A catalogue of the bryophytes of the Guianas : 2., Musci

This catalogue provides an annotated listing of the mosses (MUSCI) reported from the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana), based on work on the Moss Flora of Suriname, which is now nearing completion. In total 238 species in 90 genera are listed. A list of synonyms (including 10 new ones) and a systematic arrangement of the genera and families are also provided. The following new combinations are proposed: Callicostella guatemalensis (Bartr.), Sematophyllum lonchophyllum (Mont.), Sematophyllum pacimoniense (Mitt.) and Trichosteleum intricatum (Thér.)

Ploidy levels and reproductive behaviour in invasive Hieracium pilosella in Patagonia

Within a population of invasive Hieracium pilosella in Chilean Patagonia we found two ploidy levels, pentaploid and hexaploid. Each ploidy level was represented by one clone. Their reproductive system was apomictic (and thus replicating the maternal genome), with a low degree of residual sexuality. It is necessary to prevent the evolution of new biotypes via hybridisation with different clones of H. pilosella or other Hieracium species introduced into Patagonia

Epiphytic diatoms of the Tisza River, Kisköre reservoir and some oxbows of the Tisza River after the cyanide and heavy metal pollution in 2000

The Tisza River is a large tributary of the Danube River. The largest reservoir of the river is the Kisköre reservoir, and there are furthermore a great number of oxbows in the vicinity of the river. In February and early spring 2000 serious amounts of cyanide and heavy metal pollution were spilled into the Tisza River. The Kisköre Reservoir of the Tisza was less polluted than the river itself. However, the four oxbows investigated were flooded by the Tisza River in April 2000. Epiphytic diatom samples were taken in February and October 2000 along the Tisza River, in November and December 2000 at the Kisköre Reservoir and in May and July 1996, October 2000 and June 2001 at the four Tisza oxbows. The aims of this study were to obtain preliminary data about the species composition of the attached diatoms of these waters, to evaluate the impact of the pollution on epiphytic diatoms and to evaluate the natural protection value of these waters. Epiphyton of the Tisza River was dominated by Achnanthidium minutissimum, Amphora pediculus, Cocconeis placentula, Diatoma moniliformis in February and by Achnanthidium minutissimum and several Nitzschia spp. in October. A number of teratological frustules were observed. In the Kisköre reservoir, Amphora pediculus, Cocconeis pediculus, C. placentula, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Gomphonema angustum, Nitzschia dissipata were dominant. In 1996 Staurosira, Staurosirella and Navicula species dominated in the oxbows, whereas in 2000 Aulacoseira distans, Achanthidium minutissimum and Nitzschia spp. became dominant. Based on results from the literature, we are of the opinion that the characteristic Achnanthidium minutissimum - Nitzschia spp. dominance of the Tisza River and the oxbows is partly due to the heavy metal pollution. A number of endangered species, two new elements for the Hungarian diatom flora - Navicula austrocollegarum and Navicula streckerae - and two probably invasive species, Diadesmis confervacea and Didymosphenia geminata were found

Pulso mínimo de agua para la emergencia de plántulas de tres especies de gramíneas perennes nativas del Monte Central (Argentina), influenciado por el efecto de la sombra y la estación del año

In deserts, seedling emergence occurs only after precipitation threshold has been exceeded, however, the presence of trees modifies microenvironmental conditions that might affect the effectiveness of a water pulse. In the Monte desert, Prosopis flexuosa trees generate different micro-environmental conditions that might influence grass seedlings establishment. The objective of this work was: a) to know the effective minimum water input event that triggers the emergence of native perennial grass seedlings; b) to relate this fact with the effect of the shade of P. flexuosa canopy and the seasonal temperatures. Three important forage species of the Monte were studied: Pappophorum caespitosum and Trichloris crinita, with C4, and Jarava ichu, with C3 metabolism. Each season, seeds of these species were sown in pots placed at two light conditions: shade (similar to P. flexuosa cover) and open area, and with seven irrigation treatments (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 2*10 and 3*10 mm). J. ichu did not emerge in any of the treatments. Significant seedling emergence was registered for P. caespitosum and T. crinita in shade conditions with 40 mm irrigation treatment in summer. Since 40 mm precipitation events are infrequent in the Monte, seedling emergence for these species would be restricted to exceptional rainy years. The facilitating effect of P. flexuosa shade would be important during the hot season.En los desiertos, la emergencia de las plántulas se produce cuando un evento de precipitación excede un valor umbral. La presencia de árboles modifica las condiciones micro ambientales y en consecuencia, la efectividad de los eventos de lluvia. En el Monte, las condiciones generadas por Prosopis flexuosa (algarrobo) afectarían el establecimiento de las gramíneas. El objetivo del trabajo fue: a) conocer el evento mínimo de agua necesario para desencadenar la emergencia de gramíneas perennes; b) relacionarlo con la influencia de la sombra del algarrobo y las temperaturas estacionales. Se trabajó con tres especies nativas de gramíneas forrajeras perennes: Pappophorum caespitosum, Trichloris crinita, (C4), y Jarava ichu (C3). En cada estación del año, semillas de las tres especies fueron sembradas en macetas bajo dos condiciones lumínicas: sombra (similar a la sombra de P. flexuosa) y área abierta y con siete niveles de riego (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 2*10 y 3*10 mm). Jarava ichu no emergió en ningún tratamiento. En el verano se obtuvo emergencia significativa de T. crinita y P. caespitosum solo en los tratamientos de 40 mm y a la sombra. Debido a que en el Monte los eventos de precipitación de 40 mm son infrecuentes, la emergencia de estas especies ocurriría en los años excepcionalmente lluviosos. El efecto facilitador de la sombra del algarrobo sería de importancia en la estación cálida.Fil: Greco, Silvina A.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias AgrariasFil: Sartor, Carmen E.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias AgrariasFil: Villagra, Pablo E.. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Agraria

