Study of Georgian Cladoniaceae

Through updating of the identifications of 1306 specimens housed at the largest herbarium collection in Tbilisi (TBI) and some new collections made in the summer of 2015 along the Greater Caucasus Range in Georgia, a comprehensive list and a key of forty three Georgian Cladonia species are presented. Cladonia acuminata, C.bacilliformis, C. borealis, C. conista, C. cyanipes, C. cyathomorpha, C. cf. libifera, C. macrophyllodes, C. sulphurina, and C. symphycarpa are reported as new to Georgia. Thirteen species of Cladonia were deleted from the earlier checklists.Peer reviewe

Wine, Beer, Snuff, Medicine, and Loss of Diversity - Ethnobotanical travels in the Georgian Caucasus

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Plant and fungal use in Tusheti, Khevsureti, and Pshavi, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

In this study, we documented traditional plant use in Tusheti, Khevsureti, and Pshavi and hypothesized that (i) plant use knowledge in general would be higher in isolated high elevation communities, and that (ii) use of home gardens would be much more restricted to lower elevation settings. Fieldwork was conducted in Khevsureti, Pshavi, and Tusheti. Interviews using semi-structured questionnaires were conducted with 74 participants. In the present study, we encountered 317 plant species belonging to 203 genera of 80 families being used in the research region. Of these, 197 species were exclusively wild-harvested, 73 were grown in homegardens, and 47 were both grown in gardens and sourced in the wild. The ordinations in plant-space and in use-space were significantly fit by elevation of informant community, and community itself. Age and gender did not significantly fit the distribution of informants across either plant-space or use-space, respectively. Number of use-reports was highest across all communities in the food and medicinal use-categories, and informant consensus. Species with especially high use-diversity (UD) tended to be woody species although. Species with high use-value (UV) were mostly managed/domesticated species from home orchards, gardens, or farms. Plant species, and uses, found in our study, showed clear relations to the wider Eurasian cultural complex. The species number found was, however, far higher than in any published study from either the region or the wiser Mediterranean and Eurasia. The maintenance of home gardens in Georgia serves as socio-ecological memory. While the great variety of plant species used in the Georgian Caucasus might provide a reservoir for food security climate change is starting to affect both natural floristic diversity and gardens both in the Caucasus as well as continent wide

A revised catalog of lichens of Georgia (South Caucasus)

A revised lichen catalog for Georgia, the South Caucasus, the second after 1986, is presented here. It is based on a literature survey and recent study of herbarium material. The list includes 713 species of lichens and nine species of nonlichenized fungi traditionally treated by lichenologists. As a basis for the present catalog, 106 literature sources reporting the first findings of the listed taxa in floristic regions of Georgia were used. The accepted taxa in bold are followed by references from the literature, if applicable, as well as references from herbarium specimens seen by us at local and several foreign herbaria. Specimens of the 547 of the 722 reported species are stored in the local herbaria: 542 at the National Herbarium of Georgia, the Institute of Botany, Ilia State University, Tbilisi (TBI), and 94 in the Herbarium of the State Museum of Georgia, Tbilisi (TGM). In each literature citation and herbarium code, the occurrence of respective species in Georgia's floristic regions is given. In addition, a short historical background and comprehensive bibliography are provided

Modelling the potential distribution of subalpine birches (Betula spp.) in the Caucasus

The treeline ecosystems in the Caucasus are mainly composed of birch (Betuletum) stands. These high-mountain forests encompass pivotal ecological functions like climate regulation, water retention, soil protection and more. The location of Caucasus birches as part of the treeline communities determines its vulnerability to anthropogenic as well as natural stressors. Therefore, the natural distribution area of birches has been significantly shrunk. Meanwhile, the two contrasting tendencies are also observable in the Caucasus, the lowering of the natural upper limit of the treeline border as well as the widening of the distribution area towards higher elevations. In this research, we aimed to model the actual distribution areas of Caucasus birches according to the factors and patterns of their present distribution. We used the Maxent (Maximum Entropy Model) model based on WorldClim bioclimatic variables—mean temperature of warmest quarter, mean temperature of coldest quar- ter, precipitation of coldest quarter and precipitation of warmest quarter, and 160 study plots (including 100 field experimental plots). The model demonstrated high predictive power AUC = 0.97. The Maxent algorithm showed the potential distribution areas of Caucasus birches covering the entire Caucasus region and the climatic variables as the main factors contributing to or limiting the distribution of birches in the study region. Understanding the distribution characteristics of birches in the Caucasus can serve as a basis for future research on shifts and changes in treeline forest communities occurring as a result of various impacts, e.g. climate change

