We studied the effects of sheep grazing intensity and abandonment on plant species richness and composition, plant life forms and the productivity of North Adriatic Karst pastures. The experimental sites were under controlled grazing regimes (heavy, moderate, light and abandonment) for 10 years. Data were collected during one season; plant species composition, the number of species and above‐ground and below‐ground biomass were evaluated. Species richness was significantly reduced with increasing grazing intensity and abandonment. The greatest differences in species composition were recorded for the heavily grazed site owing to the appearance of a group of grasslands species typical of nutrient‐rich soil. Heavy grazing increased therophytes and decreased the proportion of chamaephytes and geophytes. Above‐ground productivity at the season's peak was typical of subhumid grasslands (up to 500 g m⁻²) and was significantly the highest in the abandoned pasture. Below‐ground biomass was significantly the lowest in the heavily grazed sites and the highest in those that were moderately or lightly grazed. We could conclude that grazing intensification and abandonment have significant effects on the structure of these pastures. Low‐ or moderate‐intensity (4–7 sheep ha⁻¹) grazing seems to be the most appropriate treatment since it can maintain the species richness and typical floristic composition of those pastures. Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; DCA, detrended correspondence analysis; HSD, honest significant difference Nomenclature: Martinčič et al. (2007)

The human population is increasing. The ongoing urbanization process, in conjunction with climate change, is causing larger environmental footprints. Consequently, quality of life in urban systems worldwide is under immense pressure. Here, the seasonal characteristics of Maribor’s urban thermal environment were studied from the perspectives of surface urban heat island (SUHI) and urban heat island (UHI) A remote sensing thermal imagery time series and in-situ measurements (stationary and mobile) were combined with select geospatial predictor variables to model this atmospheric phenomenon in its most intensive season (summer). Finally, CMIP6 climate change scenarios and models were considered, to predict future UHI intensity. Results indicate that Maribor’s UHI intensity maximum shifted from winter to spring and summer. The implemented generalized additive model (GAM) underestimates UHI intensity in some built-up parts of the study area and overestimates UHI intensity in green vegetated areas. However, by the end of the century, UHI magnitude could increase by more than 60% in the southern industrial part of the city. Such studies are of particular concern, in regards to the increasing frequency of heat waves due to climate change, which further increases the (already present) heat stress in cities across the globe.

There is a general decline of grasslands across Europe due to habitat loss and degradation. Ensuring plant dispersal thus becomes a key process for preserving grassland patches in all scales. We examined diaspore dispersal by sheep epizoochory in the pastures of the North Adriatic Karst (NW Slovenia) and determined the qualitative and quantitative features of diaspores in fur. We recorded 25,650 diaspores of 141 plant taxa (with 107 taxa and 23,350 diaspores determined to species level), using three different methods: (i) the “whole-coat method”, (ii) the “part-of-thecoat method” and (iii) a “seedling emergence method”. A comparison of these techniques revealed that the “wholecoat method” provided the highest number of diaspores and plant species. All diaspores were clustered into five emergent groups based on seven functional traits (diaspore weight, length, width, height, volume, specific weight and the diaspore surface structure). Our research revealed that sheep represent an important dispersal vector, since about half of the plant species recorded in the pastures were found as diaspores in fur. This study contributes to knowledge about the modes of seed dispersal in seminatural grasslands. Taking into account that livestock play a key role in vegetation dynamics, understanding their effects on seed dispersal is essential for conservation and restoration of these species-rich grassland communities.

Monografija obravnava polnaravna travišča, ki v Sloveniji in v Evropi, predstavljajo reliktno tradicionalno kulturno krajino. V uvodu smo predstavili njihov zgodovinski razvoj in pomen. Za številna travišča je značilna visoka biodiverziteta. Zaradi drastičnega zmanjšanja njihovih površin so postali eni izmed najbolj ogroženih habitatov v Evropi in večji del jih je vključenih v prilogo I Direktive o habitatih. Predstavljen je tudi nov ukrep kmetijsko-okoljskih-podnebnih plačil “Pisan travnik”, ki smo ga razvili v okviru ciljno raziskovalnega projekta. Pomembno dodatno informacijo predstavljajo navedbe različnih uveljavljenih klasifikacij habitatnih tipov (sintaksonomska, Physis, EUNIS, FFH). Osrednji del knjige pa je namenjen podrobni predstavitvi posameznih oblik travišč: pokazateljskim rastlinam, ekologiji, razširjenosti, razlogom ogroženosti. Delo ima naslov katalog, saj je pregledno in bogato ilustrirano. Knjiga je namenjena tako strokovnjakom in raziskovalcem s področij biologije, ekologije, varstva narave, kmetijstva; študentom bioloških in ekoloških študijskih programov, kot tudi širši javnosti oz. bralcem, ki jih zanimajo narava in ohranjanje biotske pestrosti.