Disturbances and Biodiversity at Grafenwöhr Training Area

Abstract

Disturbance ecology, namely the interaction of natural and anthropogenic disturbance with distribution, composition and richness of biotic units is the focus of this vegetation survey. Data on presence-absence of plant species were recorded in 100 equidistant quadratic units of one hectare size covering an area of 4 x 4 km. Each unit is subdivided in relevés with a similar disturbance regime enabling a spatial quantification of different disturbance agents. Disturbance types are not only measured qualitatively but assessed quantitatively (frequency, seasonality, duration, size, form, distribution, selectivity). We conducted several equally designed studies in central Europe (Franconian Jura, Fichtelgebige, Grafenwöhr, Elbe). Comparable data are also available for sites in Namibia, Morocco, Sweden, Ethiopia and Bangladesh. The Grafenwöhr sample site is situated within a military training area (32U 694000E 5508300N). The area is characterized by grassland (38%), forest (34%), and fallow land (21%) and is located between 440 and 560 m a.s.l.. Bedrock consists of Upper Cretaceous, Malm and Dogger. The mean annual temperature is 7.5C and the annual precipitation averages 700 mm/yr (climate station Eschenbach). The site is maintained in a semi-natural state and is inhabited by large populations of deer and wild boar with annual mowing and some forestry management. Dominating land use is military training such as driving tanks, military manoeuvres or excavations. Overall number of recorded plant species is 654. This report describes the available content in the vegetation-plot database Disturbances and Biodiversity at Grafenwöhr Training Area (GIVD ID EU-DE-025).