RESEARCH PAPER
Pulsatilla patens and P. pratensis (Ranunculaceae) in active
military training areas of south-eastern Poland – population size, distribution pattern and conservation
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1
23-313 Potok Wielki, Potok Stany 123, Polska
2
Katedra Zoologii i Ochrony Przyrody, Instytut Nauk Biologicznych, Uniwersytet
Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej, ul. Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Polska
Online publication date: 2020-12-30
Publication date: 2020-12-30
Fragm. Flor. et Geobot. Pol. 2020; XXVII(2): 509-526
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
In a population study of the endangered species Pulsatilla patens and P. pratensis conducted
between 2010 and 2019 in two active military training areas (Nowa Dęba, Lipa), we found
that the pasque flower metapopulations consisted of widely dispersed small clusters or single individuals.
They inhabited psammophilous grassland, dry heath, forest edges and initial pine forest.
In Lipa we found 34 clumps of P. patens and 9 clumps of P. pratensis, and in Nowa Dęba 2 and
25 clumps, respectively. The share of generative plants in the study period ranged from 0.19 to
0.56 for P. patens and from 0.44 to 0.52 for P. pratensis. Based on detailed monitoring of P. patens
at seven sites, we determined that the number of individuals had gradually decreased, resulting in
reduction of the population by almost half over the decade. At the same time we observed a pronounced
fluctuation in the number of generative clumps and flowering shoots. Neither seedlings
nor juvenile plants of P. patens were found during the study period.