A study of the soil-plant interactions of Pistacia lentiscus L. distributed in the western Anatolian part of Turkey

This study was undertaken with the aim of illuminating the soil-plant interactions of Pistacia lentiscus L., which is a Mediterranean sclerophylleous coastal zone plant in the Western Anatolian part of Turkey. The soil analysis data showed that this plant grows on different kinds of soils such as sandy-clayey-loam, clayey-loam, sandy-loam and loamy texture. Soils are not saline, with pH moderately and slightly alkaline. This species prefers soils with low phosphorus and potassium contents, but with different calcium carbonate and nitrogen contents. Three negative linear correlations were observed between plant calcium and soil pH, plant nitrogen and soil calcium carbonate, plant potassium and soil calcium carbonate

Mineral element uptake status of endemic Isoetes anatolica Prada & Rolleri populations from Bolu-Turkey

Isoetes genus is commonly known as the "quillworts" and considered to be "fern allies". There are about 200-250 species, with a cosmopolitan distribution but often scarce to rare. Isoetes genus members often grow in extremely sensitive aquatic environments such as temporary ponds, streams and lakes. They are therefore good indicators of environmental quality. Isoetes anatolica Prada & Rolleri is an endemic plant grows on calcareous sediment/soil on the edges of seasonal ponds located in a mountainous area near the southern coast of the Black Sea at 1400 m above sea level at Bolu, Turkey. In this study, mineral element uptake statuses of I. anatolica populations were studied on the background of plant-sediment/soil-water interactions. The study materials were collected from the place where this narrow endemic species only lives in the world (Abant Region, Bolu/Turkey) by using standard methods and plant and sediment/soil mineral element measurements (Al, B, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni and Zn) were done. ICP-OES was employed for the measurements during the study. Interrelations between mineral element contents in the sediment/soil, water and plant were discussed. The data revealed that I. anatolica is capable of accumulating considerable amounts of certain mineral elements (B, Ca, Mn and Na).Marmara University, Commission of Scientific Research Project (FEN-D-040712-0291

Plant food economy and environment during the epipalaeolithic in southwest Anatolia : an investigation of the botanical macroremains from Öküzini and Karain B

Located in southwest Turkey, not far from the seacoast, the natural caves of Öküzini and Karain B were inhabited by prehistoric populations during the Late Glacial and beyond. The Epipalaeolithic populations left traces of different occupation phases dated between 16.560 ±180 uncal BP (18.200-17.400 cal BC) to 12.130 ±100 uncal BP (14.400-11.800 cal BC) in Öküzini, around 15.000 uncal BP in Karain B. The topic of this research was to examine the macrobotanical remains associated with the Epipalaeolithic occupations, with the underlying aims to acquire insights about the economy of these communities and their use of the environmental resources. A first research paper addresses the issue of plant macroremain identification, in particular the identification of „thick shelled“ plant remains. Morphological comparison with the range of potential species and present geographical distribution made it possible to refine the determination to a double species: Amygdalus orientalis or A. graeca. These plants could grow in the surroundings of the sites on rocky slopes or sandy hills and had to be collected during late summer. All wild Amygdalus seeds are toxic, so that their use as food can be disputed. However, through examination of the detoxification possibilities, nutritional properties and ethnographic analogies for the use of wild almonds, we came to the conclusion that the seeds probably played a notable role in the diet of the Epipalaeolithic population of southwest Anatolia. A comparison with further published prehistoric “nutshell” finds from the Near East supports a long and widely distributed tradition of wild almond use. The analyses of the whole plant macroremain assemblages (excluding wood charcoals) identified at least 18 taxa and “categories” of remains, mainly carbonised. The importance and the role of the plants – particularly in the diet and their bearing on the seasonality of occupation of the sites – have been evaluated with quantitative and qualitative data. Nuts (principally Amygdalus, wild almond), fruits (principally Pyrus, wild pear), bulbs, roots or tubers (underground storage organs) seem to have occupied a particularly important place in these communities during all Epipalaeolithic phases, at the expense of small-seeded plants. The attested plants would have provided carbohydrates, lipids and micronutrients complementing well the meat diet. The cost of acquisition of the major plant resources was estimated: nuts and underground storage organs were generally considered as high ranked resources, providing a resource easy to gather and to process for a high calorific return. The almonds had a higher cost of acquisition. Their richness in fats and their availability at the onset of the winter season however could justify the additional work required for their detoxification. Judging from the seasonality indices of the plants and ungulate fauna at Öküzini, the cave could have been inhabited periodically in all seasons, but particularly in spring and autumn. A third paper presented the use of firewood and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction using anthracological and other environmental data. The diversity of fuel wood used was moderate and at both sites Acer (maple), Amygdalus (wild almond) and Fraxinus (ash) were the most common and important taxa. Secondary taxa were composed of Maloideae, Pyrus (wild pear), Prunus (wild plum), Quercus (cadufoliate oak), and Rhamnus/Phillyrea (buckthorn/mock privet). No chronological changes were observed. The major difference between both caves was the presence of hygrophilous and mesophillous taxa in Öküzini, whereas Coniferous wood was more common in Karain B, leading to the interpretation of an opportunistic exploitation of the surroundings of each site. Despite the poverty of the Late Glacial vegetation, there was no indication of use of alternative fuel material. These Epipalaeolithic populations seem to have responded to shortages rather through mobility than intensification. The anthracological results have been integrated to present-day knowledge of the environment of southwest Anatolia in an attempt to reconstruct the local vegetation. Among the different models of optimal foraging, the diet breadth model predicts that the resource a forager chooses from an available set of resources depends on their efficiency rank and abundance in the environment. Knowing from former investigations what plant resources were collected by the Epipalaeolithic populations from Öküzini and Karain B, we used this model to estimate the richness of the various classes of plant resources in the environment of the sites. An exploitation of high ranked plant resources, the nuts and the roots, bulbs or tubers, instead of small seeds, probably reflected their good availability in the environment. On the other hand, although the pattern of fuel use did not show any indices of wood scarcity, the reconstruction of the vegetation resulted in an environment not particularly rich in plant resources. The density of population being low, we suppose that the Epipalaeolithic populations living in this region adapted to their natural conditions in moving regularly their camps

