Railway stations vs. thermophilous species (example from Eastern Slovakia)

摘要

Railway habitats host a multitude of plant taxa - both native and alien, including threatened, synanthropic and invasive species. Thermophilous species are also often present at many railway stations due to the high temperature of rails and gravel. The aims of this study are: (i) to document past and current vascular plant flora identified at Kosice and Spisska Nova Ves railway stations in Eastern Slovakia (ii) to compare species composition at these stations and (iii) to evaluate species' temperature preferences at the different climatic regions (at Kosice, Spisska Nova Ves, Plavec and Cierna nad Tisou stations). Recorded plant taxa were; 207 at Kosice railway station and 204 at Spisska Nova Ves. Archaeophytes prevailed over neophytes at both stations and the most frequent plant families were Asteraceae, Poaceae and Brassicaceae. Despite the different climates, similar species structure was identified at all studied railway stations.