Soil-plant interactions in the high-altitude ecosystems: A case study from kaz daği (Mount Ida), Turkey

Kaz Daği, the ancient Mount Ida, is a mountainous area and one of the important biodiversity spots, located in the north of Edremit in northwestern Anatolia. The area abounds in fertile soils, wetlands, underground resources, favorable climatic conditions, interesting geomorphological characteristics, and several world famous archeological and cultural places. Southwestern part of the mountain has been declared as a national park in 1993, which hosts a very rich and diverse flora including many endemic and rare species; a majority of these are of great economical and ethnobotanical significance. Attempts were therefore made to investigate the changes in the soil mineral elements at different altitudes within the park, in order to evaluate their potential effects on the flora of Kaz Dagi high-altitude ecosystem. Soil samples were thus collected from different localities at every 100 m elevation on the road to the national park and along the path leading to Sarikiz Hill inside the park. It was observed that B, Ca, Cu, Mg, Mn, and Ni have lower concentrations at lower elevations; however, with increasing elevations the concentrations increase to a certain point and then show a decrease again reaching the lowest values at the elevations of 1600-1700 m. Our studies have revealed the fact that the altitudinal variations (100, 600, 1000, and 1600-1700 m) have great relevance to the elemental distribution in the soils of Kaz Dagi. Keeping in view different climate scenarios put forward, there will be interferences on the plant diversity as well as soil-plant interactions related to this aspect. The topic has been evaluated in the light of these expectations. © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Potential impacts of climate change on plant diversity of sary-chelek biosphere reserve in Kyrgyzstan

2-s2.0-85084274283The Sary-Chelek Nature Reserve established in 1959 with an area of 239 km2 and declared as a UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve in 1978 is located on the southeast-facing slope of the northern Chatkal Range in central Jalalabad province. It is centered around the scenic Sary-Chelek Lake. The mountains immediately surrounding the lake abound in exceptionally diverse flora and fauna, what may be the widest variety found in the Tian Shan. The area is spread over varied ecosystems and habitats, which include the forests of spruce and juniper together with the forests of wild fruits and nuts and riparian forests as well as a variety of steppe and meadow ecosystems. The total number of vascular plants growing in the study area is 668 taxa. These belong to 69 families and 313 genera. 531 taxa are from the dicotyledonous group, whereas 127 taxa are from the monocotyledonous group. This chapter presents an analysis of the potential impacts of climate change on plant diversity of this biosphere reserve. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018

Preservation and ecology of a living relict shrub in South Caucasus as a eco-genetic heritage from Tertiary: Epigaea gaultherioides (Boiss. & Bal.) Takht

WOS: 000529304000002Aim: Epigaea gaultherioides is an euxine element with a tertiary origin as a relict species facing threat of extinction. in this study, an attempt was made to explore the ecological characteristics by taking into consideration the soil-plant interactions of this taxon. Methodology : Soil and plant samples were collected and analysed using Kjeldahl, Spectrophotometer, Flame photometer and ICP-OES. Results : the findings showed that generally grows on sandy and/or clayey soils, of strong acidic nature, non-calcified, non-saline and high in organic matter. the plant samples collected from the study area were thin iron, aluminium, zinc and nickel; but their percentage in the soils was low. Interpretation : the findings of this study will assist to better understand the ecological requirements of this relict taxon for its possible future successful conservation programs