan-European bioindication system: Assessing and testing updated hydrological indicator values for vascular plants and bryophytes in mires. Ecological Indicators, 116, 106527.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Carlón, L., Fernández-Pascual, E., Acedo, C., Alfaro-Saiz, E., Alonso Redondo, R., … Vázquez, V. M. (2021). Checklist of the vascular plants of the Cantabrian mountains. Mediterranean Botany, 42, e74570.
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen. Mitteilungen der forstlichen Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193-242.
Landolt, E., Bäumler, B., Erhardt, A., Hegg, O., Klötzli, F., Lämmler, W., … Wohlgemuth, T. (2010). Flora indicativa – Ökologische Zeigerwerte und biologische Kennzeichen zur Flora der Schweiz und der Alpen. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Categories of nutrient relationship do not reflect fine differences of various habitats, on the contrary, they are defined very broadly. These categories can be derived also from the ordinal scale for reaction (1-9) defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). Plants adapted to growing in extremely nutrient-poor soils are assigned to a category Dystrophic, which corresponds to the first degree of the Ellenberg scale (1), or if at least some nutrients are available to Oligotrophic category (2-3). Plants of intermediate habitats are assigned to the category Mesotrophic (4, 5), while plants of nutrient-rich substrates are in the category Eutrophic (6-8), or even Hypertrophic (9 degree at the Ellenberg scale). If available, we used Ellenberg-type indicator values aggregated to broader categories, in other cases, categories were assigned according to the knowledge of local experts.
Data were compiled from several sources available across Europe, namely the indicator-value datasets for Great Britain (Hill et al. 2000), Cantabrian Range in Spain (Jiménez-Alfaro et al. 2021), France (Julve 2015), Germany (Ellenberg et al. 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner 2010), Switzerland (Landolt et al. 2010), Austria (Karrer 1992), Czech Republic (Chytrý et al. 2018), Hungary (Borhidi 1995), Ukraine (Didukh 2011), Italy (Guarino & La Rosa 2019, with additional corrections by R. Guarino), Southern Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al. 2002).
Axmanová, I. (2022). Nutrient relationship. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Dřevojan, P., Sádlo, J. & Zelený, D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia, 90, 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg, H., Weber, H. E., Düll, R., Wirth, V., Werner, W. & Paulißen, D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hájek, M., Dítě, D., Horsáková, V., Mikulášková, E., Peterka, T., Navrátilová, J., … Horsák, M. (2020). Towards the pan-European bioindication system: Assessing and testing updated hydrological indicator values for vascular plants and bryophytes in mires. Ecological Indicators, 116, 106527.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Jiménez-Alfaro, B., Carlón, L., Fernández-Pascual, E., Acedo, C., Alfaro-Saiz, E., Alonso Redondo, R., … Vázquez, V. M. (2021). Checklist of the vascular plants of the Cantabrian mountains. Mediterranean Botany, 42, e74570.
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen. Mitteilungen der forstlichen Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193-242.
Landolt, E., Bäumler, B., Erhardt, A., Hegg, O., Klötzli, F., Lämmler, W., … Wohlgemuth, T. (2010). Flora indicativa – Ökologische Zeigerwerte und biologische Kennzeichen zur Flora der Schweiz und der Alpen. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Categories of salinity do not reflect fine differences of various habitats, on the contrary, they are defined very broadly. These categories can be derived also from the ordinal scale for reaction (0-9) defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). Plants adapted to growing in soils without salt content are assigned to a category Non-saline, which corresponds to the first degree of the Ellenberg scale (0) and it is the prevailing category. Plants of slightly saline habitats are assigned to the category Slightly saline or brackish (1-4 of the Ellenberg scale), while plants of salt-rich substrates are in the category Saline (5-9). If available, we used Ellenberg-type indicator values aggregated to broader categories, in other cases, categories were assigned according to the knowledge of local experts.
Data were compiled from several sources available across Europe, namely the indicator-value datasets for Great Britain (Hill et al. 2000), France (Julve 2015), Germany (Ellenberg et al. 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner 2010), Switzerland (Landolt et al. 2010), Austria (Karrer 1992), Czech Republic (Chytrý et al. 2018), Hungary (Borhidi 1995), Ukraine (Didukh 2011), Italy (Guarino & La Rosa 2019, with additional corrections by R. Guarino), Southern Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al. 2002).
