Some interesting records of Cladonia species from the Nizina Wielkopolska Lowland (W Poland)

The lichen genus Cladonia comprises several similar species which have hardly been recognized in Western Poland so far. We used thin layer chromatography (TLC) as a simple technique to determine diagnostic lichen substances in morphologically similar Cladonia species. During field studies in Sandr Nowotomyski (western Nizina Wielkopolska Lowland), ten interesting records of Cladonia species were made. Cladonia novochlorophaea is reported for the first time from this region. Our records supplement the knowledge about the distribution of Cladonia species both in the investigated region and in Poland. All the records are compared with existing literature data from regional floristic inventories and distribution maps from Poland

Mesoscale modelling of polyelectrolyte electrophoresis

The electrophoretic behaviour of flexible polyelectrolyte chains ranging from single monomers up to long fragments of hundred repeat units is studied by a mesoscopic simulation approach. Abstracting from the atomistic details of the polyelectrolyte and the fluid, a coarse-grained molecular dynamics model connected to a mesoscopic fluid described by the Lattice Boltzmann approach is used to investigate free-solution electrophoresis. Our study demonstrates the importance of hydrodynamic interactions for the electrophoretic motion of polyelectrolytes and quantifies the influence of surrounding ions. The length-dependence of the electrophoretic mobility can be understood by evaluating the scaling behavior of the effective charge and the effective friction. The perfect agreement of our results with experimental measurements shows that all chemical details and fluid structure can be safely neglected, and a suitable coarse-grained approach can yield an accurate description of the physics of the problem, provided that electrostatic and hydrodynamic interactions between all entities in the system, i.e., the polyelectrolyte, dissociated counterions, additional salt and the solvent, are properly accounted for. Our model is able to bridge the single molecule regime of a few nm up to macromolecules with contour lengths of more than 100 nm, a length scale that is currently not accessible to atomistic simulations.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, to be presented at Faraday Discussion 14

Successional development of the phototrophic community in biological soil crusts, along with soil formation on Holocene deposits at the Baltic Sea coast

Harsh environmental conditions form habitats colonized by specialized primary microbial colonizers, e.g., biological soil crusts (biocrusts). These cryptogamic communities are well studied in drylands but much less in temperate coastal dunes, where they play a crucial role in ecological functions. Following two dune chronosequences, this study highlights the successional development of the biocrust’s community composition on the Baltic Sea coast. A vegetation survey, followed by morphological species determination, was conducted. Sediment/soil cores of the different dune types were analyzed to uncover the potential impacts of the biocrust community on initial soil formation processes, with special emphasis on biogeochemical phosphorous (P) transformations. Biocrust succession was characterized by a dune type-specific community composition, shifting from thinner algae-dominated biocrusts in dynamic dunes to more stable moss-dominated biocrusts in mature dunes. The change in the biocrust community structure was accompanied by an increase in Chl a, water, and organic matter content. In total, 25 algal and cyanobacterial species, 16 mosses, and 26 lichens across all sampling sites were determined. The pedological characterization of these cores elucidated initial processes of soil genesis, such as decalcification, acidification, and the accumulation of organic matter with dune and biocrust development. Furthermore, the chemistry of iron (Fe)-containing compounds such as the Fedithionite/Fetotal ratios confirmed mineral weathering and the beginning of soil profile development. The biocrusts accumulated P over time, while the P content in the underlying sediment did not change. That implies that biocrusts take up P from the geological parent material in the dunes, thereby accumulating available P in the ecosystem, which gets transferred into subsoil horizons through leaching or redeposition. The relative proportion of the bioavailable P pool (56% to 74% of Pt) increased with dune succession. That happened at the expense of more stable bound P, which was transformed into labile P. Thus, the level of plant available P along the dune chronosequences increased due to the microbial activity of the biocrust organisms. It can be concluded that biocrusts of temperate coastal dunes play a crucial role in maintaining their habitat by accumulating nutrients and organic matter, supporting soil development and subsequent vegetation

Sampling multi-scale and multi-taxon plant diversity data in the subalpine and alpine habitats of Switzerland : report on the 14th EDGG Field Workshop

