Pseudosteppes and related grassland vegetation in the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mts : the borderland of the Irano-Turanian and Euro-Siberian regions

Researchers have identified seven new grassland communities, including pseudosteppes and meadows, within the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mountains, marking a significant advancement in understanding the vegetation borderland between the Irano-Turanian and Euro-Siberian regions. This study distinguishes 13 distinct communities, grouped into four orders, with diagnostic species identified using the phi coefficient. The findings highlight key environmental predictors such as altitude, proportion of perennial vs. annual species, and latitudinal position, contributing to the broader vegetation survey of dry and mesic grasslands in Central Asia. The research employs a robust methodological approach, including Braun-Blanquet sampling, k-means clustering, and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS), to classify and analyze 198 relevés collected between 2013 and 2018.

Świerszcz, Sebastian, Nobis, Marcin, Swacha, Grzegorz, Kącki, Zygmunt, Dembicz, Iwona, Waindzoch, Krystyna, Nowak, Sylwia, & Nowak, Arkadiusz. (2020). Pseudosteppes and related grassland vegetation in the Pamir-Alai and western Tian Shan Mts : the borderland of the Irano-Turanian and Euro-Siberian regions. Floristisch-Soziologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft. https://doi.org/10.21256/ZHAW-21150