Seminar: Iris Reinula

The response of genetic diversity of grassland plants to landscape change

Due to the change in land use over the last hundred years, large areas of semi-natural grasslands have been abandoned and have become overgrown as a result, or have been turned into intensively managed farmland. These changes affect the plant species growing in grasslands, including their genetic structure. Genetic diversity is necessary for the survival and well-being of these grassland species. I will present the results of studying the influence of landscape change on genetic diversity and differentiation of two grassland plants (Primula veris and Trifolium montanum) on Estonian semi-natural grasslands – alvars.