O nekim antropogenim zajednicama južne Bugarske

Several ruderal communities belonging to the Eragrostie-alia, Sisymbrietalia and Onopordetalia in southern Bulgaria (surroundings of Melnik, Bansko and Asenovgrad) are described. Vegetation of walls (Parietarietea judaicae), rock fissures (Asplenietea trichomanis), shallow-soil habitats (Sedo-Scleranthetea) and Black Locust plantations are also tackled in descriptions of some communities. Phytosociologic data on the communities are presented and their syntaxonomy discussed.Na području južne Bugarske (okolica mjesta Melnika, Banskog i Asenovgrada) opisano je nekoliko ruderalnih zajednica iz redova Eragro- stietalia, Sisymbrietalia i Onopordietalia. Prikazuje se i vegetacija zidova (Parietarietea judaicae), pukotina stijena (Asplenietea trichomanis), vegetacija razreda Sedo-Scleranthetea, a obrađena je i vegetacija bagremovih šikara. Za svaku zajednicu iznose se fitocenološki podaci i raspravlja se o njihovoj sintaksonomiji

Plant communities along the Eerste River Western Cape South Africa: Community descriptions and implications for restoration

Riparian plant communities fulfil many functions, including the provision of corridors linking protected areas and other zones of high conservation value. These habitats across much of South Africa’s Cape Floristic Region, especially in the lowlands, have been heavily impacted and degraded by human activities. There is increasing interest in the restoration of degraded riparian zones and the ecosystem services they provide to enhance the conservation value of landscapes. Previous studies of riparian vegetation in the Cape Floristic Region focused on pristine headwater systems, and little is known about human-impacted communities that make up most of the riparian vegetation in downstream areas. More information is needed on the composition of these plant communities to establish a baseline for management intervention. The riparian zone of the Eerste River in South Africa’s Western Cape province provides a good opportunity to study the features of riparian vegetation along the entire gradient, from pristine vegetation in a protected area through different levels of human-mediated degradation. Riparian vegetation was surveyed in 150 plots along the entire length of the Eerste River (ca. 40 km). Data were analysed using the vegetation classification and analysis software package JUICE. Final groupings were plotted onto a two-dimensional detrended correspondence analysis plane to check the position of the communities in the reduced multidimensional space. Ten distinct plant communities were identified, including several novel communities dominated by alien plant species. Descriptions of each plant community are presented. Diagnostic, constant and dominant species are listed and the major structural and ecological characteristics of each community are described. Conservation implications: Major changes to hydrological and soil properties, nutrient dynamics and disturbance regimes and plant species composition along sections of the riparian zone mean that restoration of many of these habitats to their historic condition is not feasible. However, several native plant species that provide key ecosystem services persist in and adjacent to transformed communities, offering substantial opportunities for restoration to achieve certain goals

Revision of the Mediterranean and southern African Triglochin bulbosa complex (Juncaginaceae)

The Triglochin bulbosa complex (Juncaginaceae) from the Mediterranean region and Africa is revised. One new species, Triglochin buchenaui Kocke, Mering & Kadereit, and two new subspecies, Triglochin bulbosa subsp. calcicola Mering, Kocke & Kadereit and Triglochin bulbosa subsp. quarcicola Mering, Kocke & Kadereit, are described from South Africa. The only two Mediterranean taxa in the complex (Triglochin barrelieri, T. laxiflora) are elevated to species rank. Altogether seven species and four subspecies are recognised: Triglochin barrelieri, T. buchenaui, T. bulbosa subsp. bulbosa, T. bulbosa subsp. calcicola, T. bulbosa subsp. quarcicola, T. bulbosa subsp. tenuifolia, T. compacta, T. elongata, T. laxiflora and T. milnei. An identification key, detailed descriptions and accounts of the ecology and distribution of the taxa are provided. An IUCN conservation status is proposed for each taxon

The Drabo corymbosae-Papaveretea dahliani − a new vegetation class of the High Arctic polar desert

A new class and a new order (Drabo corymbosae-Papaveretea dahliani and Saxifrago oppositifoliae-Papaveretalia dahliani) have been described, and the Papaverion dahliani validated. This is vegetation of zonal habitats in lowlands of the High Arctic subzone A (or Arctic herb, cushion forb or polar desert subzone) and of ecologically equivalent sites at high altitudes on the mountain plateaus of the High Arctic. The new class spans three continents – North America (Canadian Arctic Archipelago and Greenland), Europe (parts of Svalbard and Franz Josef Land), and Asia, including northern regions of Chelyuskin Peninsula (Taymir Peninsula), Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago and De Longa Islands

Nomenclature and syntaxonomic notes on some high-rank syntaxa of the European grassland vegetation