Expansión y recambio foliar de gramíneas perennes C4 creciendo a temperaturas moderadamente bajas

Understanding the mechanisms by which some C4 grasses grow more than others at moderately low temperatures (~12-20°C) is valuable to select materials to lengthen the growing season. In turn, the determination of leaf lifespan for each material to be used is relevant to optimize the balance between herbage production and herbage utilization. The objectives of this study were to analyze the growth capacity and the leaf lifespan in two native materials (Pappophorum caespitosum and Trichloris crinita) and in four materials introduced (Cenchrus ciliaris cv. 'Texas-4464', Cenchrus ciliaris cv. 'Bella', Panicum coloratum cv. 'Klein' and Panicum maximum cv. 'Gatton Panic') commonly used in Argentina. Under non-limiting growth conditions, the rate of leaf appearance and leaf elongation, the number of growing leaves and the leaf lifespan, were measured. The materials showed similar leaf growth capacity through contrasting mechanisms: while three of them (P. coloratum, P. maximum and P. caespitosum) showed higher growth of individual leaves, the rest (C. ciliaris cv. 'Texas-4464', C. ciliaris cv. 'Bella' and T. crinita) showed higher number of growing leaves. The leaf lifespan was not significantly different between materials evaluated. Interestingly, in agreement with previous results obtained in a comparison of C3 grasses, it was observed that materials possessing a greater number of growing leaves had lower values of leaf lifespan.Conocer los mecanismos por los cuales algunas gramíneas C4 crecen más que otras a temperaturas moderadamente bajas (~12-20°C) es valioso para seleccionar materiales que permitan alargar la estación de crecimiento. Por su parte, conocer la vida media foliar de las especies es relevante para optimizar el balance entre producción y utilización de forraje. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron analizar la capacidad de crecimiento y la vida media foliar en dos materiales nativos (Pappophorum caespitosum y Trichloris crinita) y en cuatro materiales introducidos (Cenchrus ciliaris cv. 'Texas-4464', Cenchrus ciliaris cv. 'Bella', Panicum coloratum cv. 'Klein' y Panicum maximum cv. 'Gatton Panic') comúnmente utilizados en Argentina. Bajo condiciones no limitantes al crecimiento se evaluó la tasa de aparición y elongación foliar, el número de hojas en crecimiento y la vida media foliar. Los materiales tuvieron similar capacidad de crecimiento foliar con mecanismos contrastantes: mientras tres materiales (P. coloratum, P. maximum y P. caespitosum) mostraron mayor crecimiento por hoja, el resto (C. ciliaris cv. 'Texas-4464', C. ciliaris cv. 'Bella' y T. crinita) mostró mayor número de hojas en crecimiento. La vida media foliar no difirió significativamente entre materiales. Interesantemente, y en concordancia con resultados previos de una comparación de gramíneas C3, se observó que los materiales que poseían un mayor número de hojas creciendo simultáneamente tenían menores valores de vida media foliar.Fil: Berone, Germán D.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (Argentina). Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarc

Geranium dodecatheoides, a new species from New Mexico, U.S.A.

Geranium dodecatheoides P.J. Alexander & Aedo (Geraniaceae), a new species from the Sierra Blanca in Lincoln Co., New Mexico, is described and illustrated. This new species is related to North American species of sect. Caespitosa R. Knuth, which have dichasial inflorescences and petals that are hairy on the adaxial surface. It is distinguished from other members of Caespitosa primarily by having narrow, reflexed petals.This work was partly financed by the Spanish Dirección General de Investigación through the research project CGL2010-19747.Peer reviewe

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi: Factors Affecting Soil Organic Matter Storage

