Multifunktionale Interpretation von Bodenschätzungsdaten als Basis für ein länderübergreifendes Konzept zum nachhaltigen Ressourcen-und Landschaftsschutz am Beispiel Polens und Deutschlands

Trans-as well as international resource protection and management get more and more important. The current paper presents a new option for a common Polish and German concept of multifunctional interpretation of soil appraisal data in order to use its results as a basis for increasing the environmental conditions of agricultural landscapes

Invasive alien species as reservoirs for pathogens

Alien plant and animal hosts play an important role as vectors of dangerous pathogens. However, the knowledge on pathogens of many host species is still limited. To bridge this gap, we collated information on pathogens carried by 118 alien species in Europe in their native and secondary range. In Europe, these species are considered as invasive. Using the dataset we determined most prevailing pathogen groups and plant and animal hosts that carried the highest number of pathogens. The most numerous pathogens were bacteria Xylella fastidiosa (plants) and Rabies virus (animals). The principal pathogen groups among plant hosts were Arthropoda (phylum), Insecta (class) and Hemiptera (order), and among animal hosts – Platyhelminthes (phylum), Trematoda (class) and Plagiorchiida/Strongylida (order). In plants, the highest number of pathogens was recorded for Ambrosia artemisiifolia; in animals, Procyon lotor was the most infested species. Hosts introduced from North America carried the highest numbers of pathogen species; in addition, unintentionally introduced hosts carried more pathogens than those introduced intentionally. We revealed also that the level of infestation differs between the habitats in which the hosts occur. It should be also stressed that in all analyses the number of pathogens increased with the number of publications on the particular host’ infestation. The highest number of publications was available for species useful for human, such as Crassostrea gigas. The results demonstrated that there are still significant gaps in the knowledge on the role of other hosts, including invasive ones (e.g., Sciurus niger) in pathogen transmission

The Association Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae in Southwest Poland

<p>Based on 39 phytosociological relevés Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae, a poorly known association of nitrophilous saum-communities occurring in the mountains of Central Europe was characterized. Its ecological requirements as well as distribution in Poland and Central Europe were presented and discussed. Five new subassociations of the Geranio phaei-Urticetum dioicae (G.-U. arrhenatheretosum elatioris, G.-U. typicum, G.-U. festucetosum giganteae, G.-U. senecionetosum fuchsii and G.-U. rumicetosum alpestris), have been distinguished on the basis of different species composition.</p

Rare wetland grass Coleanthus subtilis in Central and Western Europe - current distribution, habitat types, and threats

The moss grass Coleanthus subtilis (Tratt.) Seidl is a rare, diminutive grass which grows on wet muddy bottoms of drained water bodies displaying a high degree of water level dynamics, such as fishponds or water reservoirs. Due to the temporal character of its habitat, C. subtilis has a very short life cycle of only a few weeks. Therefore, the species and its habitats are legally protected on both national and international levels. This paper focuses on habitats and the conservation of C. subtilis in Central and Western Europe. For the period of 2000–2013, the Czech Republic with more than 200 sites represents the main distribution area of this species in Central and Western Europe. During the same period, C. subtilis was recorded from 45 sites in three regions of Germany (33 Lusatia, 11 Ore Mountains, 1 Mid-Elbe River), 16 sites in France, 13 sites in Poland, and four sites in Austria. Since 2000, the number of records within these seven regions seems to have followed different trends: whereas two regions (Lusatia, Germany and southern Poland) became newly colonized and many populations established, in one region (Ore Mountains, Germany) the number of records diminished. Owing to its specific life cycle, both reproduction success and maintenance of C. subtilis populations are closely linked to the prevailing water level regime, mainly dependent on the management of the water body. Management for the conservation of C. subtilis populations should consider the entire complex of water bodies, as well as individual ponds. For the preservation of the species, at least one pond in each complex should be drained every year and each pond should be drained at least once within 5 years. Depending on local climatic conditions, ponds should be drained for 8–10 weeks during the time period from mid-March to mid-November

Revision of Nymphaea candida range - new data on the distribution and habitat preferences of the species in southern Poland

The paper presents results of geobotanical and taxonomic studies on the distribution and habitat requirements of Nymphaea candida in southern Poland. The researches were conducted in southern Poland in 2003-2009, in the provinces of Lower Silesia, Lublin, Małopolska, Opole, Silesian province as well as, in southern parts of Mazowieckie and Lubuskie. Flowers, leaves and fruits of Nymphaea species were collected from 27 locations. Altogether pollens from 73 populations of N. candida and 18 of N. alba from all the researched area were measured. The trophic level of an ecosystem was evaluated according to the results of the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, chlorophyll a, transparency and biological parameters. As the result of the studies of more than 200 water bodies, 57 localities of N. candida were documented within the investigation area. The populations of N. candida occupy mid-forest water bodies and river ox-bow lakes. A significant number of populations was also found in artificial reservoirs - fish ponds. The most suitable habitat conditions for N. candida occur in shallow waters in the shore zone with the amplitude of the water column vary from 0.5 to 2 m. Regarding the trophy level, N. candida occupies different habitats, mainly mesotrophic and also eutrophic with high content of organic matters. Considering the 15 checked morphological parameters, especially the stigma diameter, the number of carpellary teeth, flower and pollen diameters, the found and collected specimens of N. candida significantly differ from N. alba. The study confirms that N. candida ocurrs in whole lowland Poland without any regional distribution gaps. According to the IUCN guidelines to species assessment the data gathered during the presented study do not allow to classify N. candida as a vulnerable species in Poland. Still existing populations for more than 150 years, numerous stable locations, abundant populations, a habitat accessibility, a biotope extent, an ecological amplitude against the trophy level and direct human impacts suggest, that the species should be regarded as a least concern (LC) taxon