Patterns of floristic composition of Mediterranean meadows and mesophytic grasslands in eastern Continental Portugal

Thus, the objectives are (1) to identify community types in Molinio–Arrhenatheretea meadows and Stipo giganteae–Agrostietea castellanae grasslands in Eastern Continental Portugal; (2) to recognize those communities that configure habitat types of the European Union Habitats Directive; (3) to establish environmental gradients underlying their spatial variation.

Combining the Braun–Blanquet approach with numerical analysis, 292 relevés and 448 species were classified and ordered using two-way indicator species analysis (Twinspan classification) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Partial CCA was applied to assess the relative influence of land use factors. About 17 community types were identified and those floristic patterns were mainly related to environmental gradients linked to pedological factors and humidity gradients.