Syntaxonomical revision of the Molinion meadows in the Czech Republic

A syntaxonomical revision of meadows of the Molinion caeruleae Koch 1926 alliance in the Czech Republic is presented. Of ten associations reported previously for the Czech Republic only two were distinguished using the Cocktail method – Molinietum caeruleae Koch 1926 and Junco effusi-Molinietum caeruleae Tüxen 1954. The former occurs on more base-rich soils, while the latter is found in more acidic habitats and characterized by the occurrence of species of Nardus grasslands. Results of this classification were compared with classifications of Molinion meadows for other countries of Central Europe. Main environmental gradients responsible for variation in species composition of Czech Molinion meadows were revealed by detrended correspondence analysis. For interpretation of these gradients correlations with Ellenberg indicator values and altitude were used. The main gradient positively correlates with soil base status, continentality, temperature and nutrients, and negatively with altitude.