Diversity analysis of serpentine and non-serpentine flora - Or, is serpentinite inhabited by a smaller number of species compared to different rock types?

Abstract

© 2015 Institute of Botany, Slovak Academy of Sciences. It is generally accepted belief that serpentine areas are inhabited by a smaller number of species than known from other types of geological substrates. Based on this idea we selected, as a model system, the area of the northwestern Serbia and Šumadija with well represented serpentinite, carbonate and silicate rocks, in order to evaluate the influence of a different geology and habitat types on the differentiation of the analyzed floras and determine whether the serpentinites are really inhabited by a smaller number of species than other types of geological substrate. Based on the results of several statistical analyses of the investigated area, we found that: i) serpentinites are inhabited by a smaller number of species compared to carbonate, but a higher number of species compared to silicate geological substrate, ii) the particular habitat types on serpentinites exhibit greater floristic diversity than the equivalent habitat types on other geological substrates, iii) similarity within the same habitat type of serpentinite, carbonate and silicate floras is greater than the similarity between the different serpentine floras of the different habitat types, iv) environmental factors such as moisture and habitat type have a larger impact on the differentiation of the flora, compared to the type of geological substrate, and v) the largest number of serpentinophytes were registered in the xerophilous forests and xerophilous grasslands compared to other habitat types.