Labiatae checklist for Andalusia (Southern Spain) and Rif (Northern Morocco)

. Labiatae checklist for Andalusia (Southern Spain) and the Rif (Northern Morocco). The taxa of Labiatae from Andalusia (Southern Iberian Peninsula) and the Rif (Northern Morocco) are included in a checklist, which has about 262 taxa, belonging to 28 genera and 5 subfamilies, representing almost 25% of total Mediterranean Labiatae taxa and c. 70% of total strict Labiatae Mediterranean genera. Nepetoideae with 17 genera is the richest subfamily; Ajugoideae (Ajuga genus), Teucrioideae (Teucrium genus) and Scutellarioideae (Scutellaria genus) are monogenerics. In this biogeographical region, 23 genera and about 70 species are common to both Andalusia and the Rif (about 88% of all genera and 30% of all taxa). Teucrium, Sideritis Satureja and allied genera, Salvia and Mentha, are the most widespread, representing almost 50% of the total taxa. The importance of the Labiatae family in the Andalusia and the Rif regions is reflected by the fact that they make up c. 20% of all taxa, while 25 of the total number of genera are distributed in the Betic-Rif Mountains. In addition, these mountains, are themselves the richest and best endowed regions of the Andalusia and the Rif, with the greatest concentration of endemic species (c. 65% of total endemisms)

A New Species of Oligoglena Horváth, 1912 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from Mediterranean Region of Turkey

Oligoglena sirintaylan sp. n. is defined from Saklikent in Mediterranean Turkey, which are part of the Taurus Mountains. Taurus Mountains are known for their high diversity and endemism rate of both plants and animals. The new species has a characteristic morphology and is distinguished from all other species of the genus Oligoglena Horvath also by its behavioural character. It prefers the subalpine zone and lives in gramineous vegetation.Oligoglena sirintaylan sp. n. is defined from Saklikent in Mediterranean Turkey, which are part of the Taurus Mountains. Taurus Mountains are known for their high diversity and endemism rate of both plants and animals. The new species has a characteristic morphology and is distinguished from all other species of the genus Oligoglena Horvath also by its behavioural character. It prefers the subalpine zone and lives in gramineous vegetation

A phytosociological investigation on the mixed hemycryptophitic and therophitic grasslands of the Cornicolani mountains (Lazio Region – central Italy)

Abstract In this paper a phytosociological study on the dry grasslands of the Cornicolani mountains is presented. The Cornicolani are a group of isolated limestone hills which emerge from the slightly ondulating grounds of the Rome countryside in the Tyrrhenian side of the central Italy. Eighty-nine relevés were performed using the Braun-Blanquet phytosociological approach. These were further subjected to hierarchical classification and to NMDS ordination. Five major types of grasslands were distinguished: short therophytic grasslands developed on shallow soils dominated, in turns, by Hypochaeris achyrophorus, Plantago lagopus and Plantago bellardii; sub-nitrophilous detriticolous perennial grasslands dominated by Dittrichia viscosa and Helichrysum italicum; Dasypyrum villosum and Vulpia ligustica lawn and fallow annual tall-grasslands; Ampelodesmos mauritanicus grasslands of the rocky S-facing slopes and sub-mesophilous Lolium perenne and Cynodon dactylon grasslands of the flat and pastured areas. From a syntaxonomical standpoint a new associations named Plantaginetum afrae-bellardii was proposed and included in the class Stipo-Trachynetea. In addition the association Helichryso italici-Inuletum viscosae Trinajstić 1965 (nom. inval.) was here validated

Spatial variability of precipitation regimes over Turkey

Turkish annual precipitation regimes are analysed to provide large-scale perspective and redefine precipitation regions. Monthly total precipitation data are employed for 107 stations (1963–2002). Precipitation regime shape (seasonality) and magnitude (size) are classified using a novel multivariate methodology. Six shape and five magnitude classes are identified, which exhibit clear spatial structure. A composite (shape and magnitude) regime classification reveals dominant controls on spatial variability of precipitation. Intra-annual timing and magnitude of precipitation is highly variable due to seasonal shifts in Polar and Subtropical zones and physiographic factors. Nonetheless, the classification methodology is shown to be a powerful tool that identifies physically-interpretable precipitation regions: (1) coastal regimes for Marmara, coastal Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Sea; (2) transitional regimes in continental Aegean and Southeast Anatolia; and (3) inland regimes across central and Eastern Anatolia. This research has practical implications for understanding water resources, which are under ever growing pressure in Turkey

Mountain strongholds for woody angiosperms during the Late Pleistocene in SE Iberia

Mediterranean mountains played an essential role during glacial periods as vegetation refugia. The SE Iberia Late Pleistocene woody angiosperm fossil and floristic evidences are reviewed in the context of phylogeographical studies aiming to identify (i) spatial patterns related to woody angiosperms glacial survival, (ii) structural and functional characteristics of montane refugia, and (iii) gaps in knowledge on the woody angiosperm patterns of survival in Mediterranean mountains. The distribution of palaeobotanical data for SE Iberia refugia has been found to be taphonomically biased due to the scarcity of available and/or studied high-altitude Late Pleistocene sites. However, Siles Lake data together with floristic inference provide evidences for woody angiosperms’ survival in a high-altitude Mediterranean area. The main features boosting survival at montane contexts are physiographic complexity and water availability. Phylogeography studies have mainly been conducted at a continental scale. Although they cohere with palaeobotanical data to a broad scale, a general lack of sampling of SE Iberian range-edge populations, as well as misconceptions about the origin of the populations sampled, impede to infer the proper location of woody angiosperms’ mountain refugia and their importance in the post-glacial European colonisation. We conclude that floristic, geobotanical, palaeobotanical, ethnographical and genetic evidence should be merged to gain a deeper understanding on the role played by Mediterranean mountains as glacial refugia in order to explain the current distribution of many plants and the large biodiversity levels encountered in Mediterranean mountain areas. This is hallmark for effective and efficient conservation and management

