Dry grassland vegetation in the Transcarpathian Lowland (western Ukraine)

The Transcarpathian Lowland in the Zakarpattia Oblast (western Ukraine) is the north-easternmost extension of the Pannonian Basin. The vegetation survey in this area has so far focused on mesic grasslands and forests, whereas dry grassland vegetation has been poorly known. Therefore, we performed a survey of the dry grassland sites in this area, recorded species composition in vegetation plots (n = 45) and classified them using agglomerative clustering. Results were summarised in comparative tables of species composition and environmental characteristics and by using NMDS ordination. Dry grasslands in this area occur mainly on volcanic hills with acidic andesite bedrock. Four associations were distinguished: (i) semi-dry grasslands with Brachypodium pinnatum (Scabioso ochroleucae-Brachypodietum pinnati, alliance Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati), (ii) volcanic slope steppes with Festuca pseudodalmatica (Festucetum pseudodalmaticae, alliance Festucion valesiacae), (iii) acidophilous dry grasslands with Festuca stricta subsp. sulcata and forest-fringe specialists (Astero linosyris-Festucetum rupicolae, alliance Koelerio-Phleion phleoidis) and (iv) nutrient-poor acidophilous grasslands with Vulpia myuros (Airo-Vulpietum; alliance Thero-Airion). Except for the Scabioso-Brachypodietum, which has already been reported from the Upper Tysa valley, all of these associations are new to Ukraine. We characterise these associations and describe the most remarkable sites of dry grasslands in the Transcarpathian Lowland: Chornahora Hill near the town of Vynohradiv, the Mukacheve Hills, the Berehove Hills and slopes above the Uzh River valley near the village of Onokivtsi. We also discuss their environmental conditions and conservation issues.