Phytosociological notes on hedges in South Ayrshire, Scotland

On the basis of four relevées of hedges around Straiton en Dailly in South Ayrshire, Scotland, some features of hedges are discussed. On the basis of the brambles, the vegetation of these hedges can be assigned to the Pruno-Rubion sprengelii, which comprises the bramble scrubs of circumneutral and nutrient rich soils in West Europe (Haveman et al. 2017, Haveman & de Ronde 2019). Until now, this alliance was thought to be restricted to the northwestern edge of the European continent, but based on these relevées and the known distribution area of Rubus nemoralis and Rubus polyanthemus, both characteristic for the Pruno-Rubion sprengelii, large parts of North England and Scotland have to be included in the distribution area of the alliance. The Pruno-Rubion sprengelii is optimally developed in rather narrow structures, like hedges, which are pruned every year. Here, brambles and herbs alike can grow with and under the shrubs, facilitated by the light that reaches large parts of the ground. Where the economic base of hedges perishes, they are not longer maintained, and the shrubs can grow out to their natural proportions. This changes the amount of light reaching the surface in the inner parts of the thicket, changing the competition between the species. The brambles as well as the herbs are displaced to the outer edges of the scrub, and the vegetation "dissociates" in a high-growing scrub, a fore-mantle ("cuff") with brambles, and a fringe with perennial herbs. These elements can hardly ever be assigned to the Pruno-Rubion anymore. The Pruno-Rubion sprengelii in optima forma is a scrub in which the three elements (shrubs, brambles, and herbs) grow closely intertwined. This is rarely found in natural landscapes, and thus the alliance is a typical element of the old farmer landscape. What is more: the typical species of the alliance, like Rubus nemoralis and R. polyanthemus, could only evolve after the landscape was opened by farmers in the last six millennia (Matzke-Hajek 1997), giving way to Rubus ulmifolius to expand its distribution area. This caused an explosion of hybrids which stabilised through apomixis into the wealth of Rubus species inhibiting the West European landscape nowadays (Sochor et al. 2015). Many of these species have their original home in a man-made landscape. Therefore, the Pruno-Rubion sprengelii can be characterised as a "farmers alliance" pur sang

Het Festuca ovina-complex in Nederland. 3. De smalbladige schapengrassen

After a reply to De Wilde-Duyfjes, who commented on an earlier published treatment of the relatively broad-leaved sheep fescues, the Dutch small-leaved sheep fescues are discussed. Taxonomy and nomenclature of the small-leaved sheep fescues closely related to Festuca ovina is confusing. Until 2005, Dutch literature only recognised two taxa: F. filiformis Pourr. and F. ovina L. In Belgium, Great-Britain and Germany at least four taxa have been recognised: F. ovina subsp. hirtula (Hack. ex Travis) M.J.Wilk. and F. ovina subsp. ophioliticola (Kerguélen) M.J.Wilk. (= F. guestfalica Boenn. ex Reichb), as well as the two taxa already mentioned. In this paper, it is argued that the tetraploid taxa are best considered as subspecies of F. guestfalica Boenn. ex Reichb. and separate from F. ovina. Morphometric analysis of a part of the collection of the herbarium of Naturalis in Leiden (L) and the herbarium of the author revealed that all four taxa can be distiguished in the Netherlands as well. Festuca filiformis is the most common one and occurs on acidic and mostly sandy soils all over the country. Festuca guestfalica subsp. hirtula is quite common on acidic sandy soil of the lateral moraines and blown outs in the central part of the country (Veluwe). Festuca guestfalica subsp. guestfalica occurs in South Limburg, where it grows on heavy metal soils in the floodplain of the River Geul. The subspecies is extremely rare and in such decline there that it has locally become almost extinct. Recently, however, it was found on chalk outcrops in South Limburg and at a single locality in the Veluwe. Possibly, the subspecies may occur at other localities outside its known distribution area as well. Two collections from Apeldoorn, collected in the 19th century, probably belong to Festuca ovina. No recent collections of this species are known

Het Festuca ovina-complex in Nederland. 4. Festuca csikhegyensis Simonk. op het Harskampse Zand

During the inventory of the military firing range east of the village of Harskamp on the Veluwe, Province of Gelderland, in 2003, Festuca csikhegyensis Simonk. was discovered. This species includes the tetraploid populations formerly included in F. pallens Host. In this paper, F. csikhegyensis is briefly described. Based on a phytosociological relevé it is shown that F. csikhegyensis grows in somewhat disturbed shifting sand communities belonging to the Cetrario aculetae-Corynephoretum. Probably, the population of Festuca csikhegyensis at the Harskamp finds its origin in an unintended anthropogeneous introduction

Het Festuca ovina-complex in Nederland. 1. F. pallens Host (Kalkzwenkgras), een veronachtzaamde soort uit Zuid-Limburg

Dit artikel vermeldt de ontdekking van Festuca pallens in herbariummateriaal van Nederlandse bodem in de collectie van het Nationaal Herbarium Nederland (NHN) te Leiden. In de eerste helft van de vorige eeuw zijn twee planten van deze soort verzameld in Zuid-Limburg op de Sint Pietersberg en bij Bunde. Het is onbekend of F. pallens nog steeds in Nederland voorkomt aangezien recente collecties ontbreken. De Wilde-Duyfjes rekende de planten, die door de verzamelaars destijds waren gedetermineerd als “F. ovina subsp. eu-ovina var. glauca subvar. pallens”, tot haar ondersoort F. ovina subsp. cinerea (= F. lemanii sensu Flora Europaea p. max. p.). In het voorliggende artikel wordt een beschrijving gegeven van F. pallens en worden de verspreiding en de ecologie van deze soort kort bediscussieerd. The discovery of Dutch specimens of Festuca pallens in the collection of the Nationaal Herbarium Nederland (NHN) in Leiden is reported. In the first half of the last century, two specimens were collected from different places in the western part of South Limburg, Province of Limburg, the Netherlands. It is unknown whether F. pallens still exists in the Netherlands, because more recently collected specimens were not found. The collections were determined as “F. ovina ssp. eu-ovina var. glauca subvar. pallens” by the collectors. De Wilde-Duyfjes considered these plants to belong to her subspecies F. ovina subsp. cinerea (mainly F. lemanii sensu Flora Europaea). A description of F. pallens is given, accompanied with a picture. Furthermore, the distribution and ecology of the species is discussed

Concealed diversity : taxonomical, phytogeographical and phytosociological notes on brambles (Rubus L. subgen. Rubus) in north-west Europe

Rubus subgen. Rubus (bramble) is one of the large plant genera in Europe, consisting of only a few sexual biological species and at least 700 apomictic lineages. In this thesis, it is argued that the stabilised apomict lineages should best be regarded species, even if their distribution area doesn’t meet the requirements of a regional species as defined in several publications by Weber. Included is a checklist of Dutch bramble species, comprising 191 species belonging to Rubus subgen. Rubus. In the Netherlands, 97 of the 191 species are classified as regional species, with a distribution area diameter under 500 km. On the basis of distribution data of bramble species in Ireland, the UK, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands, 12 phytogeographical bramble-regions are distinguished. Although ecological factors play a role in the realisation of these regions, it is argued that the found patterns are primarily the result of evolutionary processes. The density and species composition of Rubus scrubs in the Netherlands is studied using landscape transects. At landscape scale, the bramble species in the scrubs are not randomly distributed, causing a spatial clustering of floristically similar bramble scrubs. It was concluded that only a part of the diversity of Rubus scrubs was accounted for in the Dutch national vegetation classification, and a new scrub type (the Rubetum taxandriae) was described on the basis of these findings. Rubus scrubs are an important biotope for rare shrub species and endemic Rubus species. Additionally, scrubs rich in bramble species are important because they provide foraging and nesting habitats for numerous vertebrates and invertebrates. It is recommended to include the apomict Rubus species in biodiversity accounts, for instance in the national standard list of plant species, as well as the Red List

