The influence of habitat conditions on the abundance and selected traits of the rare medicinal plant species Filipendula vulgaris Moench

Abstract

The research on the influence of habitat conditions on the traits of Filipendula vulgaris were carried out in 2015 and 2016 in abandoned wet meadows (Patches I and II) and frequently disturbed, calcareous grasslands (Patches III and IV). The cover of vas- cular plants and cryptogams was much greater and soil pH was remarkably lower in the meadow patches than in the grassland ones, whereas the height of neighbouring plants and soil humidity gradually decreased from Patches I to IV. The meadow populations of F.vulgaris showed much lower abundance as well as lower total relative abundance of seedlings and vegetative rosettes compared to the grassland populations due to the scarcity of safe sites for offspring recruitment. Rosettes presenting solely spatial variability were characterised by a significantly greater number of short leaves in the meadow populations or not numerous, large leaves in the grassland populations. The similar (in consecutive years) height of generative shoots, the number of cauline leaves, inflorescences and flowers gradually decreased at subsequent study sites. The results may provide the basis for further studies on the impact of habitat conditions and the size of aboveground parts of F. vulgaris on the content of bioactive compounds in plant material.