We present descriptions of a new order (Ranunculo cortusifolii-Geranietalia reuteri) and of a new alliance (Stachyo lusitanicae-Cheirolophion sempervirentis) for the herbaceous fringe communities of Macaronesia and of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, respectively. A new alliance, the Polygalo mediterraneae-Bromion erecti (mesophilous post-cultural grasslands), was introduced for the Peninsular Italy. We further validate and typify the Armerietalia rumelicae (perennial grasslands supported by nutrient-poor soils on siliceous bedrocks at elevations characterized by the submediterranean climate of south-central Balkan Peninsula), the Securigero-Dasypyrion villosae (lawn and fallow-land tall-grass annual vegetation of Italy), and the Cirsio vallis-demoni-Nardion (acidophilus grasslands on siliceous substrates of the Southern Italy). Nomenclatural issues (validity, legitimacy, synonymy, formal corrections) have been discussed and clarified for the following names: Brachypodio-Brometalia, Bromo pannonici-Festucion csikhegyensis, Corynephoro-Plantaginion radicatae, Heleochloion, Hieracio-Plantaginion radicatae, Nardetea strictae, Nardetalia strictae, Nardo-Callunetea, Nardo-Galion saxatilis, Oligo-Bromion, Paspalo-Heleochloetalia, Plantagini-Corynephorion and Scorzoneret alia villosae

clonal growth modes in plant communities along a stress gradient in the central apennines italy

A simplification from species to functional groups using the concept of clonality is particularly attractive for predictive modelling of vegetation processes and preparing guidelines for nature conservation. This important functional trait based on a modular structure including resource-acquiring units (ramets, feeding sites) and spacers, has been studied in three plant communities (xeric grassland, mesic grassland, and beech forest) under different levels of environmental stress (related to soil moisture and fertility) in the Montagna di Torricchio Nature Reserve near Camerino, Central Apennines, Italy. The study sought to reveal patterns of clonal growth modes (CGMs) in the three plant community types, and to test a series of hypotheses on the importance of selected CGMs along the stress gradient. Clonality was shown to have different importance in the grassland communities, due to differences in the importance of various CGMs (representing syndromes of clonal traits). Below-ground positioning of CGOs, shorter spacers, higher multiplication potential, permanent physical connection between ramets, large bud bank, and increased importance of bud protection were frequently found in water-stressed xeric grasslands, suggesting the adaptive value of these clonal traits. The major differences between grassland communities were due to the dominant CGMs: turf graminoids (with an effective way of protecting growth meristems in dense tussocks) dominated xeric grasslands, whereas rhizomatous graminoids (typical of competitive resource-rich habitats) dominated mesic grasslands. The beech forest had fewer clonal species (67%) and lower CGM diversity. Based on the assumption that different environments promote different selection pressures, the tests revealed the following results: (1) Plants with clonal organs below ground have significantly higher cover values in stressed habitats. (2) Species with short spacers are more frequent in less favourable environments, and their importance is almost ten times higher in the xeric grassland than in the forest (71% to 7.6%). (3) The number of species able to produce numerous ramets is highest in the most stressed habitat. (4) The number of species with a potential for longlasting connection between ramets increases towards stressed environments. In contrast to our expectations, the mesic grasslands (occupying the central position along the studied stress gradient) have the highest number of species with storage organs. (6) In stressed habitats, species with forms of bud protection were the most frequent

What Is Wrong with Frankenia nodiflora Lam. (Frankeniaceae)? New Insights into the South African Sea-Heaths

The taxonomic identity and phylogenetic relationships of several southern African perennial taxa related to Frankenia repens are discussed. In particular, F. nodiflora Lam., a misunderstood species described from the Cape region and synonymised to F. pulverulenta, is restored for plants endemic to salt-pans and riverbeds in the coastal lowlands across the Cape Flats (Western Cape province, South Africa). Further, a revision of morphologically close plants, usually identified as F. pulverulenta or F. repens, also occurring in similar saline ecosystems of the inland western South Africa revealed the existence of two distinct new entities not matching any described taxa of the genus. Molecular analyses of nuclear ribosomal (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region) DNA sequence data together with morphological divergence allow recognition of those taxa at species rank, within an independent lineage close to F. repens. In consequence, two new sea-heath species are described in the so-called “F. repens group”: F. nummularia from the Nama-Karoo Biome (Western Cape and Northern Cape provinces), and F. anneliseae from the Succulent Karoo Biome (Northern Cape province). Full morphological description and type designation are reported for each accepted species as well as data on ecology, habitat, distribution, and taxonomic relationships to other close relatives are given. Further, an identification key is presented to facilitate recognition of the southern African taxa of Frankenia.This work was partly supported by H2020 Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Programme of the European Commission, project 645636: ‘Insect-plant relationships: insights into biodiversity and new applications’ (FlyHigh) and by the grants UAUSTI19-08, UAUSTI21-04, UAUSTI22-05, UADIF21-29, UADIF22-28, VIGROB21-166, VIGROB22-166, ACIE17-01, ACIE18-03, ACIE21-01 and ACIE22-01, from diverse programmes of Universidad de Alicante. L.M. acknowledges logistic support of the Iluka Chair in Vegetation Science and Biogeography at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia