Fungal root endophyte associations of plants endemic to the Pamir Alay Mountains of Central Asia

The fungal root endophyte associations of 16 species from 12 families of plants endemic to the Pamir Alay Mountains of Central Asia are presented. The plants and soil samples were collected in Zeravshan and Hissar ranges within the central Pamir Alay mountain system. Colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was found in 15 plant species; in 8 species it was of the Arum type and in 4 of the Paris type, while 3 taxa revealed intermediate arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM) morphology. AMF colonization was found to be absent only in Matthiola integrifolia, the representative of the Brassicaceae family. The AM status and morphology are reported for the first time for all the species analyzed and for the genera Asyneuma, Clementsia, and Eremostachys. Mycelia of dark septate endophytes (DSE) accompanied the AMF colonization in ten plant species. The frequency of DSE occurrence in the roots was low in all the plants, with the exception of Spiraea baldschuanica. However, in the case of both low and higher occurrence, the percentage of DSE root colonization was low. Moreover, the sporangia of Olpidium spp. were sporadically found inside the root epidermal cells of three plant species. Seven AMF species (Glomeromycota) found in the trap cultures established with soils surrounding roots of the plants being studied were reported for the first time from this region of Asia. Our results provide information that might well be of use to the conservation and restoration programmes of these valuable plant species. The potential application of beneficial root-inhabiting fungi in active plant protection projects of rare, endemic and endangered plants is discussed

The global naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database

This dataset provides the Global Naturalized Alien Flora (GloNAF) database, ver-sion 1.2. Glo NAF represents a data compendium on th e occurrence and identit y of naturalizedalien vascular plant taxa across geographic regions (e.g. countries, states, provinces, districts,islands) around the globe. The dataset includes 13,939 taxa and covers 1,029 regions (including381 islands). The dataset is based on 210 data sources. For each ta x on-b y-region combination, wepr ovide information on whether the tax on is consider ed to be naturalized in the specific region(i.e. has established self-sustaining popula tions in the wild). Non-native taxa are marked as“alien”, when it is not clear whether they are naturalized. To facilitate alignment with other plantdatabases, we pro v ide f or each taxon the name as given in the original data source and the stan-dardized taxon and family names used by The Plant List Version 1.1 (http://www.theplantlist.org/). We pro vide an ESRI shapefile including polygons f or each region and informa tion on whetherit is an island or a mainland region, the country and the Taxonomic Databases Working Group(TDWG) regions it is part of (TDWG levels 1–4). We also provide several variables that can beused to filter the data according to quality and completeness of alien taxon lists, which varyamong the combinations of regions and da ta sources. A pre vious version of the GloNAF dataset(version 1.1) has already been used in several studies on, for example, historical spatial flows oftaxa between continents and geographical patterns and determinants of naturalization across dif-ferent taxonomic groups. We intend the updated and expanded GloNAF version presented hereto be a global resource useful for studying plant inv asions and changes in biodiversity from regio-nal to global scales. We release these data into the public domain under a Crea ti ve CommonsZer o license waiver (https://creati v ecommons.org/share-y our -work/public-domain/cc0/). Wheny ou use the da ta in your publication, we request that y ou cite this da ta paper. If GloN AF is amajor part of the data analyzed in your study, you should consider inviting the GloNAF coreteam (see Metadata S1: Originators in the Overall project description) as collaborators. If youplan to use the GloNAF dataset, we encourage y ou to contact the GloNAF core team to checkwhether there have been recent updates of the dataset, and whether similar analyses are already ongoing

Can vegetation provide indications of ancient lake shorelines after more than one hundred years? : a case study of Iskander-kul Lake, Tajikistan

Bioindication is a common approach to assess and evaluate environmental changes over both short or long periods of time. Here we attempt to highlight that vegetation can provide indications of the palaeoshoreline of Lake Iskander-kul, even after at least 150 years. It is an example of a dammed lake that was created by a huge mass rockfall as a result of a strong earthquake during the late Pleistocene. Applying the two way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) we found that the shrubby vegetation is the particular one that can still effectively thrive along the palaeoshoreline despite the lake downlift. Using the phi coefficient as a fidelity measure for certain vegetation type, we found, that Juniperus seravschanica, Lonicera seravschanica, Berberis integerrima, Seseli lehmannianum, Astragalus kabadianus and Ephedra intermedia have the highest indicator value for palaeoshoreline. Apart from the ancient palaeoshoreline, on the screes and slopes surrounding the lake, significantly different vegetation types developed on the screes and slopes dominated by steppe (Hyssopus servaschanica, Galium turkestanicum, Festuca valesiaca) and scree (Ferula foetidissima, Stipa drobovii or Ferula kuhistanica) vegetation types. Using the multivariate analysis (CCA) we show that the slope inclination and distance from the palaeoshorelines has considerable influence on species composition within the study plots

Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries: new national and regional vascular plant records, 6