The 14th EDGG Field Workshop took place from the 4th to the 14th of September 2020 in Switzerland, and was devoted to the vegetation of open habitats in the subalpine and alpine zones. In total, 26 EDGG Biodiversity Plots (nested plots with grain sizes of 0.0001 to 100 m²) were sampled in different open habitat types (grasslands, heathlands, screes, snowbeds, fens) in three regions of Switzerland, both over acidic and base-rich bedrock. Additionally, three normal plots of 10 m² were sampled in high-elevation Festuco-Brometea stands in Zermatt. Across all grain sizes, stands showed 10–25% higher means and 50–94% higher maxima for total richness of vascular plants, terricolous bryophytes and lichens compared with data from the 12th EDGG Field Workshop in dry and semi-dry grasslands of the central valleys of the Swiss Alps. We found outstanding preliminary maxima of total richness of 61, 109 and 163 species in 1, 10 and 100 m² respectively, in an unused alpine grassland over limestone (Seslerion). Both particularly variable and partly extremely rich was the bryophyte and lichen flora of the analysed stands, with up to 33 bryophyte and 22 lichen species in 10-m² plots. We report the liverwort Cephaloziella dentata as new for Switzerland, found in a thermophilous subalpine heathland at Alp Glivers, Surselva, Grisons. Overall, our preliminary data suggest that some of the sampled subalpine and alpine habitats are among the most species-rich communities at small scales if bryophytes and lichens are also considered. Based on this finding, we recommend that these two taxonomic groups be more regularly included in surveying and particularly in monitoring programs for vegetation. The Scientific Report is supplemented by a photo diary that provides impressions of work and life during the Field Workshop

GrassPlot v. 2.00 – first update on the database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

Abstract: GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). Following a previous Long Database Report (Dengler et al. 2018, Phyto- coenologia 48, 331–347), we provide here the first update on content and functionality of GrassPlot. The current version (GrassPlot v. 2.00) contains a total of 190,673 plots of different grain sizes across 28,171 independent plots, with 4,654 nested-plot series including at least four grain sizes. The database has improved its content as well as its functionality, including addition and harmonization of header data (land use, information on nestedness, structure and ecology) and preparation of species composition data. Currently, GrassPlot data are intensively used for broad-scale analyses of different aspects of alpha and beta diversity in grassland ecosystems

Species-area relationships in continuous vegetation : evidence from Palaearctic grasslands

Aim Species–area relationships (SARs) are fundamental scaling laws in ecology although their shape is still disputed. At larger areas, power laws best represent SARs. Yet, it remains unclear whether SARs follow other shapes at finer spatial grains in continuous vegetation. We asked which function describes SARs best at small grains and explored how sampling methodology or the environment influence SAR shape. Location Palaearctic grasslands and other non‐forested habitats. Taxa Vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens. Methods We used the GrassPlot database, containing standardized vegetation‐plot data from vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens spanning a wide range of grassland types throughout the Palaearctic and including 2,057 nested‐plot series with at least seven grain sizes ranging from 1 cm2 to 1,024 m2. Using nonlinear regression, we assessed the appropriateness of different SAR functions (power, power quadratic, power breakpoint, logarithmic, Michaelis–Menten). Based on AICc, we tested whether the ranking of functions differed among taxonomic groups, methodological settings, biomes or vegetation types. Results The power function was the most suitable function across the studied taxonomic groups. The superiority of this function increased from lichens to bryophytes to vascular plants to all three taxonomic groups together. The sampling method was highly influential as rooted presence sampling decreased the performance of the power function. By contrast, biome and vegetation type had practically no influence on the superiority of the power law. Main conclusions We conclude that SARs of sessile organisms at smaller spatial grains are best approximated by a power function. This coincides with several other comprehensive studies of SARs at different grain sizes and for different taxa, thus supporting the general appropriateness of the power function for modelling species diversity over a wide range of grain sizes. The poor performance of the Michaelis–Menten function demonstrates that richness within plant communities generally does not approach any saturation, thus calling into question the concept of minimal area.publishedVersio

Filovirus RefSeq Entries: Evaluation and Selection of Filovirus Type Variants, Type Sequences, and Names

Sequence determination of complete or coding-complete genomes of viruses is becoming common practice for supporting the work of epidemiologists, ecologists, virologists, and taxonomists. Sequencing duration and costs are rapidly decreasing, sequencing hardware is under modification for use by non-experts, and software is constantly being improved to simplify sequence data management and analysis. Thus, analysis of virus disease outbreaks on the molecular level is now feasible, including characterization of the evolution of individual virus populations in single patients over time. The increasing accumulation of sequencing data creates a management problem for the curators of commonly used sequence databases and an entry retrieval problem for end users. Therefore, utilizing the data to their fullest potential will require setting nomenclature and annotation standards for virus isolates and associated genomic sequences. The National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI’s) RefSeq is a non-redundant, curated database for reference (or type) nucleotide sequence records that supplies source data to numerous other databases. Building on recently proposed templates for filovirus variant naming [ ()////-], we report consensus decisions from a majority of past and currently active filovirus experts on the eight filovirus type variants and isolates to be represented in RefSeq, their final designations, and their associated sequences

GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands

GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board

The lichen genus Myriospora in the Baltic coastal zone of Germany

Information on the ecology and distribution of Myriospora species in the Baltic coastal zone of Germany isprovided. The three species (M. myochroa, M. rhagadiza, M. smaragdula) occurring in the study area arewidely distributed, but show differences in frequency and distribution pattern. Myriospora rhagadiza is rathercommon but strictly restricted to the Baltic shoreline in contrast to the other two species