Plant diversity of grassland ecotopes in the Pieria mountain of Greece

In order to understand and apply sustainable management on mountain grassland ecosystems, it is necessary to record their flora and vegetation diversity. This is particularly important for the grassland ecosystems of the NATURA 2000 Network, because they are special habitats for conservation purposes. The study area included two grassland habitats located at about 910 m and 1860 m a.s.l. of the Pieria mountain in Macedonia, Greece. According to NATURA 2000 nomenclature, two habitats were identified: the speciesrich Nardus grasslands on siliceous substrates in mountain areas (and submountain areas in continental Europe) (code number 6230); and the semi-natural dry grasslands and shrubland facies on calcareous substrates (code number 6211). Richness and abundance data were collected and analyzed with the use of the indices Shannon-Weaver and species richness. Diversity indices were found higher in the lower than in the higher ecological zone. The same results were found for the diversity of annuals. The diversity of the most important floristic families was also recorded.