Ruderalgesellschaften des Verbandes Arction Tx. 1937 im östlichen Niedersachsen / von Dietmar Brandes

Plant sociological investigations were carried out on the enduring ruderal vegetation of the alliance Arction Tx. 1937 in the eastern part of Lower Saxony, which is the area of most continental character in the north of West Germany. The plant communities Lamio-Ballotetum nigrae Lohm. 1970, Arctio-Artemisietum vulgaris (Tx. 1942) Oberd. apud Oberd. et al. 1967 and Lamio-Conietum maculati Oberd. 1957 are shown by 87 relevés. Special emphasis is put on the floristical and ecological structure of these associations. Besides this, some fragmentary plant communities of the alliance Arction Tx. 1937 are shortly noted. The own results from Lower Saxony are discussed with special regard to the central European literature. The ruderal vegetation can be used to characterize the landscape: commonly the loess covered part of the studied area is richer in ruderal plant communities than regions with light soils. The occurrence of Arctium tomentosum communities is characteristic of the subcontinental loess region. Only in Wendland district, the northeastern part of Lower Saxony, ruderal plant communities with Chenopodium bonushenricus L. are frequent. Problems of nature conservation and preservation of the country-side are shortly pointed out.