New Indicator Values for Central Caucasus Flora

In this study we have aimed to extend the concept of indicator values of Ellenberg (1974) and Landolt (1977) for vascular plants of the Caucaus (Sakhokia and Khutsishvili 1975a, b, c), taking account those species which also occur in the Alps (more than 400 species). The resulting Nakhutsrishvili Indicator Values for the Caucasus (see Annex) were compared with those of Elias Landolt for the Alps (Landolt 1977). The results show a high overlap of both sets of indicator values, indicating both, a high overlap of the ecological niche of the species of the Alps and the Caucasus, and also an agreement of both experts for many species and indicator value classes (30–50% congruence). The results show that an extension of Landolt indicator values to the Caucasus is possible, and that the Nakhutsrishvili Indicator Value dataset can now be used for vegetation analysis of the Caucasus

Ethnobotany of Samtskhe-Javakheti, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

7-24Samtskhe-Javakheti was formed in the 1990s in southern Georgia from the historical provinces of Meskheti, Javakheti and Tori. The majority of the inhabitants are ethnically Armenian, with a Georgian minority. We documented traditional plant use in Samtskhe-Javakheti, and hypothesized that (1) plant use knowledge in general would be higher in isolated high elevation communities, and that (2) use of home gardens would be much more restricted to lower elevations. Fieldwork was conducted July–August 2013, July–August 2014, and September–October 2015, using semi-structured questionnaires. We encountered 261 plant species belonging to 161 genera of 70 families being used in the region. Of these, 160 species were exclusively wild-collected, 81 grown in homegardens, and 20 were both grown in gardens and collected wild. Most species and uses were widely used across the region, with some particular species in the low lying villages, that allowed a wider variety of species to be grown and gathered. The elevation of informant community significantly fit the ordination in plant-space and use-space. In addition, community significantly fit the ordination for both plant-space and use-space. Informant age significantly fit the plant-space ordination only, while informant gender was not significant in either space

Transcaucasian Vegetation Database – a phytosociological database of the Southern Caucasus

The Caucasus is a hotspot of global biodiversity. However, even in the era of big data, this region remains underrepresented in public vegetation-plot databases. The Transcaucasian Vegetation Database (GIVD code AS-00-005) is a novel dataset which primarily aims to compile, store and share vegetation-plot records sampled by the Braun-Blanquet approach and originating from Transcaucasia (the Southern Caucasus), i.e. the countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The database currently contains 2,882 vegetation plots. The oldest plots originate from 1929, the newest from 2022, and their collection is ongoing. The data include mesophilous forests (phytosociological class Carpino-Fagetea) and various alpine and subalpine communities (e.g. Carici-Kobresietea, Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea) – selected other habitats are also represented. Most of the plots (84%) are georeferenced, 36% with high precision of 25 m or less. The database includes 2,500 taxon names; Asteraceae, Poaceae, Fabaceae and Rosaceae represent the most common families. Vascular plants are recorded in all plots, while data on species composition of bryophytes are available for 11% of plots. The database intends to contribute to the complex biodiversity research of this biologically unique territory. The data might be used in diverse projects in botany, biogeography, ecology and nature protection. Taxonomic reference: The Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org/ [Accessed 10 Jan 2023]). Syntaxonomic reference: Mucina et al. (2016). Abbreviations: TVD = Transcaucasian Vegetation Database

Plants in the spa – the medicinal plant market of Borjomi, Sakartvelo (Republic of Georgia), Caucasus

25-34As part of a larger ethnobotanical inventory of Skartvelo (Republic of Georgia) we studied the medicinal plant market in Borjomi Spa since 2013. All of the venders in Borjomi featured the same set of medicinal plant mixtures, and essentially no plants were sold separately. Overall, the same 17 distinct mixtures were sold by all venders. Plants, according to the venders, were collected by them in the wider surroundings of Borjomi, and all mixtures were prepared at home. Although the preparations of medicinal plant mixtures in Borjomi seemed very controlled and standardized, the separation of all mixtures into their respective ingredients revealed that most mixtures either contained contaminants, and/or lacked ingredients claimed to be included. This study underlines that in many cases natural remedies sold in markets can be problematic, and that great care should be taken before using any medicine, whether allopathic or complimentary. Linguistic explanations for all plant names and indications are given