The Rubetum taxandriae ass. nov. (Lonicero-Rubion silvatici, Lonicero-Rubetea plicati), a new bramble association from the Belgian and Dutch Campine

Bramble scrubs are among the least known and understood vegetation types in Europe. In the Dutch National Vegetation Overview, three associations belonging to the Lonicero-Rubion silvatici were distinguished, viz. the Rubetum grati, Rubetum silvatici, and Rubetum pedemontani. During several vegetation mapping projects and Rubus excursions, a distinct type of bramble scrub was recorded repeatedly in the Campine in the province Noord-Brabant in the southern part of the Netherlands. In this paper, this scrub is described as a new association, the Rubetum taxandriae Haveman, de Ronde & Weeda, with R. taxandriae, R. campaniensis, and R. baronicus as character species, and R. insectifolius as regional character species. Variation, ecology and distribution of this new association are given and discussed, and two subassociations are distinguished. The differences with the Rubetum silvatici, to which this community was believed to belong, are discussed. Based on an earlier analysis of the centres of diversity of the genus Rubus in the Netherlands, it is supposed that the Rubetum silvatici in its circumscription in the Dutch National Vegetation Overview can be divided in more regionally distributed communities, partly as subassociations of the Rubetum silvatici, partly as independent associations.