Axmanová, I. (2022). Salinity relationship. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý, M., Tichý, L., Dřevojan, P., Sádlo, J. & Zelený, D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia, 90, 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg, H., Weber, H. E., Düll, R., Wirth, V., Werner, W. & Paulißen, D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
French Flora database (baseflor), project of Flore et végétation de la France et du Monde: CATMINAT. Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed June 2020]
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hájek, M., Dítě, D., Horsáková, V., Mikulášková, E., Peterka, T., Navrátilová, J., … Horsák, M. (2020). Towards the pan-European bioindication system: Assessing and testing updated hydrological indicator values for vascular plants and bryophytes in mires. Ecological Indicators, 116, 106527.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen. Mitteilungen der forstlichen Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193-242.
Landolt, E., Bäumler, B., Erhardt, A., Hegg, O., Klötzli, F., Lämmler, W., … Wohlgemuth, T. (2010). Flora indicativa – Ökologische Zeigerwerte und biologische Kennzeichen zur Flora der Schweiz und der Alpen. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator values for light are expressed on a scale from 1 to 9. Note that indicator values for trees refer to juvenile individuals in the herb and shrub layers.
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for Great Britain (Hill et al., 2000); France (Julve, 2015); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995); Ukraine (Didukh, 2011) and Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino, values 10–12 were rescaled to the value 9).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator values for temperature are expressed on an ordinal scale from 1 to 12. While the original scale proposed by Ellenberg et al. (1991) was defined only up to 9, here we use the extended range defined for the Mediterranean flora (Pignatti et al. 2005, see also Guarino et al. 2019).
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for France (Julve, 2015); Switzerland and the Alps (Landolt et al., 2010); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995) and Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Landolt, E., Bäumler, B., Erhardt, A., Hegg, O., Klötzli, F., Lämmler, W., … Wohlgemuth, T. (2010). Flora indicativa – Ökologische Zeigerwerte und biologische Kennzeichen zur Flora der Schweiz und der Alpen. Bern: Haupt Verlag.
Pignatti, S., Menegoni, P. & Pietrosanti, S. (2005). Valori di bioindicazione delle piante vascolari della Flora d'Italia [Bioindicator values of vascular plants of the Flora of Italy]. Braun-Blanquetia, 39, 1–97.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator values for moisture are expressed on an ordinal scale from 1 to 12 defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991).
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for Great Britain (Hill et al., 2000); France (Julve, 2015); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995); Ukraine (Didukh, 2011); Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino); South Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al., 2002); European mires (Hájek et al., 2020).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Didukh Ya.P. (2011). The ecological scales for the species of Ukrainian flora and their use in synphytoindication. Kyiv: Phytosociocentre.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hájek, M., Dítě, D., Horsáková, V., Mikulášková, E., Peterka, T., Navrátilová, J., … Horsák M. (2020). Towards the pan-European bioindication system: Assessing and testing updated hydrological indicator values for vascular plants and bryophytes in mires. Ecological Indicators, 116, 106527.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator value for soil or water reaction are expressed on an ordinal scale from 1 to 9 defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). In acidic environments, the value can be considered as a proxy for pH, whereas in near-neutral or alkaline environments, it is more a proxy for calcium concentration.
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for Great Britain (Hill et al., 2000); France (Julve, 2015); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995); Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator values for nutrients are expressed on an ordinal scale from 1 to 9 defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The value is a proxy for the availability of nitrogen or phosphorus and, to some extent, also a proxy for site primary productivity.
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for Great Britain (Hill et al., 2000); France (Julve, 2015); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995); Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino, values 10–12 were rescaled to the value 9).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Ellenberg-type indicator values for European plant species are expert-based rankings of plant species according to their ecological optima on main environmental gradients, using ordinal scales defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). The indicator value for salinity are expressed on an ordinal scale from 0 to 9 defined by Ellenberg et al. (1991). It is a proxy for the concentration in the environment of soluble salts, including sulphates, chlorides and carbonates of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
Values for individual species were calculated as the means across available national or regional datasets of plant indicator values or were newly assigned based on species co-occurrences in European vegetation plots, see Tichý et al. (2023). Although they have one decimal place, the newly introduced indicator values are compatible with the original Ellenberg values. They can be used for large-scale studies of European flora and vegetation or gap-filling in regional datasets.
