Untersuchungen zur Vergesellschaftung und Ökologie von Bunias orientalis L. im westlichen Mitteleuropa / von Dietmar Brandes

Bunias orientalis L. is a predominantly biennial species of the Brassicaceae, which probably originates from Armenia. Within the last two centuries it was able to spread over most of temperate Europe. Bunias orientalis was able to build up large populations in the western part of Central Europe, which till nowadays are rarely analyzed. This paper deals with Bunias orientalis populations in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg as weIl as in eastern France; the own results are compared with literature data. Bunias orientalis spreads along roads, country-lanes and canals. In the western part of Central Europe the occurence accumulates in river valleys (e.g. Main, Tauber, Rhine, Meuse). Many populations show longevity. Bunias orientalis grows above all at slopes with soils rich in nutrients, relatively dry to relatively fresh, and mostly chalky. Bunias orientalis is associated with specie belonging mostly to the classes Artemisietea and Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. Bunias orientalis stands are to classify as derivate communities which mediate between the class Artemisietea and the alliance Arrhenatherion. Stands which are dominated by Bunias orientalis show an obviously lower increase of the number of species with the area compared with stands, where Bunias orientalis has only low cover.