Enkele opmerkelijke vondsten van Hieracium sabaudum L. s. str. op de Veluwe

Hieracium ondergeslacht Hieracium is grotendeels obligaat apomictisch en van dit ondergeslacht komen naar schatting ongeveer 110 soorten in Nederland voor. De soorten zoals die in de huidige Heukels’ Flora van Nederland1 worden onderscheiden komen overeen met de secties die in een aantal buitenlandse flora’s binnen het geslacht onderscheiden worden. Van Hieracium sectie Sabauda (= H. sabaudum volgens Heukels’ Flora) werden eerder 15 soorten voor ons land vermeld. In dit artikel wordt ingegaan op een voor ons land nieuwe soort uit deze sectie, te weten H. sabaudum s. str. Deze soort was wel bekend van de ons omringende landen. Hieracium sabaudum wordt beschreven en afgebeeld, gebaseerd op Nederlands materiaal en de vindplaatsen op de eluwe worden kort toegelicht. Hieracium subgenus Hieracium is largely apomictic and consists of approximately 110 species in the Netherlands. The species which are recognized in the most recent Dutch flora are consistent with the sections which are distinguished within the genus in the most recent overviews in neighboring countries. Within Hieracium section Sabauda (= H. sabaudum according to Heukels’ Flora1), 15 species are known to occur in the Netherlands. In this paper, a new species is presented for the Netherlands: H. sabaudum s. str. This species has already been known to occur in the surrounding countries. This paper provides a description and an illustration of the species based on Dutch material and a brief descriptions of its Dutch localities on the Veluwe (Province of Gelderland)

Vegetation classification as a mirror of evolution? Thoughts on the syntaxonomy and management of bramble scrubs of the Prunetalia (Rhamno-Prunetea)

In Germany and the Netherlands, many bramble scrub associations are distinguished on the basis of the occurrence of Rubus species. The associations belonging to the Prunetalia spinosae Tüxen 1952 are usually assigned to the Pruno-Rubion radulae Weber Osnabr Naturwiss Mitt 3:143–150, 1974, but published tables show inconsistencies in the occurrence of alliance character species. In this paper, we compare synoptic tables from different sources from the Netherlands and Germany. From this comparison, it is concluded that the associations can be divided over two alliances, the Pruno-Rubion radulae in central Europe, and the Pruno-Rubion sprengelii Weber Osnabr Naturwiss Mitt 3:143–150, 1974 in northwest Europe (excluding the UK). The differential species of both these alliances coincide to a considerable degree with the indicator species of the phytogeographical Rubus territories as defined by Haveman et al. (J Biogeogr 43:1360-1371, 2016). As can be deduced from recent molecular studies (Sochor et al. Mol Phylogenet Evol 89:13-27, 2015), these territories have an evolutionary background. This is an effect of the unsaturated distribution areas of a large portion of the very young Rubus agamospecies. The same holds true for the two alliances: although they have a different ecology, we argue that their current distribution areas are not a reflection of this ecology, but both their ecology and distribution area are caused by different evolutionary developments.</p

Over het binnenlandse optreden van Stellaria pallida (Dumort.) Piré (Duinvogelmuur)

Stellaria pallida is common in the coastal dunes. Inland localities, however, seem to be not as scarce as was thought untill recently. Especially on sandy enriched soils in the urban environment the species is rather common. This compares well with its distribution in Germany

Rutenstrauchgebüsche der Cytisetea scopario-striati in den Niederlanden: ein neuer Ansatz zur Klassifikation von Marginalassoziationen

