Brandes d 1992

• Authors: Brandes d
• Title: Flora and vegetation on city walls
• Location: Tuexenia, 0 (12). 1992. 315-339.
• Abstract: this paper deals with flora and vegetation of city walls in various parts of central, western and southern europe (germany, france, luxembourg, italy, malta, mallorca, and portugal). special importance is assigned to registration of the floristic diversity. the relation to various influences such as building materials of the walls, conservation of the walls, and surrounding are investigated. areas with quasi-homogeneous vegetation are documented by plant-sociological releves. in central europe north the alps, the spontaneous plant species of city walls are first of all ruderal plants, but woodland species, plants of sedo-scleranthetea and festuco-brometea appear too, whereas asplenietea species except asplenium ruta-muraria and cymbalaria muralis are of less importance. in winter-mild areas of france, parietarietalia species are much more frequent in wall joints than in central europe. this applies also to the southern foothills and valleys of the alps. in the western mediterranean area, parietaria judaica is the most common species of city walls, while capparis spinosa, Antirrhinum siculum or Antirrhinum majus ssp. linkianum may dominate locally. species diversity is often very high in old city walls. wall tops, wall joints and the bases of walls are important refuges for a number of endangered synanthropic species. therefore, city walls are of great importance for nature protection, especially in lowlands. problems between nature conservation and protection of monuments are discussed.