Spatial Aggregation and Biometric Variability of the Grass (L.) Roth during Different Expansion Stages in Mesic Mountain Meadows.

(L.) Roth is one of the most expansive clonal grass species. Despite many publications about its biology, the expansive mechanism of is relatively unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine: I. the dependency between ramet density, habitat properties, and the biometric variability of the species; II. the relation between clone architecture and the diversity parameters and the productivity of grassland biocoenoses; III. the expansion strategy of within mesic meadows, representing three stages of degradation. The research was conducted in the Central Sudetes (SW Poland). Ten transects were selected for the study, each representing -type meadows with patches degraded as a result of expansion:initial, intermediate, and advanced. The phalanx strategy was observed within the studied range of the expansion in the mesic mountain meadows. The study showed no relation between the expansion and the phenomenon of ramet self-thinning, though it noted the influence of the habitat on the variability of its biometric features.