Assessment of floristic diversity, functional composition and management strategy of North Adriatic pastoral landscape (Croatia)

European semi-natural calcareous grasslands are species-rich ecosystems, considered as priority habitats by the European Union (92/43/EEC Directive) and judged worthy of conservation. They are in strong decline in extension and are threatened by abandonment throughout Europe. It is known that grasslands management (grazing, mowing) acts as driving force in plant community diversity, which in turn is an important conservation aim of European environmental policies. The area of current pastoral landscape (about 1000 ha) of the North Adriatic (Æiæarija, Croatia) was studied in order: 1/ to understand which factors drive floristic differentiation – environmental features and/or grassland management conditions, 2/ to identify indicator species sets linked to those factors and 3/ to appraise the effects of management type on the coenological and functional composition of indicator species. 73 phytosociological relevés were carried out; for each of them field data (altitude, aspect, slope and land form), productivity measurements and information on grassland management were collected. Redundancy analysis (RDA) identified a productivity-related soil moisture gradient as the environmental driving force of grassland floristic differentiation. Indicator species analysis (ISA) detected the indicator species sets related to environmental features and management type. The results indicate that undergrazing and the lack of periodic mowing are responsible for the higher total variance of floristic data set explained by environmental parameters rather than by management (use/not use). For the same reasons, the variations that emerged from comparison of the functional characteristics of the indicator species of grazing and of mowing (avoidance strategy, life form, and storage organs) proved more important than those observed in comparing used and abandoned grasslands. The management system adopted (grazing or mowing) appears in turn to be conditioned by the soil moisture/productivity gradient

Folk Knowledge and Perceptions about the Use of Wild Fruits and Vegetables–Cross-Cultural Knowledge in the Pipli Pahar Reserved Forest of Okara, Pakistan

\ua9 2024 by the authors.Wild fruits and vegetables (WFVs) have been vital to local communities for centuries and make an important contribution to daily life and income. However, traditional knowledge of the use of wild fruits is at risk of being lost due to inadequate documentation. This study aimed to secure this knowledge through intermittent field visits and a semi-structured questionnaire. Using various ethnobotanical data analysis tools and SPSS (IBM 25), this study identified 65 WFV species (52 genera and 29 families). These species, mostly consumed as vegetables (49%) or fruits (43%), were predominantly herbaceous (48%) in wild and semi-wild habitats (67%). 20 WFVs were known to local communities (highest RFC), Phoenix sylvestris stood out as the most utilized species (highest UV). Surprisingly, only 23% of the WFVs were sold at markets. The survey identified 21 unique WFVs that are rarely documented for human consumption in Pakistan (e.g., Ehretia obtusifolia, Euploca strigosa, Brassica juncea, Cleome brachycarpa, Gymnosporia royleana, Cucumis maderaspatanus, Croton bonplandianus, Euphorbia prostrata, Vachellia nilotica, Pongamia pinnata, Grewia asiatica, Malvastrum coromandelianum, Morus serrata, Argemone mexicana, Bambusa vulgaris, Echinochloa colonum, Solanum virginianum, Physalis angulata, Withania somnifera, Zygophyllum creticum, and Peganum harmala), as well as 14 novel uses and five novel edible parts. Despite their ecological importance, the use of WFVs has declined because local people are unaware of their cultural and economic value. Preservation of traditional knowledge through education on conservation and utilization could boost economies and livelihoods in this and similar areas worldwide

Fifth European Dirofilaria and Angiostrongylus Days (FiEDAD) 2016

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