Succession of Saline Vegetation in Slovakia after a Large-Scale Disturbance

We studied the vegetation development in the Pannonian salt steppes in SW Slovakia (class Festuco-Puccinellietea) for eight years on permanent plots. The saline grassland was ploughed in 2002 to cultivate wheat and barley, and after two years it was left fallow. An open vegetation structure was typical for the initial stages, dominated by the obligate halophyte Tripolium pannonicum, accompanied by Atriplex littoralis and other annuals. Species richness significantly increased in the subsequent years. From the fifth year of the study, a significant increase of facultative halophytes (e.g. Lotus tenuis, Tetragonolobus maritimus, Agrostis stolonifera) and colonization of some expansive species (Phragmites communis, Calamagrostis epigejos) was observed and accompanied by a decrease in the cover of obligate halophytes (T. pannonicum and Puccinellia distans). Plantago maritima exhibited an opposite trend, and it was the only halophyte that was able to increase its population after the disturbance, due to vegeta...