Datasets used for compilation include several sources, namely Ellenberg-type indicator values for Great Britain (Hill et al., 2000); France (Julve, 2015); Germany (Ellenberg et al., 2001, taken from Ellenberg & Leuschner, 2010); Czech Republic (Chytrý et al., 2018); Austria (Karrer, 1992); Hungary (Borhidi, 1995); Italy (Guarino & La Rosa, 2019, a corrected version prepared by R. Guarino, values 10–12 were rescaled to the value 9); South Aegean region of Greece (Böhling et al., 2002) and saline habitats in Central Europe (Dítě et al., 2023).
The European values and also the original and taxonomically harmonized regional datasets of Ellenberg-type indicator values are available in the Download section of this website.
Tichý L., Axmanová I., Dengler J., Guarino R., Jansen F., Midolo G., … Chytrý M. (2023). Ellenberg-type indicator values for European vascular plant species. Journal of Vegetation Science, 34, e13168. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13168
Böhling, N., Greuter, W. & Raus, T. (2002). Zeigerwerte der Gefäßpflanzen der Südägäis (Griechenland) [Indicator values of the vascular plants in the Southern Aegean (Greece)]. Braun-Blanquetia, 32, 1–108.
Borhidi, A. (1995). Social behaviour types, the naturalness and relative ecological indicator values of the higher plants in the Hungarian flora. Acta Botanica Hungarica, 39, 97–181.
Chytrý M., Tichý L., Dřevojan P., Sádlo J. & Zelený D. (2018). Ellenberg-type indicator values for the Czech flora. Preslia 90: 83–103.
Dítě, D., Šuvada, R., Tóth, T. & Dítě, Z. (2023). Inventory of halophytes in inland central Europe. Preslia, 95.
Ellenberg H., Weber H. E., Düll R., Wirth V., Werner W. & Paulißen D. (1991). Zeigerwerte von Pflanzen in Mitteleuropa. Scripta Geobotanica, 18, 1–248.
Ellenberg, H. & Leuschner, C. (2010). Zeigerwerte der Pflanzen Mitteleuropas. In: Ellenberg H. & Leuschner, C., Vegetation Mitteleuropas mit den Alpen. Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen Ulmer.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Hill, M.O., Roy, D.B., Mountford, J.O., & Bunce, R.G.H. (2000). Extending Ellenberg’s indicator values to a new area: an algorithmic approach. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37, 3–15.
Julve, P. (2015). Baseflor. Index botanique, écologique et chorologique de la flore de France (Baseflor. Botanical, ecological and chorological index of the flora of France). Available at http://philippe.julve.pagesperso-orange.fr/catminat.htm [accessed 2022].
Karrer, G. (1992). Österreichische Waldboden-Zustandsinventur. Teil VII: Vegetationsökologische Analysen (Austrian forest soil status inventory. Part VII: Vegetation ecology analyses). Mitteilungen Forstliche Bundesversuchsanstalt Wien, 168, 193–242.
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for disturbance frequency is expressed as the log10 mean inverse of return time (in centuries) of disturbance, which is the mean interval between successive disturbance events. Disturbance frequency refers to all possible types of disturbance that may occur in a given habitat, including anthropogenic and natural disturbance as well as grazing and mowing. Because one habitat can be affected by more than one disturbance type, disturbance frequency values were estimated for the most important disturbance types characterizing each habitat. Data are reported as separate values for disturbance affecting the whole plant community (including all vegetation layers) and values considering the herb layer only. This separation accounts for the fact that disturbance regimes in the tree and shrub layers differ in severity and frequency from the disturbance regimes in the herb layer of the same community. For habitats with herbaceous vegetation only, the whole-community values are equal to the herb-layer values.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for disturbance frequency is expressed as the log10 mean inverse of return time (in centuries) of disturbance, which is the mean interval between successive disturbance events. Disturbance frequency refers to all possible types of disturbance that may occur in a given habitat, including anthropogenic and natural disturbance as well as grazing and mowing. Because one habitat can be affected by more than one disturbance type, disturbance frequency values were estimated for the most important disturbance types characterizing each habitat. Data are reported as separate values for disturbance affecting the whole plant community (including all vegetation layers) and values considering the herb layer only. This separation accounts for the fact that disturbance regimes in the tree and shrub layers differ in severity and frequency from the disturbance regimes in the herb layer of the same community. For habitats with herbaceous vegetation only, the whole-community values are equal to the herb-layer values.