Liegnitzer, Hundsfeld or Lew? The question of authorship of popular Medieval fighting teachings

In numerous 15th and 16th century Fightbooks several sets of teachings appear alongside the glosses of Liechtenauer’s Epitome on armoured fighting and fighting on horseback (Harnischfechten and Rossfechten) often enough to be considered auctoritas on these subjects. However, their authorship from various witnesses are attributed to different authorial figures - Andreas Liegnitzer, Martin Hundsfeld, Jud Lew. From 1452 until 1570, a number of diverse teachings are ascribed to them or faithfully reproduced without attribution: the most widely copied include the entitled Shortened sword for armoured hand and Shortened sword from the four guards, sword and buckler, dagger, wrestling and fighting on horseback. By a comparative analysis of existing witnesses, and by establishing the filiation tree of the related sources, we attempt to determine their original authorship. The analysis also yields additional conclusions regarding the influence of these authorial figures on other texts, proposes the filiation tree of the examined witnesses and presents the attempted study as a model for further research

Primera cita de Amaranthus powellii subsp. powellii (Amaranthaceae) para la región del Lazio (Italia Central) con observaciones taxonómicas, morfológicas, corológicas y ecológicas

Amaranthus L. (Amaranthaceae) is a genus consisting of about 70 species, about 40 of which are native to America, while the remaining ones are native to the other continents (Costea et al. 2001). Most of the species recorded in Europe are considered alien species causing social (allergenic plants), economical (crop weeds) and ecological impacts (loss of biodiversity). Moreover, the whole genus is considered critical as for taxonomy and nomenclature, and for the frequent misapplication of names. The Amaranthus hybridus group includes six closely related species (sensu Costea et al. 2001) that are considered the most critical ones both for taxonomy and for morphological variability. Consequently, the identification of the species within this group is very difficult. In this paper, A. powellii S. Watson subsp. powellii is recorded for Lazio region (central Italy) for the first time. The morphology of the species, its distribution, its invasive status, ecological features for Italy and taxonomical notes are also treated. Moreover, a comparison with the related subspecies A. powellii S. Watson subsp. bouchonii (Thell.) Costea & Carretero is provided

Topography of the Dolomites modulates range dynamics of narrow endemic plants under climate change

open9noClimate change is expected to threaten endemic plants in the Alps. In this context, the factors that may modulate species responses are rarely investigated at a local scale. We analyzed eight alpine narrow endemics of the Dolomites (southeastern Alps) under different predicted climate change scenarios at fine spatial resolutions. We tested possible differences in elevation, topographic heterogeneity and velocity of climate change among areas of gained, lost, or stable climatic habitat. The negative impact of climate change ranged from moderate to severe, depending on scenario and species. Generally, range loss occurred at the lowest elevations, while gained and stable areas were located at highest elevations. For six of the species, climate change velocity had higher values in stable and gained areas than in lost ones. Our findings support the role of topographic heterogeneity in maintaining climatic microrefugia, however, the peculiar topography of the Dolomites, characterized by high altitude plateaus, resulted in high climate change velocity in areas of projected future climatic suitability. Our study supports the usefulness of multiple predictors of spatio-temporal range dynamics for regional climate-adapted management and eventual assisted colonization planning to not overlook or overestimate the potential impact of climate change locally.openRota F.; Casazza G.; Genova G.; Midolo G.; Prosser F.; Bertolli A.; Wilhalm T.; Nascimbene J.; Wellstein C.Rota, F.; Casazza, G.; Genova, G.; Midolo, G.; Prosser, F.; Bertolli, A.; Wilhalm, T.; Nascimbene, J.; Wellstein, C

The accelerated spread of a neophyte introduced to Europe long ago – First occurrence of Sporobolus indicus (Poaceae) in Hungary

The first occurrence of Sporobolus indicus in Hungary is reported. The neotropical S. indicus is one of the oldest introduced neophytes to Europe. From the middle of the 19th century until the last decade of the 20th century, apart from a few occasional occurrences, it expanded only in the Mediterranean area. However, the number of observations has dramatically increased in the past two decades, even outside the Mediterranean region. Its recent rapid spreading is evident along roads, in lawns, trampled tourist places (e.g., campsites). Tourism certainly contributes to the very successful recent spreading of the species. Still, global warming, the increasingly mild winters in continental Europe, can certainly enhance the establishment and further dispersal of this cold sensitive species

