Session 17 Ecophysiology

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Pasture vegetation near the village of Iđoš

A pasture on the solonchakic solonetz soil in the vicinity of the village of Iđoš (Banat, Serbia) was found to harbor 137 plant taxa (129 species, 7 subspecies and 1 variety). The plant cover they formed was specific from the ecological, phytogeographical and phytocoenological points of view. The specific ecological feature of the surveyed plant cover was that 47 or 34.31% of the recorded taxa were rated with the ecological index S+ due to their ability to grow in saline soil. The specific phytogeographical feature of the surveyed plant cover was the presence of two Pannonian endemics, Plantago schwarzenbergiana Schur and Statice gmelini subsp. hungaricum (Klokov) Soó, and two subendemics, Puccinellia limosa Holmb. and Roripa kerneri Menyh. The specific phytocoenological feature of the surveyed plant cover was the presence of two phytocoenoses from the class Phragmitetea Tx. et Prsg. 1942 (ass. Scirpo-Phragmitetum medioeuropaeum and ass. Bolboschoenetum maritimi continentale), one phytocoenose from the class Molinio- Arrhenatheretea Tx.1937 p.p., Br.-Bl. et Tx. 1943 p.p. (ass. Trifolio-Lolietum perennis) and ten phytocoenoses from the class Festuco-Puccinellietea Soó 1968 (ass. Puccinellietum limosae, ass. Pholiuro-Plantaginetum tenuiflorae, ass. Hordeetum histricis, ass. Agrostio-Alopecuretum pratensis, ass. Agrostio-Beckmannietum, ass. Halo-Agropyretum repentis, ass. Poeto-Alopecuretum pratensis halophyticum, ass. Artemisio-Festucetum pseudovinae, ass. Trifolio-Festucetum pseudovinae and ass. Achilleo-Festucetum pseudovinae). The presence of 34.31% of taxa rated with the ecological index S+, the presence of two Pannonian and two sub-Pannonian floristic elements and the predominance of stands from the class Festuco-Puccinellietea Soó 1968 led us to conclusion that the pasture near the village of Iđoš (Banat, Serbia) is a part of the halobiome of the Pannonian Plain. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. TR31016: Improvement of field forage crops agronomy and grassland management

Assessment of climate change impact on the malaria vector Anopheles hyrcanus, West Nile disease, and incidence of melanoma in the Vojvodina Province (Serbia) using data from a regional climate model.

Motivated by the One Health paradigm, we found the expected changes in temperature and UV radiation (UVR) to be a common trigger for enhancing the risk that viruses, vectors, and diseases pose to human and animal health. We compared data from the mosquito field collections and medical studies with regional climate model projections to examine the impact of climate change on the spreading of one malaria vector, the circulation of West Nile virus (WNV), and the incidence of melanoma. We analysed data obtained from ten selected years of standardised mosquito vector sampling with 219 unique location-year combinations, and 10 years of melanoma incidence. Trends in the observed data were compared to the climatic variables obtained by the coupled regional Eta Belgrade University and Princeton Ocean Model for the period 1961-2015 using the A1B scenario, and the expected changes up to 2030 were presented. Spreading and relative abundance of Anopheles hyrcanus was positively correlated with the trend of the mean annual temperature. We anticipated a nearly twofold increase in the number of invaded sites up to 2030. The frequency of WNV detections in Culex pipiens was significantly correlated to overwintering temperature averages and seasonal relative humidity at the sampling sites. Regression model projects a twofold increase in the incidence of WNV positive Cx. pipiens for a rise of 0.5°C in overwintering TOctober-April temperatures. The projected increase of 56% in the number of days with Tmax ≥ 30°C (Hot Days-HD) and UVR doses (up to 1.2%) corresponds to an increasing trend in melanoma incidence. Simulations of the Pannonian countries climate anticipate warmer and drier conditions with possible dominance of temperature and number of HD over other ecological factors. These signal the importance of monitoring the changes to the preparedness of mitigating the risk of vector-borne diseases and melanoma

A comparative study of ancient DNA isolated from charred pea (Pisum sativum L.) seeds from an Early Iron Age settlement in southeast Serbia: inference for pea domestication

The development of agriculture was a key turning point in human history, a central part of which was the evolution of new plant forms, domesticated crops. Grain legumes were domesticated in parallel with cereals and formed important dietary components of early civilizations. First domesticated in the Near East, pea has been cultivated in Europe since the Stone and Bronze Ages. In this study, we present a molecular analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA) extracted from carbonized pea seeds recovered from deposits at Hissar, in southeast Serbia, that date to the eleventh century B.C. Four selected chloroplast DNA loci (trnSG, trnK, matK and rbcL) amplified in six fragments of 128-340 bp with a total length of 1,329 bp were successfully recovered in order to distinguish between cultivated and wild gathered pea. Based on identified mutations, the results showed that genuine aDNA was analyzed. Moreover, DNA analysis resulted in placing the ancient sample at an intermediate position between extant cultivated [Pisum sativum L. and wild P. sativum subsp. elatius (Steven ex M. Bieb.) Asch. et Graebn.]. Consequently, based on a combination of morphological and molecular data, we concluded that the material represents an early domesticated pea. We speculate that Iron Age pea would be of colored flower and pigmented testa, similar to today's fodder pea (P. sativum subsp. sativum var. arvense (L.) Poir.), possibly of winter type. This is the first report of successful aDNA extraction and analysis from any legume species thus far. The implications for pea domestication are discussed here

Session 10 Photosynthesis

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