Fagus sylvatica and Quercus pyrenaica: Two neighbors with few things in common

[EN] The Iberian Peninsula comprises one of the largest boundaries between Mediterranean and Eurosiberian vegetation, known as sub-Mediterranean zone. This ecotone hosts many unique plant species and communities and constitutes the low-latitude (warm) margin of numerous central European species which co-occur with Mediterranean vegetation. Two of the main species found in this region are the Eurosiberian European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and the Mediterranean Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.). It remains unclear how the different physiological and adaptive strategies of these two species reflect their niche partitioning within a sub-Mediterranean community and to what extent phenotypic variation (intraspecific variability) is driving niche partitioning across Eurosiberian and Mediterranean speciesS

Evaluating the effect of digital technology on the learning of orthodontic cephalometric measurement [version 3; peer review: 2 approved]

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of applying digital technology in orthodontic learning, students' new skills and satisfaction towards it. Methods: In total, 94 undergraduates of stomatology were recruited and randomly allocated to two groups. According to the cross-over design, both groups completed cephalometric measurements through the traditional hand-drawn method and digital technology (the Dolphin software) in different orders. By traditional hand-drawn method, students need to depict the outlines of the craniofacial anatomical structures on the sulfuric transfer paper first, then marked the measurement points and completed the measurement of line spacings and angles. By digital technology, they should mark the points in the software and adjust the automatically generated outlines of the structures and obtained the results. Besides, an online questionnaire was designed to investigate students' attitudes toward the digital technology. Two professional orthodontists were invited as instructors. They measured a lateral cranial radiograph by two methods with one week’s interval, and their intra- and inter-class correlation coefficient were measured. The means of their measurements were set as standards. Results: The inter- and intra-ICC of two instructors surpassed 90%, and there were no significant differences between their measurements, and the measurements by two methods. There were significant differences of students’ measurements (P 1-SNA<0.01, P 1-SNB=0.01 and P 1-L1-NB (mm)<0.01) between the traditional method and digital technology. Besides, the most results of digital technology were closer to the standards than those of traditional method, including five items with statistical significance (P 2-SNB<0.05, P 2-L1-NB (mm)<0.01, P 2-FMA<0.05, P 2-FMIA<0.05, P 2-IMPA<0.01), while three items were the opposite (P 2-SNA<0.05, P 2-ANB (mm)<0.01, P 2-NA-PA<0.01). The questionnaire showed more students preferred digital technology compared with traditional method and 72% of participants mastered 50-80% of cephalometric knowledge after the course

Adaptive diversity of beech seedlings under climate change scenarios

The ability of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) populations to adapt to the ongoing climate change is especially important in the southern part of Europe, where environmental change is expected to be more intense. In this study, we tested the existing adaptive potential of eight beech populations from two provenances in N.E. Greece (Evros and Drama) that show differences in their environmental conditions and biogeographical background. Seedling survival, growth and leaf phenological traits were selected as adaptive traits and were measured under simulated controlled climate change conditions in a growth chamber. Seedling survival was also tested under current conditions in the field. In the growth chamber, simulated conditions of temperature and precipitation for the year 2050 were applied for 3 years, under two different irrigation schemes, where the same amount of water was distributed either frequently (once every week) or non-frequently (once in 20 days). The results showed that beech seedlings were generally able to survive under climate change conditions and showed adaptive differences among provenances and populations. Furthermore, changes in the duration of the growing season of seedlings were recorded in the growth chamber, allowing them to avoid environmental stress and high selection pressure. Differences were observed between populations and provenances in terms of temporal distribution patterns of precipitation and temperature, rather than the average annual or monthly values of these measures. Additionally, different adaptive strategies appeared among beech seedlings when the same amount of water was distributed differently within each month. This indicates that the physiological response mechanisms of beech individuals are very complex and depend on several interacting parameters. For this reason, the choice of beech provenances for translocation and use in afforestation or reforestation projects should consider the small scale ecotypic diversity of the species and view multiple environmental and climatic parameters in connection to each other

Influence of growing conditions on morphological and chemical properties and biological effects of extracts of Arnica montana L.

Arnica montana L. (Asteraceae) je višegodišnja planinska biljka čije se cvetne glavice (Arnicae flos) uglavnom koriste za spoljašnju upotrebu kod modrica i uganuća u fitofarmaceutskim preparatima kao što su masti, kreme i gelovi. Do pre par godina svetsko tržište pomenute sirovine je zadovoljavano isključivo iz spontanog resursa, ali su biljne populacije, zbog prekomernog sakupljanja, znatno degradirane, zbog čega je u većini evropskih zemalja stavljena zabrana za njeno dalje sakupljanje iz prirode. Obzirom da tražnja za ovom sirovinom na tržištu ne opada, kultivacija arnike se nameće kao jedino održivo rešenje zadovoljenja potreba farmaceutske industrije. Budući da A. montana (narodni naziv – arnika) nije autohtona biljna vrsta za područje Srbije, iako se spontano javlja u planinskim oblastima nekih susednih zemalja i Balkanskog poluostrva uopšte, cilj ovih istraživanja je bio da se iznađe tehnološko rešenje njivske proizvodnje na osnovu ispitivanja uticaja vremena zasnivanja, primene đubrenja i tipa sadnica. U istraživanju su pored cvetne glavice, kao glavne droge, posmatrani i podzemni organi arnike: rizom i koren, kao sporedne sirovine. Prva faza eksperimentalnog rada obuhvatila je trogodišnji tro-faktorijalni poljski ogled načina proizvodnje arnike, pri čemu su se kao faktori ispitivali: vreme zasnivanja useva (prolećna i jesenja sadnja), đubrenje (stajnjak i NPK) i način zasnivanja useva (iz semena i klonskom propagacijom – deobom bokora). U drugoj fazi eksperimenta, izvršena je karakterizacija sirovine u smislu njene brze identifikacije, hromatografskim tehnikama identifikovani su prisutni sekundarni metaboliti i određen njihov sadržaj u ispitivanim uzorcima i testirani su biološki efekti odabranih ekstrakata. Ispitivanja su vršena na ogledu postavljenom 2008. godine na lokalitetu Kaluđerskih bara (1008 m n.v.), na planini Tara, u krugu rasadnika Nacionalnog Parka „Tara“. Obzirom na to da arnika prvu vegetaciju provodi u fazi rozete sva merenja morfoloških parametara, prinosa i hemijskih karakterizacija sirovina vršena su tokom 2009. i 2010. godine. Na ogledu su praćeni sledeći parameri: prečnik rozete, visina cvetnog izdanka, broj cvetnih izdanaka, broj cvetnih glavica, prečnik cvetne glavice, broj sekundarnih rozeta. Određeni su sledeći prinosi: prinos cvetne glavice, prinos rizoma, prinos korena i prinos etarskog ulja (rizoma i korena)...Arnica (Arnica montana L., Asteraceae) is a perennial mountain plant whose flower heads (Arnicae flos) are mainly used for topical treatment of bruises and sprains in phytopharmaceutical preparations such as ointments, creams and gels. Until few years ago, the world market demand for this raw material was almost exclusively covered from the spontaneous resources, but plant populations are, due to overcollecting, significantly degraded, what caused prohibition of its collection from the wild in most of European countries. Since the demand for this raw material on the market is constant rise, cultivation arnica is imposed as the only sustainable solution to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical industry. Since the A. montana plant specie is not native to the region of Serbia, although it occurs spontaneously in some mountain areas of neighboring countries and the Balkans in general, the aim of this study was to find a suitable technology solution of field cultivation based on the examination of induced various ecological factor effects. In this research, beside observations connected with flower heads, as the main drug, underground parts of arnica: rhizome and roots, were also studied as side products. The first phase of the experimental work included a three-year three-factorial field experiment in different modes of production, where as the factors examined: time of plantation establishment (spring and autumn planting), fertilization (manure and NPK) and methods of propagation (from seed and clonal propagation - division of the tuft). In the second phase of the experiment, characterization of the raw material was carried out in the terms of its rapid identification, qualitative evaluations based on the content of secondary metabolites and testing of biological effects of extracts obtained. Tests were performed on the field experiment conducted in 2008 at locality of Kaludjerske Bare (1008 m) on mountain Tara, in area of Nursery production department of the National Park "Tara". Since arnica its first vegetation remains in the rosette phenophase, all measurements of morphological parameters, yields and chemical characterizations of raw materials was carried out in 2009 and 2010 year..

Influence of weather and day length on intra-seasonal growth of Norway spruce (Picea abies L. (Karst.)) and European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in a natural montane forest.

Intra-seasonal growth responses of co-occurring European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies L. (Karst.)) to weather variability in montane forests can provide useful information on their future growth trends. To improve growth predictions, we aimed to identify: i) the main seasonal windows during which weather variability influences tree-ring growth; ii) species-specific differences in the response to weather fluctuations; and iii) teleconnections to remote sites in the Western Carpathians. We monitored intra-seasonal growth dynamics based on proxies extracted growth signals detected by high-resolution dendrometers in transition zone between beech and spruce altitudinal belt. Within 12 consecutive seasons in the natural montane forest (1350 m a.s.l.), the main part of spruce (68% to 10 July) and beech (95% to 26 August) annual increment was under the prevailing influence of temperature. After this, precipitation pattern (regarding spruce) and day length became the most influential variables during deceleration and cessation of growth. In addition, synchronous patterns with remote sites in the Western Carpathians were found. The results emphasize the importance of studying the influence of shorter-term weather fluctuations during the season. Our findings suggest that montane spruce tends to be less temperature-demanding and more drought-sensitive than beech, which may favor beech over the spruce under the future climate.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author