Species richness is a poor guide to conservation value: a case study of plant diversity in the natural habitats of Synohora National Nature Park
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15330/jpnubio.13.91-103Keywords:
Ukrainian Carpathians , Synohora National Nature Park, habitat conservation, species richness, Red Data Book, Bray–Curtis dissimilarity, diagnostic speciesAbstract
Species richness is widely used to rank habitats for conservation, but it is unclear whether it reflects the features that make a habitat irreplaceable or vulnerable. This descriptive case study examined seven EUNIS habitats of Synohora National Nature Park (Gorgany, Ukrainian Carpathians): Abies and Picea woodland (G3.1), Fagus woodland (G1.6), mixed Abies–Picea–Fagus woodland (G4.6), Carpathian Larix and Pinus cembra forests (G3.25), conifer scrub close to the tree limit (F2.4), subalpine deciduous scrub (F2.3) and acid alpine and subalpine grassland (E4.3). Abundance–cover data from seven permanent and 43 temporary plots yielded 116 vascular plant species, analysed with diversity indices, similarity measures and ordination. Richness ranged from 9 species in G3.25 to 45 in G1.6; G4.6 and E4.3 each had 39. Richness was positively related to Shannon diversity (Spearman ρ = 0.76) but not to the number of Red Data Book species (ρ = −0.36, p = 0.43), which was highest in E4.3 (five) and G3.25 (three); with n = 7 these relationships are indicative only. Four of six woody habitats, including all three high-elevation ones, showed insufficient tree regeneration. Seventy-four species (64 %) occurred in one habitat only, and the two richest habitats partly duplicated each other: G1.6 and G4.6 together held 61 species, whereas G1.6 plus E4.3 held 76. In this system, richness indicates how many species a habitat contributes, but not how rare, distinct or threatened it is, and should not be used alone to set monitoring priorities. Thirty-nine diagnostic species are proposed for field identification.
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