Aerosol deposition and origin in French mountains estimated with soil inventories of 210Pb and artificial radionuclides

Radionuclide inventories were measured in soils from different French mountainous areas: Chaîne des Puys (Massif Central), Eastern Corsica, Jura, Montagne Noire, Savoie, Vosges and Rhine Valley. 210Pb soil inventories were used to estimate long-term (>75 yr) deposition of submicron aerosols. Whereas 210Pb total deposition is explained partly by wet deposition, as demonstrated by increase of 210Pb inventory with annual rainfall; a part of 210Pb in the soils of higher altitude is caused by orographic depositions. Using measurements of radionuclides coming from nuclear aerial weapon tests (137Cs and Pu isotopes), we were able to estimate the origin of aerosols deposited in high-altitude sites and to confirm the importance of occult deposition and feeder–seeder mechanism. Using a simple mass balance model, we estimate that occult deposition and feeder–seeder mechanisms account to more than 50% of total deposition of 210Pb and associated submicron aerosols in French altitude sites

The Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris (Mill.) Lehr. forests in the Mediterranean area

This paper examines the forest communities dominated by Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris (Mill.) Lehr. that have been described up until now in the Mediterranean Region (including other isolated extrazonal areas in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula and in Northern Turkey) as more or less evolved aspects of woods, microwoods and high maquis that principally tend to make up climacic and edapho-climacic “series heads”. These forma- tions maintain a significant large-scale distributive potential within the infra- and thermomediterranean bioclimate belts (with a few penetrations into the mesomediterranean) with a dry-subhumid (and sometimes humid) ombrotype; however, they are currently quite rare and fragmented in the wake of large-scale deforestation and the impoverishment of old-growth communities dominated by a species known to live for millennia. The study was conducted through the analysis of phytosociological data taken from the scientific literature and other unpublished data regarding North-Africa (Morocco, Algeria), the Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands as well as other islands from the Tyrrhenian area (Sardinia, Corsica, Sicily and its minor islands), the Italian Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, the Aegean region, Turkey and the southern Anatolian coast. A comparison between the different communities has shown a high floristic and physiognomic-structural homogeneity that justifies their categorization in the Quercetea ilicis class. The biogeographic and ecologic vicariance shown by the same formations within the large Mediterranean distribution range makes it pos- sible to subdivide them into the following orders and alliances: 1) Pistacio-Rhamnetalia alaterni [A) all. Tetraclini articulatae-Pistacion atlanticae (suball. Pistacienion atlanticae); B) all. Asparago albi-Rhamnion oleoidis; C) all. Oleo sylvestris-Ceratonion siliquae]; 2) Quercetalia calliprini [D) all. Ceratonio-Pistacion lentisci]; 3) Quercetalia ilicis [E) all. Querco rotundifoliae-Oleion sylvestris; F) all. Fraxino orni-Quercion ilicis; G) all. Erico arboreae-Quercion ilicis; H) all. Arbuto unedonis-Laurion nobilis (suball. Arbuto-Laurenion nobilis)]. Regarding the syntaxonomical aspect: (i) two new associations are described [Hippocrepido emeroidis-Oleetum sylvestris and Junipero foetidissimae-Oleetum sylvestris]; (ii) two new associations [Phillyreo latifoliae-Oleetum sylvestris Barbero, Quézel & Rivas-Martínez ex Gianguzzi & Bazan ass. nova and Calicotomo intermediae-Oleetum sylvestris Quézel, Barbero, Benabid, Loisel & Rivas-Martínez 1988 ex Gianguzzi & Bazan ass. nova] and a new subassocia- tion [Aro neglecti-Oleetum sylvestris Rivas-Martínez & Cantò 2002 corr. Rivas-Martínez & Cantò fraxinetosum angustifoliae Pérez Latorre, Galán de Mera, Deil & Cabezudo ex Gianguzzi & Bazan subass. nova] are leptotypified; (iii) a nomen novum of the association is redefined [Rhamno laderoi-Oleastretum sylvestris (Cantò, Ladero, Perez-Chiscano & Rivas-Martínez 2011) Gianguzzi & Bazan nom. nov.]

The landscape and environment of Etruria

Etruria, homeland of the Etruscans, lies on the western coast of Italy to the north of Rome between the Tiber and the Arno rivers. This hilly region is defined by its low-lying coast and the rugged Apennine mountains to the north and east. Since the Etruscan period the sea level is little changed but there has been significant soil erosion modifying the hills and valleys. The climate in the Etruscan period was similar to today's but human action has modified the vegetation cover. To conclude, the major landscape zones of Etruria are briefly described

Quaternary glacial evolution in the Central Cantabrian Mountains (Northern Spain)

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