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) are soil fungi forming symbiotic associations with majority of land plants. AMF alter soil organic matter (SOM) directly through stabilization of soil aggregates and indirectly providing a path in which plant fixed C02 is transferred below-ground. Understanding contributions of AMF to SOM via protein production and stabilization of soil aggregates will greatly aid our understanding of soil carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling and mitigation of soil erosion. The work presented in chapter 2 challenges the glomalin extraction process and assesses the accuracy of the Bradford and monoclonal-antibody ELISA detection methods. My results clarify the contribution of glomalin to SOM: suggesting the extraction process is not eliminating all non-glomalin proteins. My results indicate that the Bradford is prone to overestimating the presence of glomalin when soils contain large concentrations of SOM, the ELISA is prone to retention and interference biases depending on the amount and type of organic matter. Chapter 3 determines the contribution of AMF colonized roots to Bradford Reactive Soil Protein (BRSP) and lmmunoreactive Soil Protein (IRSP) pools. I test the hypothesis that roots colonized by different species of AMF will produce different quantities of Bradford Root Protein (BRP) and Immunoreactive Root Protein (IRP). These differences could alter BRSP and IRSP pools. I further demonstrate that BRP and IRP concentrations are effective biomarkers in predicting the percentage of AMF root colonization. Chapter 4 assesses the influence of AMF on aggregate dynamics. This work uses Rare Earth Elements (REE) to track aggregate formation and breakdown in the presence of AMF. I confirm that AMF rapidly form and stabilize macroaggregates incorporating intermediate macro-and microaggregates into macroaggregates (\u3e 2000 μm). In chapter 5 I assess the effect of Hieracium invasion and soil fertility on AMF and non-mycorrhizal fungal biomass, carbon mineralization and soil structure. Results from this study provide information essential to understanding how exotic species can alter soil processes. Chapter 6 is the product of my work with the ECOS program; set of investigations aimed at teaching middle school students the ecological importance of soil microbiology. The significance of this body of work is outlined in chapter 7

Quantifying niche availability, niche overlap and competition for recruitment sites in plant populations without explicit knowledge of niche axes

1. Niche availability, niche overlap and competitive ability are key determinants of the distribution and abundance of species. However, quantifying each of these components is difficult because it is not always possible to identify or measure relevant environmental gradients (niche axes) along which species might partition or compete for niche space. 2. We describe a method that uses seed addition experiments to quantify the number of ‘safe-sites’ (microsites suitable for a species to recruit from seed) at a location and show how this method can be used to quantify niche availability, niche overlap and competitive ability. We illustrate our approach using two seed addition experiments in grassland. 3. In the first experiment, we added seeds of one native and two exotic grass species, alone and in mixture, to plots that were arrayed along a gradient of soil moisture availability. We show that the three species partitioned safe-sites, implying that all three species could locally co-occur through niche partitioning, in part due to different responses to moisture availability. 4. In the second experiment, we added seeds of three commonly co-occurring native grass species, alone and in mixture, to plots with no obvious environmental gradients. One species out-competed two others for site occupancy, allowing us to quantify both the degree of niche overlap and the relative ability of each species to compete for safe-site occupancy without a priori knowledge of the niche axes. Results from both experiments demonstrate the fine-scales at which species can partition niches to facilitate co-occurrence. 5. Synthesis. By conceptualising a plot of ground as containing a limited number of microsites that are safe for the recruitment of a given species, and using seed addition experiments to measure both the number of safe-sites and degree of safe-site overlap among species, we show how niche availability, niche overlap and competitive ability can be quantified at fine-scales without a priori knowledge of niche axes. Our approach allows questions about niche availability and competition for shared niche space to be empirically tested, and to examine how these processes vary along environmental gradients to shape species distributions and patterns of co‐occurrence

Vegetation of montane bogs in east-flowing catchments of northern New England, New South Wales

The floristics of the montane bogs in east-flowing catchments of northern New England, north-eastern New South Wales (lat 28° 47’–31° 25’ S; long 151° 50’–152° 30’ E), are described from 62 full floristic survey sites (20 x 20 m in area). Eight vegetation communities are based on flexible UPGMA analysis of cover-abundance scores of vascular plant taxa. Shrub species make up 26% of the flora and herb species 69%, with the remaining taxa trees, climbers or vines. Shrub species were of little diagnostic value, as a few common dominants were shared across most communities. The herbaceous layer was found to be of better circumscriptive value. Communities described (based on dominant herbaceous species) are: (1) Themeda australis – Gonocarpus micranthus, (2) Baumea articulata – Baloskion stenocoleum, (3) Lepidosperma limicola – Baloskion stenocoleum, (4) Baloskion fimbriatum – Lomandra longifolia, (5) Lepyrodia scariosa – Blandfordia grandiflora, (6) Lepidosperma gunnii – Lepidosperma scariosa, (7) Baloskion stenocoleum – Empodisma minus, (8) Lepidosperma limicola – Xyris operculata. The mean annual moisture index was found to account for 26% of the variation in species density. These montane bog systems are some of the richest in Australia, with a high number of rare and restricted taxa. They are vulnerable to both present landuse practices and future changes in climate, are restricted in area, and need further conservation efforts to ensure their long-term survival