PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL AND SYNCHOROLOGICAL POS ITION OF XEROTHERMIC GRASSLAND (FESTUCO-BROMETEA) IN CENTRAL-EUROPE

For basiphytic, low-productive grasslands with temporary stress by ari dity many German names are used. Their phytosociological and ecologica l meanings are shortly analysed. For the class Festuco-Brometea the na me Eurosiberian Xerothermic Grassland is proposed. Central European gr assland syntaxa are ordered within an ecogram by gradients of climate and soil moisture (Fig. 1). Only the extensive managed grasslands of F estuco-Brometea and Molinion/Cnidion show a significant floristic diff erentiation along the continentality gradient. The development of the syntaxonomical system of Festuco-Brometea is described and discussed i n detail. Whereas the subatlantic-submediterranean communities are alr eady well known for a long time, knowledge about subcontinental to con tinental communities has been enlarged in the last years. Especially t he syntaxonomical system of ROYER (1987, 1991) gives new aspects of th e classification of Festuco-Brometea in its total area. A syntaxonomic al scheme for the class in central Europe is shown. Furthermore some s ynchorological aspects are discussed. Fig. 2 shows some typical areas for the total class as well as for the Brometalia and Festucetalia val esiacae. There is a broad overlapping of the two orders in central Eur ope, also shown by Fig. 3, which causes some difficulties in the synta xonomic evaluation of plant communities.