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for disturbance severity is expressed as a continuous value ranging from 0 (no change in biomass) to 1 (complete loss of plant cover). Disturbance severity refers to all possible types of disturbance that may occur in a given habitat, including anthropogenic and natural disturbance as well as grazing and mowing. Because one habitat can be affected by more than one disturbance type, disturbance severity values were estimated for the most important disturbance types characterizing each habitat. Data are reported as separate values for disturbance affecting the whole plant community (including all vegetation layers) and values considering the herb layer only. This separation accounts for the fact that disturbance regimes in the tree and shrub layers differ in severity and frequency from the disturbance regimes in the herb layer of the same community. For habitats with herbaceous vegetation only, the whole-community values are equal to the herb-layer values.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for disturbance severity is expressed as a continuous value ranging from 0 (no change in biomass) to 1 (complete loss of plant cover). Disturbance severity refers to all possible types of disturbance that may occur in a given habitat, including anthropogenic and natural disturbance as well as grazing and mowing. Because one habitat can be affected by more than one disturbance type, disturbance severity values were estimated for the most important disturbance types characterizing each habitat. Data are reported as separate values for disturbance affecting the whole plant community (including all vegetation layers) and values considering the herb layer only. This separation accounts for the fact that disturbance regimes in the tree and shrub layers differ in severity and frequency from the disturbance regimes in the herb layer of the same community. For habitats with herbaceous vegetation only, the whole-community values are equal to the herb-layer values.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for mowing frequency is expressed as the log10 mean inverse of return time (in centuries) of disturbance, which is the mean interval between successive mowing events.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for grazing pressure is expressed as a continuous value ranging from 0 (no change in biomass) to 1 (complete loss of plant cover) caused by grazing.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Following Midolo et al. (2023), the indicator value for soil distuance is expressed as a continuous value ranging from 0 (no change in biomass) to 1 (complete loss of plant cover) caused by factor causing plant biomass death/removal from soil turning and furrowing.
Midolo G., Herben T., Axmanová I., Marcenò C., Pätsch R., Bruelheide H., ... & Chytrý M. (2023). Disturbance indicator values for European plants. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32, 24–34. https://doi.org/10.1111/GEB.13603
Herben, T., Chytrý, M., & Klimešová, J. (2016). A quest for species‐level indicator values for disturbance. Journal of Vegetation Science, 27(3), 628-636. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12384>
Herben, T., Klimešová, J., & Chytrý, M. (2018). Effects of disturbance frequency and severity on plant traits: an assessment across a temperate flora. Functional Ecology, 32(3), 799-808. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13011>
Diagnostic species are characterized by a concentration of their occurrence in the stands belonging to the target vegetation unit while being rare or absent in other vegetation units. For the European vegetation classes of the EuroVegChecklist (Mucina et al. 2016), the list of these species was compiled from various European literature sources, especially syntaxonomic monographs and revisions containing extensive synthetic phytosociological tables. Expert opinion from EuroVegChecklist authors was used to judge problematic cases. Some species were assigned to more than one class. Unlike for the EUNIS habitat types, no statistical approach was used to determine diagnostic species for European vegetation classes.
Mucina L., Bültmann H., Dierßen K., Theurillat J.-P., Raus T., Čarni A., … Tichý L. (2016). Vegetation of Europe: Hierarchical floristic classification system of vascular plant, bryophyte, lichen, and algal communities. Applied Vegetation Science, 19(Suppl. 1), 3–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12257 (Mucina et al. 2016, version 3, 2024-01-01)
Species association to broadly defined habitats is based on species occurrences reported for finer units, either vegetation types or habitats. We compiled available data from several sources, Sádlo et al. (2007), Mucina et al. (2016), Guarino et al. (2019). Final list of habitats include 18 broad habitats.
Axmanová, I. (2022). Broad habitat. – www.FloraVeg.EU.
Guarino, R., La Rosa, M. & Pignatti, S. (Eds) (2019). Flora d'Italia, volume 4. Bologna: Edagricole.
Mucina, L., Bültmann, H., Dierßen, K., Theurillat, J.-P., Raus, T., Čarni, A., … Tichý L. (2016). Vegetation of Europe: Hierarchical floristic classification system of vascular plant, bryophyte, lichen, and algal communities. Applied Vegetation Science, 19(Suppl. 1), 3–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/avsc.12257
Sádlo, J., Chytrý, M. & Pyšek, P. (2007). Regional species pools of vascular plants in habitats of the Czech Republic. Preslia, 79, 303–321.
No subordinate taxa were found for this item.