Randu meadows - Latvia

Basic Information
Site Name
Randu meadows
Short name
Randu meadows
Country
Latvia
Web Address
Latvia LTER network
Operating Organisation
Institute of Biology, University of Latvia
Site Manager
Prof. Viesturs Melecis
Site Description
Botanical reserve “Randu meadows” is situated on the northern coast of the Riga Gulf. The botanical reserve is a part of the North Vidzeme Biosphere Reserve. It represents about 200 ha of unique coastal meadows with high habitat and species diversity. There were recorded 531 plant species, 42 are rare and protected in Latvia, 2 species are on the EU Biotope Directive 92/43/EEC list. Man has participated in the development of these littoral meadows for hundreds of years, by cattle grazing and hay harvesting. Recently, the intensity of grazing and mowing have sharply decreased, and the meadows are gradually overgrowing by reeds and shrubs. Wild cattle herd was introduced for some time in part of the grassland area in order to prevent overgrowth of meadows.
Last modified
2024-09-09 10:09:41

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1996
Observed properties
Affiliation and Network Specific Information
Affiliation
ILTER✔This site is a verified "ILTER" member.
LTER Europe✔This site is a verified "LTER Europe" member.
LTER Latvia✔ (LTER_EU_LV_003)This site is a verified "LTER Latvia" member.
Projects
eLTER (H2020)
eLTER catalogue
Photos
not defined
not defined
not defined
not defined
not defined
not defined
Geographic
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 57.814301 Longitude: 24.339609

Size
ca. 192.00ha
Elevation (average)
1.00msl
Elevation (min)
0.00msl
Elevation (max)
2.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Coastal
Terrestrial
Biome
Grasslands
Ecosystem Type
Grasslands
Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
EUNIS habitat
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Mesic grasslands (E2)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Mesic grasslands (E2) » Low and medium altitude hay meadows (E2.2)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Seasonally wet and wet grasslands (E3)
Grasslands and lands dominated by forbs, mosses or lichens (E) » Seasonally wet and wet grasslands (E3) » Moist or wet eutrophic and mesotrophic grassland (E3.4)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
5.68°C
Precipitation Annual
642.20mm
Geology
The area began to develop in the postglacial period when the Earth crust rose and the sea gradually stepped back. The parent material, and the soils themselves, have been formed under the strong influence of coastal processes.
Vegetation
The ?Randu Meadows? are an unique mosaic of local depressions, lagoons and man-made ditches, interspersed with elevated dunes, leading to high spatial heterogeneity of vegetation. Communities of hydrophylous and hygrophylous species are found side by side with xerophylous meadow communities and dune vegetation. This diversity of habitats causes high species diversity. At present, 531 plant species have been found in this relatively small area; of which 36 plant species are protected by the Red Data Book of Latvia.
Soils
The soils are composed of various sorted material: fine sands and gravel to boulders. The soils are classified as seaside sandy marsh soils. In topographical depressions the organic layer is thicker, reaching 30 cm. Soluble potassium and phosphorus concentrations are relatively high, and buried soils are frequent
Hydrology
The subsoil water may reach the upper layer of soil. During heavy rains and storms, floods are common. Recent increased precipitation during warmer winters has promoted the water saturation of the meadows.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area
Category V – Protected Landscape/Seascape/Area
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
no experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
plot scale
Design of Observation
only observation
Scale of Observation
plot without link to explicit catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Equipment
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 2WD
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » 2 - 5 places
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » 6 - 10 beds
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » Central station(s)
Equipment notes
Building of Salaca monitoring station
Accessible All Year
No
All parts of Site Accessible
Yes
Access Type
paved road
Permanent Operation
No
Operation Notes
Several times per season
General Data Policy
Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset
The data provider must be offered co-authorship for publications using this dataset at least within the metadata description
LTER Site Classification
Extensive
Related Resources on DEIMS-SDR
4 dataset(s) in total:
Air temperature data for Randu Meadows 1996-2012
Insect data Randu Meadows 1996-2012
Precipitation data Randu Meadows 1996-2012
Vegetation data Randu Meadows 1996-2012
There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:
Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Precipitation ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure ChangeRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave RadiationRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind SpeedRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air TemperatureRCP26RCP45RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.