Ricciocarpos natans (L.) Corda - newly discovered liverwort species in the Slovenian flora

In the derelict gravel pit west of the village of Mali Bakovci in Prekmurje (NE Slovenia), Ricciocarpos natans (L.) Corda, a floating liverwort species has been discovered for the first time in the territory of Slovenia. The authors deals with its occurrence and habitat from the nature conservation point of view

Are ecological niche optimum and width of forest plant species related to their functional traits?

The ecological niche is one of the central concepts in plant ecology. Understanding which biological traits influence plant niches remains limited, preventing large-scale generalizations. Using a representative pool of 94 herb-layer species frequently occurring in the Slovenian forest vegetation types and an extensive suite of 28 plant functional traits, we tested whether traits serve as predictors for the optimum and width of plant species ecological niche. Niche optimum (mean) and niche width (standard deviation) of each species were derived from community-level ecological indicator values for six environmental gradients, i.e., light, temperature, continentality, moisture, soil reaction and nutrients. We investigated relationships between niche parameters and functional traits through a random forest analysis to account for relatively high trait correlations. Our results suggest that niche optimum and width of forest plant species are related to their functional traits. The two niche parameters were best explained by similar set of traitshowever, the relative importance of traits differed substantially. Traits associated with disturbances (frequency and severity), plant dispersal (seed mass, dispersal syndrome), leaf economics spectrum (specific leaf area) and life strategy (CSR scores) showed the highest overall significance in predicting niche optimum and width. Functional traits were, on average, better predictors for niche optimum (average variance explained across all six environmental factors: 20.2%) than for niche width (average variance explained: 7.7%). Intraspecific trait variability, not considered in this study, likely plays an important role in case of niche width. The analyses suggest that, while not all traits impact niche parameters to the same degree, it is crucial to consider traits representing different ecological dimensions and revealing leading patterns of trait coordination. We recommend that the relative importance of traits for species niche parameters should be tested on a larger spatial scale using broader pool of forest understory plants across Europe

Plant functional ecology: testing selected concepts using plant species of forest site types in Slovenia

Na primeru flore slovenskih gozdov smo obravnavali štiri funkcionalne znake rastlin: specifična listna površina (SLP), vsebnost suhe snovi v listih (VSS), višina rastlin (VIŠ) in masa semen oz. spor (MAS). Prva dva znaka nakazujeta ekonomiko lista (način in učinkovitost izrabe virov), druga dva pa velikost rastlinskih organov. Preučili smo povezave med znaki rastlin in njihovimi fitoindikacijskimi vrednostmi za ekološke dejavnike svetloba (L), temperatura (T), kontinentalnost (K), vlažnost tal (F), reakcija tal (R) in hranila (N). Ugotovili smo statistično značilne korelacije: med SLP in R, N, L, F ter Kmed VSS in R ter Nmed VIŠ in N, T, R ter Fmed MAS in K, R, N ter T. Vzdolž prve osi ordinacijskega prostora smo prepoznali spekter listne ekonomike, ki poteka od vrst z večjimi vrednostmi SLP na produktivnejših, a hkrati senčnih rastiščih, do rastlin z večjimi vrednostmi VSS, prilagojenih na stresne ekološke razmere (npr. nizka reakcija tal ali pomanjkanje hranil oz. vode). Največji prispevek k pojasnjevanju variabilnosti v funkcionalnih lastnostih gozdnih rastlin je imel znak VIŠ, najmanjšega pa znak MAS. Ugotovitve so primerljive z dosedanjimi raziskavami, saj oba izbrana koncepta omogočata prepoznavanje pestrosti oblik in funkcij rastlin na globalni ravni.Using Slovenian forest flora as an example, we investigated four plant functional traits: specific leaf area (SLP), leaf dry matter content (VSS), plant height (VIŠ) and seed/spore mass (MAS). The first two traits define the leaf economics spectrum (way and efficiency of resource utilization), whereas the other two are linked to the size of plant organs. This study tested the correlations between plant traits and their phytoindication values for the ecological factors of light (L), temperature (T), continentality (K), soil moisture (F), soil reaction (R) and nutrients (N). We found statistically significant correlations between SLP and R, N, L, F and Kbetween VSS and R and Nbetween VIŠ and N, T, R and Fand between MAS and K, R, N and T. Along the first axis of the ordination space, we identified a leaf economics spectrum ranging from species with higher SLP values growing on more productive but also more shaded sites to plants with higher VSS values adapted to more stressful conditions (e.g. low soil reaction or low availability of nutrients and water, respectively). The VSS trait contributed the most to explaining the variability in the functional profile of forest plants, while the MAS trait contributed the least. These findings are comparable with previous studies, as the selected concepts allow for the identification of diversity of plant form and function on a global scale

Funkcionalna ekologija rastlin: preverjanje izbranih konceptov na primeru rastlinskih vrst gozdnih rastiščnih tipov v Sloveniji

Using Slovenian forest flora as an example, we investigated four plant functional traits: specific leaf area (SLP), leaf dry matter content (VSS), plant height (VIŠ) and seed/spore mass (MAS). The first two traits define the leaf economics spectrum (way and efficiency of resource utilization), whereas the other two are linked to the size of plant organs. This study tested the correlations between plant traits and their phytoindication values for the ecological factors of light (L), temperature (T), continentality (K), soil moisture (F), soil reaction (R) and nutrients (N). We found statistically significant correlations between SLP and R, N, L, F and K; between VSS and R and N; between VIŠ and N, T, R and F; and between MAS and K, R, N and T. Along the first axis of the ordination space, we identified a leaf economics spectrum ranging from species with higher SLP values growing on more productive but also more shaded sites to plants with higher VSS values adapted to more stressful conditions (e.g. low soil reaction or low availability of nutrients and water, respectively). The VSS trait contributed the most to explaining the variability in the functional profile of forest plants, while the MAS trait contributed the least. These findings are comparable with previous studies, as the selected concepts allow for the identification of diversity of plant form and function on a global scale

Field workshops on phytosociology and pedology for developing background for elaboration of regional forest management plans

V letu 2019 smo v okviru Javne gozdarske službe v skupni organizaciji Zavoda za gozdove Slovenije in Gozdarskega inštituta Slovenije za gozdarje načrtovalce organizirali niz fitocenološko-pedoloških delavnic. Izvedli smo eno celodnevno teoretično delavnico v obliki predavanj in štiri terenske: za panonsko, primorsko, dinarsko in alpsko geografsko območje. Namen delavnic je priprava podlag strokovnih izhodišč na področju gozdnih rastišč, združb in gozdnih tal za izdelavo območnih gozdnogospodarskih načrtov za obdobje 2021%2030.Slovenia Forest Service and Slovenian Forestry Institute organized a series of workshops on forest phytosociology and pedology for foresters-planners in the year 2019. We carried out one all-day theoretical workshop with lectures and four field workshops for Pannonian, Mediterranean, Dinaric and Alpine geographical regions. The aim of the workshops was developing of forest vegetation-soil background for elaboration of regional forest management plans for the period 2021-2030