Contributions to the knowledge of the flora of the Eastern Mediterranean

TAXONOMIC SECTION : 1. additions to the summer flora of the Aegean; 2. variation in Alnus subcordata C.A. Meyer; 3. Zeugandra iranica P.H. Davis; 4. Tracheliopsis antilibanotica P.H. Davis; 5. three new species from the Nearer East; 6. two new chasmophytes from the Antilebanon. Joint papers : 7. new plants from the Nearer East; 8. on the flora of the Nearer East : xxiii; 9. Glaucosciadium: a new Mediterranean genus of Umbelliferae .VEGETATIONAL SECTION : 10. cliff vegetation in the Eastern Mediterranean;. 11. the vegetation of the deserts near Cairo; 12. a journey in south-west Anatolia; 13. the Taurus revisited, 1949; 14. Oncocyclus irises in the Levant; 15. Fritillaries in the Eastern Mediterranean

Flora Mediterranea

This peer-reviewed journal, published annually on behalf of OPTIMA, includes papers dealing with the study of biogeography, floristics and systematic botany in the Mediterranean area

Research of the Cenophytic Palaeoflora of the Eastern Mediterranean (Lesbos, Lemnos, Alonissos, Gavdos Islands)

Η ύπαρξη φυτικών (μακρο)απολιθωμάτων στον ελλαδικό χώρο είναι γνωστή από την αρχαιότητα και χαίρει ιδιαίτερης σπουδαιότητας από την ελληνική και παγκόσμια επιστημονική κοινότητα λόγω της ηλικίας, της ποικιλότητας ειδών και οργάνων και των πληροφοριών για το παλαιοπεριβάλλον και το παλαιοκλίμα. Μέσα από την παρούσα εργασία πραγματοποιείται: έρευνα νέων θέσεων εύρεσης φυτικών απολιθωμάτων Καινοφυτικής ηλικίας στην Ανατολική Μεσόγειο (νήσος Λέσβος, Λήμνος, Αλόννησος, Γαύδος), προσπάθεια προσέγγισης των νέων ευρημάτων από τη σκοπιά της παλαιοβοτανικής ανάλυσης με ό,τι αυτή περιλαμβάνει (ανατομία απολιθωμένου ξύλου με χρήση μικροσκοπίου, μελέτη αποτυπωμάτων φύλλων) αλλά και χρήση παλαιότερων (μέθοδος του Πλησιέστερου Σημερινού Συγγενή) και νέων μεθοδολογιών (π.χ. CLAMP, IPR) με στόχο την εξαγωγή σημαντικών συμπερασμάτων για τη γεωλογική ιστορία της Ανατολικής Μεσογείου και γενικότερα του ελλαδικού χώρου.The presence of plant (macro) fossils in Greece is known since ancient times and is of high significance by the Greek and International scientific community because of: their age, the species and plant organs diversity and the information about the palaeoenvironment and paleoclimate which can be excluded. The present work is dealing with: the research for new plant fossiliferous localities of Cenophytic age at the Eastern Mediterranean (Lesbos, Lemnos, Alonissos, Gavdos Islands), the study of the new findings under the perspective of palaeobotanical analysis (petrified wood anatomy with the usage of microscope, study of leaves imprints) and use of older (method of the Nearest Living Relative) and new methodologies (e.g., CLAMP, IPR) in order to export significant conclusions about the geological history of the Eastern Mediterranean and of Greece

Paleobiogeografía y evolución de las asociaciones de micromamíferos en la península ibérica durante el Holoceno: influencias climáticas y antrópicas

La dinámica climática y las importantes transformaciones de las sociedades humanas que se sucedieron a lo largo del Holoceno tuvieron un efecto sustancial sobre el medio natural, modulando las comunidades vegetales y faunísticas hasta la actualidad. En la cuenca mediterránea el desarrollo de técnicas de navegación y la difusión cultural a partir del Neolítico provocaron la introducción de animales y plantas domesticadas con fines agrícolas y ganaderos, y facilitaron el intercambio de especies salvajes entre territorios aislados geográficamente. En la península ibérica, la representación y distribución actual de los micromamíferos (Rodentia, Lagomorpha, Eulipotyphla, Chiroptera) es fruto de una dinámica biogeográfica determinada por estos factores. No obstante, el conocimiento sobre estos procesos es limitado debido a que los micromamíferos fósiles del Holoceno han recibido menor atención respecto a los estudios de periodos anteriores. Por ello, muchas cuestiones relativas a la cronología y a las rutas de los procesos de colonización, así como a los cambios en el área de distribución de numerosas especies permanecen abiertas..