Taxa of vascular plants endemic to the Carpathian Mts.

A briefly annotated survey of vascular plants endemic and subendemic to the Carpathians is presented based on a critical revision of published and unpublished data on contemporary taxonomic and chorological knowledge. The habitat preferences and ecological niche breadths of nonapomictic endemic and subendemic taxa were also evaluated. The area studied included the Carpathian Mts located mainly in Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine and Romania, reaching also Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Serbia. Five equivalent subunits were distinguished within the Carpathians: the Western Carpathians, Eastern Carpathians, Southern Carpathians, Apuseni Carpathians and the Transylvanian Basin. The final evaluation of endemic status was made for 631 taxa of vascular plants, including 420 taxa confirmed as endemic or subendemic to the Carpathians and their subunits, 67 taxa with unclear taxonomy or distribution, 69 taxa with a wider distribution outside the Carpathians, 58 taxa included in superior taxa with a wider nonendemic distribution and 17 hybrids. The final list of endemic and subendemic taxa includes 146 species, 104 subspecies and 170 microspecies of apomictic genera (including 83 taxa of Alchemilla, 64 taxa of Hieracium, 2 of Pilosella, 16 of Sorbus and 5 of Taraxacum). The overall number of endemic and subendemic taxa in individual Carpathian subunits is as follows (counts including apomictic genera are in parentheses): Western Carpathians: 89 (198) endemics, 19 (21) subendemics; Eastern Carpathians: 118 (152) endemics, 25 (27) subendemics; Southern Carpathians: 113 (149) endemics, 24 (24) subendemics; Apuseni Carpathians: 45 (49) endemics, 19 (19) subendemics; Transylvanian Basin: 5 (5) endemics, 12 (12) subendemics. Grassland habitats were the richest in endemic and subendemic taxa (containing 33% of all included taxa), followed by rocky habitats (22%), forests (16%) and shrublands (11%). Wetlands (7%), dwarf shrubs (6%) and human-made habitats (5%) hosted the lowest number of (sub) endemic taxa. The habitats with the highest frequency of taxa (sub)endemic to the Carpathian Mts are those with a calcareous bedrock and phytosociologically classified within the classes Elyno-Seslerietea, Mulgedio-Aconitetea, Thlaspietea rotundifolii, Asplenietea trichomanis, Carici rupestris- Kobresietea bellardii and Festuco-Brometea. The niche breadth of the Carpathian (sub)endemic taxa is related to the sizes of their ranges (eurychoric taxa had the broadest niches and micro- and stenochoric taxa had the narrowest). About 60% of the (sub)endemic taxa are habitat specialists restricted to only 1–3 habitats within one or two habitat groups.