The paper presents new records for 10 vascular plant species from three Asian and four European countries. Of this number, three species (Panicum capillare, Stipa macroglossa, Tribulus longipetalus) are reported from Tajikistan, two (Calamagrostis emodensis, Calamagrostis lahulensis) from Myanmar, two (Euphorbia taurinensis, Origanum vulgare var. megastachyum) from Poland, one (Sagina apetala) from Uzbekistan, one (Orobanche ritro) from Ukraine and Russia, and one (Leontodon saxatilis) from the Czech Republic. Eight of these taxa are new to the flora of different Asian and European countries; and two, very rare but recently spreading species, namely Leontodon saxatilis and Euphorbia taurinensis, were reported from the Czech Republic and Poland, respectively. Four of the taxa presented (Euphorbia taurinensis, Panicum capillare, Sagina apetala and Tribulus longipetalus) should be regarded as alien to the studied areas, intensively spreading or even invasive, whereas the other six are native elements given for the first time from the countries. In each of the species, synonyms, the general distribution, habitat preferences and habitats occupied in the particular country, taxonomy with remarks on recognition and differentiating the species from the most similar occurring in particular country as well as a list of localities of examined species occurring in a given country, often far from the previously known areas, were presented. In the case of Stipa macroglossa a lectotype for the species was designated in the present paper. Illustrations for Stipa macroglossa and Orobanche ritro were also provided

Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries: new national and regional vascular plant records, 3

The paper presents new records for 18 vascular plant species from six Eurasian countries. Three taxa (Lepidium densiflorum, Stipa czerepanovii, Xanthium albinum) are reported from Kazakhstan, one (Ranunculus schmakovii) from Mongolia, three (Dianthus campestris, Ranunculus kauffmannii, Viola suavis) from Poland, five (Eragrostis amurensis, Linum catharticum, Ludwigia peploides subsp. stipulacea, Pyrethrum mikeschinii, Solidago canadensis) from Tajikistan, five (Clinopodium menthifolium, Juncus effusus, Mollugo cerviana, Poa sphondylodes, Vulpia myuros) from Russia, and one (Orobanche alba subsp. xanthostigma) from Georgia. Ten of the taxa presented (Clinopodium menthifolium, Dianthus campestris, Eragrostis amurensis, Juncus effusus, Lepidium densiflorum, Mollugo cerviana, Solidago canadensis, Viola suavis, Vulpia myuros and Xanthium albinum) are regarded as alien to the studied areas, whereas the remaining eight are native elements to the flora of the countries. For each species, synonyms, general distribution, habitat preferences, taxonomy with remarks on recognition and differentiation of the species from the most similar occurring in a given country, as well as a list of localities recorded (often far from the previously known areas), are presented

Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries: new national and regional vascular plant records, 3

The paper presents new records for 18 vascular plant species from six Eurasian countries. Three taxa (Lepidium densiflorum, Stipa czerepanovii, Xanthium albinum) are reported from Kazakhstan, one (Ranunculus schmakovii) from Mongolia, three (Dianthus campestris, Ranunculus kauffmannii, Viola suavis) from Poland, five (Eragrostis amurensis, Linum catharticum, Ludwigia peploides subsp. stipulacea, Pyrethrum mikeschinii, Solidago canadensis) from Tajikistan, five (Clinopodium menthifolium, Juncus effusus, Mollugo cerviana, Poa sphondylodes, Vulpia myuros) from Russia, and one (Orobanche alba subsp. xanthostigma) from Georgia. Ten of the taxa presented (Clinopodium menthifolium, Dianthus campestris, Eragrostis amurensis, Juncus effusus, Lepidium densiflorum, Mollugo cerviana, Solidago canadensis, Viola suavis, Vulpia myuros and Xanthium albinum) are regarded as alien to the studied areas, whereas the remaining eight are native elements to the flora of the countries. For each species, synonyms, general distribution, habitat preferences, taxonomy with remarks on recognition and differentiation of the species from the most similar occurring in a given country, as well as a list of localities recorded (often far from the previously known areas), are presented

Contribution to the flora of Asian and European countries : new national and regional vascular plant records, 4

The paper presents new records for 20 vascular plant species from 13 Eurasian countries. Four taxa (Calamagrostis sichuanensis, Klasea dissecta, Ptilagrostis milleri and Stipa klimesii) are reported from China, four (Aconogonon valerii, Carex siderosticta, Poa tanfiljewii and Potamogeton × subobtusus) from Russia, three (Amorpha fruticosa, Carduus acanthoides and Plantago minuta) from Tajikistan, two (Achillea sergievskiana and Delphinium barlykense) from Kazakhstan, one (Calamagrostis effusiflora) from Bhutan and India, one (Campanula wolgensis) from Mongolia, one (Orobanche coerulescens) from Georgia, two (Dysphania geoffreyi and Ptilagrostis milleri) from Nepal, one (Stipa × alaica) from Afghanistan, one (Stipa × manrakica) from Kyrgyzstan, one (Ranunculus × gluckii) from Poland and one (Sporobolus cryptandrus) from Italy. Four of the taxa presented (Amorpha fruticosa, Carduus acanthoides, Carex siderosticta and Sporolobus cryptandrus) are regarded as alien to the studied areas, whereas the remaining 16 are native elements to the flora of the countries. For each species synonyms, general distribution, habitat preferences, taxonomy with remarks on recognition and differentiation of the species from the most similar taxa occurring in a given country, as well as a list of recorded localities (often far from the previously known areas) are presented. Based on the spikelet morphology, we have proposed in Ptilagrostis a new section Barkworthia M. Nobis, A. Nobis & A. Nowak, which comprises two species Ptilagrostis yadongensis and Ptilagrostris milleri, with distinctly unequal glumes, lemmas and paleas