The whole and its parts : why and how to disentangle plant communities and synusiae in vegetation classification

Most plant communities consist of different structural and ecological subsets, ranging from cryptogams to different tree layers. The completeness and approach with which these subsets are sampled have implications for vegetation classification. Non‐vascular plants are often omitted or sometimes treated separately, referring to their assemblages as “synusiae” (e.g. epiphytes on bark, saxicolous species on rocks). The distinction of complete plant communities (phytocoenoses or holocoenoses) from their parts (synusiae or merocoenoses) is crucial to avoid logical problems and inconsistencies of the resulting classification systems. We here describe theoretical differences between the phytocoenosis as a whole and its parts, and outline consequences of this distinction for practise and terminology in vegetation classification. To implement a clearer separation, we call for modifications of the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature and the EuroVegChecklist. We believe that these steps will make vegetation classification systems better applicable and raise the recognition of the importance of non‐vascular plants in the vegetation as well as their interplay with vascular plants

Integrating phytosociological and agronomic analysis to support the sustainable management of Mediterranean grasslands

The paper analyses the integration of different methodologies for assessing the grazing value of grasslands, aimed at supporting decisions for their sustainable management, that is, the long term preservation of their productive potential. The attribution of an agronomic value (specific index) to each species can be used for a preliminary evaluation of their productive potential. It can be also considered a first step in the exploitation of data already available from studies made on grasslands using a range of approaches, among them phytosociological tables. A data base file containing a collection of Specific indices for 1796 taxa, based on evaluations made by different authors, who applied the Grazing Value method in a range of environments in the Mediterranean area, has been made available on the web site http://www.agr.unian.it/(download area, ricerca)

Lichen-Moss associations in plant communities of the Southwest Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica

The phytosociology of plant communities in the Admiralty Bay ice-free areas (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) was investigated during the 2003/04 summer seasons. In this study associations among lichens and mosses were found, where the lichen species are dominant in the samples. A total of 10 associations are identified. For each association found in this work, descriptions are given and comments about their ecology and distribution in the study area are made. Key words: Antartic plants, phytosociology, ecology.The phytosociology of plant communities in the Admiralty Bay ice-free areas (King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica) was investigated during the 2003/04 summer seasons. In this study associations among lichens and mosses were found, where the lichen species are dominant in the samples. A total of 10 associations are identified. For each association found in this work, descriptions are given and comments about their ecology and distribution in the study area are made. Key words: Antartic plants, phytosociology, ecology

Community concepts in plant ecology: from Humboldtian plant geography to the superorganism and beyond

The paper seeks to provide an introduction to, and review of, the history of concepts of the plant community. Eighteenth-century naturalists recognised that vegetation was distributed geographically and that different species of plants and animals were interconnected in what would later be called ecological relationships. It was not, however, until the early nineteenth century that the study of vegetation became a distinctive and autonomous form of scientific inquiry. Humboldt was the first to call communities of plants ‘associations’. His programme for the empirical study of plant communities was extended by many European and North American botanists, throughout the nineteenth and into the twentieth century. There developed an almost complete consensus among ecologists that vegetation was made up of natural communities, discrete entities with real boundaries. However, there was little agreement about the nature of the putative unit or how it should be classified. Gleason advanced the alternative view that vegetation was an assemblage of individual plants with each species being distributed according to its own physiological requirements and competitive interactions. This debate was never wholly resolved and the divergent opinions can be discerned within early ecosystem theory

Sesleria caerulea (l.) ard. ssp calcarea (celak) hegi scop, in the North East of England an ecological study

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Approach to climatophilous vegetation series of Serra da Estrela (Portugal)

This work contains the study results of climatophilous vegetation series from Serra da Estrela, the highest mountain on the Portuguese mainland. Located in central-northern Portugal in the Estrelensean Sector (Carpetan-Leonese Subprovince), the Serra da Estrela has several bioclimatic stages, mainly resulting from slope and altitude ranges: mesomediterranean, submediterranean mesotemperate, supramediterranean, submediterranean supratemperate, and submediterranean orotemperate. In each of these belts are observed changes in plant communities that determine variations in terms of the vegetation series. The methodology was based on Dynamic-Catenal Phytosociology. The results show the presence of five climatophilous series; their structural characteristics and dynamics are described in this paper: 1. Lycopodio clavati–Junipereto nani S.; 2. Saxifrago spathularis–Betuleto celtibericae S.; 3. Holco mollis–Querco pyrenaicae S.; 4. Arbuto–Querco pyrenaicae cytisetoso grandiflori S.; e 5. Viburno tini–Querco roboris S

Dynamic-Catenal Phytosociology for evaluating vegetation

[EN] The conservation of nature is a problem that has concerned the scientific community for many years. Plants and plant communities play a main role in evaluation and land management studies, owing to their importance as natural and cultural resources. Several studies from the perspective of flora and vegetation have been carried out in the last fifty years (some of them directly related to Phytosociology). According to that, the Dynamic-Catenal Phytosociology must be considered as a very useful tool to evaluate the conservation status of vegetation and to establish suitable models for land management. The fundamental phytosociological concepts to take into account in the evaluation processes of the conservation status of vegetation are reviewed in this study

Cartography and diachronic analysis of the vegetation of S'Ena Arrubia Lagoon (Centre-Western Sardinia)

The vegetation map of S'Ena Arrubia Lagoon in centre-western Sardinia (1: 2,500 scale) is presented and some diachronic remarks are made by referring to historical data available. The main object of this cartography, after a research on the biotope vegetation, is to allow the biomonitoring of an extremely important site for the biodiversity conservation (Protected Area: S.I.C., Z.P.S., I.B.A.), which is to use for an ecologically aware management

Halophilous vegetation of Olbia pond system (NE-Sardinia)

Authors report some results about a phytosociological study concerning the wetlands to the south of Olbia (Gallura, north-eastern Sardinia). Vegetation analysis allowed to detect 21 associations, among them two are new and denominated Halimionio portulacoidis-Limoniastretum monopetali ass. nova and Ephedro fragilis-Pistacietum lentisci ass. nova. Among them, the association Halimiono portulacoidis-Limoniastretum monopetali shows a particular phytogeographical interest, because it sets the Limoniastrum monopetalum vegetation in the only Sardinian station of this shrubby Plumbaginacea. From a syntaxonomic point of view, described syntaxa are included in 9 vegetation classes. Plant landscape of the area was reconstructed by the study of chain contacts among different communities, placed in space according to humidity and salinity gradients, determined by substratum texture and micromorphology. On the basis of phytocoenotic diversity stressed by this research, this study area is believed to be deserving of protection aiming at conserving and managing its populations and plant communities