At which spatial scale are plant species composition and diversity affected in beech forests?

Table 2 Comparison of mean species cover in acid and calcareous beech forests

Species	Acid (mean ± SE)	Calcareous (mean ± SE)	P
Tree species
Acer campestre	0.08 ± 0.04	7.93 ± 2.01	0.000***
Fraxinus excelsior	0.40 ± 0.24	3.79 ± 1.31	0.026*
Quercus faginea	0.00 ± 0.00	2.29 ± 1.11	0.005**
Sorbus aucuparia	0.34 ± 0.25	0.00 ± 0.00	0.025*
Shrub species
Crataegus monogyna	2.54 ± 1.40	11.46 ± 2.58	0.001***
Hedera helix	3.95 ± 1.37	16.53 ± 4.51	0.037*
Prunus spinosa	0.04 ± 0.03	2.16 ± 1.11	0.008**
Rosa sp.	2.61 ± 1.91	4.74 ± 1.72	0.001**
Herb species
Ajuga reptans	0.00 ± 0.00	0.60 ± 0.39	0.010**
Cruciata glabra	0.00 ± 0.00	0.46 ± 0.27	0.057 ns
Helleborus viridis	0.02 ± 0.02	3.58 ± 1.02	0.000***
Hepatica nobilis	0.06 ± 0.04	2.63 ± 0.72	0.000***
Lamium galeobdolon	0.77 ± 0.77	1.47 ± 0.64	0.053 ns
Mercurialis perennis	0.00 ± 0.00	0.32 ± 0.19	0.057 ns
Potentilla montana	0.00 ± 0.00	0.49 ± 0.21	0.017*
Potentilla sterilis	0.15 ± 0.14	1.45 ± 0.46	0.003**
Ranunculus tuberosus	0.13 ± 0.08	1.00 ± 0.36	0.003**
Sanicula europaea	0.00 ± 0.00	0.23 ± 0.10	0.017*
Scilla lilio-hyacinthus	0.02 ± 0.02	2.24 ± 1.26	0.061 ns
Symphytum tuberosum	0.00 ± 0.00	0.61 ± 0.32	0.033*
Taraxacum officinale	0.03 ± 0.03	0.52 ± 0.23	0.012*
Vaccinium myrtillus	6.36 ± 2.34	0.60 ± 0.60	0.001***
Veronica montana	0.00 ± 0.00	0.50 ± 0.17	0.001***
Vicia sepium	0.00 ± 0.00	1.04 ± 0.31	0.000***
Viola riviniana	0.79 ± 0.26	4.32 ± 0.96	0.001***
Fern species
Blechnum spicant	1.08 ± 0.61	0.29 ± 0.25	0.018*

Cover (%; mean ± SE) of the plant species present in the acid beech forests (acid, pH = 3–5) and calcareous beech forests (calcareous, pH = 5.1–8) and P values of the Mann–Whitney U tests are shown. Only representative data are shown
***P ≤ 0.001; **P ≤ 0.01; *P ≤ 0.05, and ns = P > 0.05

ISSN: 1297-966X