Public attitudes and opinions as dimensions of efficient management with extensive meadows in Natura 2000 area.

Over time, grassland use has changed from traditional (extensive) to intensive agricultural management, a change which has caused biodiversity loss in the European grassland area. To save Europe's biodiversity, the most important measure was the establishment of the Natura 2000 network. Goricko Landscape Park in Slovenia is in Natura 2000 to preserve its traditional and extensive small-scale farming. The aims of this research were to identify potential obstacles to proper management of the extensively used meadows in this region and identify major factors that would affect such management in order to prepare more appropriate strategies for habitat conservation. The data was collected by online survey and in paper and pencil format. Based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modelling, we can conclude that less than a half of 228 respondents can identify what activities are permitted in a Natura 2000 area, which indicates a lack of knowledge about Natura 2000. The majority agree with meadow management in the welfare of protected plants and animals but would accept management under stricter regulations only if accompanied by higher subsidies in for management under stricter regulations. These respondents are not prepared to participate in measures for preserving biodiversity without beneficiaries. Respondents have in average a positive opinion toward protected plants and animals, but the procedure for obtaining environmental subsidies for meadows seems to them too complicated. Although the majority of respondents do not see a Natura 2000 area as a place for quality living, it is the factor with the highest significant effect on willingness to participate in measures to preserve biodiversity.

Assessing community assembly along a successional gradient in the North Adriatic Karst with functional and phylogenetic distances.

Recently, two approaches to account for ecological differences in community composition have been developed: one based on trait differences (functional diversity) and another based on evolutionary history (phylogenetic diversity). Combining them allows an integrated view of processes structuring communities. The North Adriatic Karst is covered by species-rich grasslands, but land abandonment has resulted in replacement by woodlands. This creates a successional gradient along which environmental conditions may change, and different community assembly rules may apply. We sampled 56 plant communities in the Karst and used functional-phylogenetic distances to assess assembly along a successional gradient, from grasslands to shrublands and woodlands. We found 146 species, for which we measured functional traits and built a phylogenetic tree. The three successional stages were floristically different, with grasslands having species that are typical of harsher soil conditions and woodlands with species preferring milder soil conditions. All communities had higher functional than phylogenetic distances, implying that closely related species tended to be phenotypically dissimilar. When more importance was given to functional distances, most grasslands and some shrublands were underdispersed; when more importance was given to phylogenetic distances, only one grassland was underdispersed and one woodland was overdispersed. Combining functional and phylogenetic distances provided us with better estimates of ecological differences in a successional gradient, where environmental filters seem to be the dominant force in early stages and competitive exclusion becomes more important in later stages. Taking into account that sucessional stages are assembled by different rules is essential to predicting their behaviour under future environmental scenarios.