Abstract

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Aim: The current knowledge of salt-affected vegetation has been advanced in Europe, calling for a supra-regional assessment. We aim to evaluate the drivers of spatial variability and species diversity of inland saline habitats of the North German Plain, Pannonian Lowland and Transylvanian Basin. Location: Central Europe Methods: We compare the floristic and vegetation composition in 13 delineated subregions with high occurrence of salt steppes and marshes. We analyse data from extensive field surveys in the past 20 years and bioclimatic variables by descriptive statistics and ANOVA. Principal components analysis was performed to reduce the number of dimensions for each dataset, and correlation analysis to identify the statistical dependence between the species diversity of subregions and observed factors. Results: Despite the general uniformity typical for saline habitats, the subregions are more distinct than similar. Among the 107 native halophytic plant specialists, they have in common one obligate halophyte, Puccinellia distans agg., and seven facultative halophytes: Carex distans, Juncus gerardi, Lotus tenuis, Plantago maritima, Schoenoplectus lacustris subsp. glaucus and Trifolium fragiferum. The highest number of halophytes have Alföld (88), Dunántúl (75), Seewinkel (68), Podunajská nížina (65) and Câmpia Transilvaniei (65). Subregions Sachsen-Anhalt, Kujawy, Thüringen, Mostecká pánev, Harghita and Spiš hold on average half. The leading position in plant communities has Alföld. On larger scale, Pannonian Lowland and Transylvanian Basin share 63 halophytes, with the North German Plain 36 and 34 halophytes, respectively. A high proportion of coastal species (71%) was revealed, high representation have species of the Black Sea coast in the Pannonian region. Main conclusions: We confirmed only three endemic halophytes compared to the earlier assessments. The size of the subregion and its distance from the nearest seas did not affect the overall variability; the high diversity pattern is driven by the broader range of abiotic and biotic prerequisites.