Resurveying inner-alpine dry grasslands after 70 years calls for integrative conservation efforts

European inner-alpine dry grasslands face substantial threats within the increasingly human-altered landscape, endangering their persistence. To understand changes in dry grassland communities, we revisited historical vegetation plots of Josias Braun-Blanquet after 70 years in Val Venosta, Italy, hosting rare steppe-like grassland vegetation. By disentangling the key environmental factors encompassing climate, land use and human management, and ecological site preferences, we aimed at explaining changes in dry grassland communities with implications for future conservation. By extending our analysis beyond conventional dissimilarity metrics and adopting a landscape-ecological perspective accounting for species-environment interactions, we assessed how environmental changes affect dissimilarity patterns among historical sites, recent non-protected sites, and recent protected sites with generalized additive modelling. Moreover, we examined ecologically significant species changes to evaluate their contribution to community variation within and between sites, discerning their consequences at the landscape scale. Our results revealed significant changes in dry grassland sites, both on non-protected and protected sites. The encroachment of shrubs was associated with a significant increase in generalist species, including various woody species on sites where grazing had ceased. Furthermore, we observed a higher abundance of nutrient-demanding species on sites next to intensive agriculture. These trends were consistent regardless of the protection status, implying that current conservation measures may be insufficient to guarantee their future persistence. To ensure the long-term conservation of typical inner-alpine dry grasslands, interdisciplinary conservation efforts are essential to address adverse environmental impacts across the entire landscape

New floristic data of alien vascular plants from Sicily

New records of Commelina communis, Euphorbia hypericifolia, Melia azedarach, Nicotiana tabacum, and Xanthoceras sorbifolium are reported for the Sicilian flora

Global and Regional IUCN Red List Assessments: 15

In this contribution, the conservation status assessment of three vascular plants are presented according to IUCN categories and criteria. It includes the assessment of Oryza rhizomatis D.A.Vaughan and Saxifraga facchinii W.D.J.Koch at a global level and Helianthemum caput-felis Boiss. at a regional level

European Fight Books 1305-1630: Classification, typology and comparison between manuscripts and prints

No bibliometric or analytic studies of the fight books have been conducted and few reference publications offer analyses of the genre as a whole. Moreover, the existing bibliographies all have their own limitations and do not allow for an investigation of the larger corpus. This contribution applies a typology developed by the author to the corpus of those fight books created between 1305 and 1630, for a total of 187 sources (manuscript and print). It also updates the bibliography published in 2016 for the same chronological framework. The author’s typology allows for a study, based on objective criteria, of the corpus and the genre alike. It analyses the impact of the development of printing technology on the production of knowledge about the art of fighting, as well as the main characteristics of the fight book genre. The limits of any bibliometric study and implementation of a typology are due, on the one hand, to the conservation of the primary sources compared to the documented corpus, and on the other to the extent of scientific investigation conducted into each element. Such limits are flagged and discussed in order to offer a proper classification of the fight books’ production prior to the Thirty Years War, where major changes affected books about fighting in Europe

Conservation with local people: Medicinal plants as cultural keystone species in the Southern Alps

The concept of “cultural keystone species” (CKS) combines ecological and socioeconomic aspects and has a great potential for improving the overall success of conservation and restoration of ecosystems. In our study, we combined an ecological analysis of traditional medicinal plant species with an explorative analysis of the stakeholder landscape to understand the importance of plants for local communities. We investigate the feasibility of the CKS concept for traditional medicinal plants using the Southern Alps (Northern Italy) as a case study. Based on a comprehensive survey of traditional medicinal plants, we analyzed the habitats where they occur and their significance as CKS candidates. We applied the index of identified cultural influence (ICI). We identified some of the relevant stakeholders and their potential interest in traditional medicinal plants. From a total of 273 native medicinal species, we ranked the 10 most important CKS candidates. These comprised species with different ecology such as the herbs Achillea millefolium agg., Alchemilla xanthochlora, Arnica montana, Hypericum perforatum, Matricaria chamomilla, Peucedanum ostruthium, Urtica dioica, the shrub Juniperus communis, and the tree species Betula pendula. By merging their importance for the local communities with their occurrences in the habitats of South Tyrol, the concept of CKS can stimulate species and habitat conservation, and ecosystem restoration