Marginal associations, i.e. floristically impoverished associations at the margin of the distribution area of a higher syntaxon, form a problem in vegetation classification, because true character species are lacking. We propose a new approach for the classification of such marginal associations, making use of the notion of 'chorological tension zones'. In the absence of true character species, the species from other syntaxa of the same formation can be used as such. Our proposal is to use the species group from every formation-true class only once within every marginal alliance, to limit the number of possible marginal associations. This approach is illustrated in a classification of the retamoid thickets in the Netherlands. On the basis of a numerical-subjective classification of the relevant species in the scrub layer and the evaluation of relevant literature, we conclude that the broom and gorse thickets in the Netherlands can be assigned to the Cytisetea scopario-striati Rivas-Mart. 1974, which is represented by four associations, each of which is characterised by the species of other scrub classes. The Ulici europaei-Sarothamnion scoparii Doing ex Weber 1997 is represented by the Rubo plicati-Sarothamnetum scoparii Weber 1987 and the Crataego monogynae-Cytisetum scoparii R. Haveman, I. de Ronde & J.H.J. Schaminée ass. nov., the Ulici europaei-Cytision striati Rivas-Mart., Báscones, Díaz, Fern. Gonz. & Loidi 1991 by the Frangulo alni-Ulicetum europaei De Foucault 1988 and the Rubo ulmifolii-Ulicetum europaei J.-M. Géhu ex R. Haveman, I. de Ronde & J.H.J. Schaminée ass. nov. This classification is based on a restricted dataset though, and a revision, based on a larger dataset from a wider region has to prove the tenability of the classification.Die größte Mannigfaltigkeit an retamoiden („Rutenstrauch“-)Gebüschen, zusammengefasst in der Klasse Cytisetea scopario-striati Rivas-Mart. 1974, findet sich auf der Iberischen Halbinsel (COSTA et al. 2003, GAVILÁN et al. 2011, PINTO-GOMES et al. 2012). Weiter nördlich ist die Klasse auf eine zunehmend schmalere Zone entlang der Atlantikküste beschränkt, und in Nordwesteuropa ist sie nur noch durch Ulex europaeus und Cytisus scoparius vertreten, begleitet zuweilen von dem mediterran-atlantischen Rubus ulmifolius. Die Klassifikation dieser retamoiden Gebüsche an ihrer nördlichen Verbreitungsgrenze ist noch ungeklärt, und ihre Zugehörigkeit zu den Cytisetea scopariostriati wird oft nicht einmal erwogen. DE FOUCAULT et al. (2013) unterschieden in Frankreich zwei Verbände dieser Klasse, das südlich verbreitete atlantische Ulici europaei-Cytision striati Rivas-Mart., Báscones, Díaz, Fern. Gonz. & Loidi 1991 und das Ulici europaei-Sarothamnion scoparii Doing ex Weber 1997 (bei DE FOUCAULT et al. 2013 unter dem Namen Sarothamnion scoparii Tüxen ex Oberd. 1958), das die artenärmeren (sub)atlantischen Rutenstrauch-Gebüsche an der nördlichen und östlichen Peripherie des Verbreitungsgebiets der Klasse umfasst. Die Klassifikation der Besenginster- und Stechginster-Gebüsche in den mittleren und nördlichen atlantischen Gebieten Europas bereitet Probleme, da (1) Charakterarten fehlen, (2) Brombeeren, deren Artzugehörigkeit oft ungeklärt bleibt, eine wichtige Rolle spielen, und (3) Cytisetea-Bestände als Pioniergesträuche bei gleichförmigeinartiger Strauchschicht in ihrer Feldschicht sehr unterschiedlich zusammengesetzt sein können. Wir schlagen einen neuen Ansatz zur Klassifikation von Marginalassoziationen vor, basierend auf dem Konzept der „chorologischen Spannungszone“ als eines Überlagerungsraums von Vegetationseinheiten (z. B. Klassen) am Verbreitungsrand einer dieser Einheiten (VAN DER MAAREL 1976, WERGER & VAN GILS 1976). Fehlen Charakterarten einer Einheit an ihrem Verbreitungsrand, kommt ihre Variationsbreite durch Arten anderer Einheiten der gleichen Formation („Geschwister-Einheiten“, „sister units“) zum Ausdruck, und diese Arten können zur Kennzeichnung von Marginalassoziationen herangezogen werden. In der vorliegenden Arbeit stellen wir diesen Ansatz am Beispiel der niederländischen Besenginster- und Stechginster-Gebüsche vor und fragen, wieviele retamoide Gebüschassoziationen sich in den Niederlanden unterscheiden lassen und ob diese Gebüsche den Cytisetea scopario-striati zugeordnet werden können