Effect of 30 years of road traffic abandonment on epiphytic moss diversity

Road traffic emits a cocktail of pollutants that can influence the vegetation and plant diversity in neighboring areas. However, the recovery potential of bryophytes after traffic abandonment is still little explored. In addition, the effects of the main pollutants of road verges, such as metals and salinity, on moss flora need to be investigated. In our study, we compared the moss richness and diversity in two closely related veteran tree allees of high conservation importance. The allees in Gryżów and Lubrza, Poland, were chosen because of their similarity in age, geographical location, type of surrounding areas, and tree species. The only difference was that the trees in Gryżów had not been exposed to direct road pollution for almost 30 years. The moss richness and diversity differed significantly between the sites. Altogether, 20 moss species were recorded on 229 trees, 17 species in Gryżów (abandoned road), and 13 in Lubrza (busy road). We found considerable differences between moss cover on the road-facing and opposite sides of tree trunks. In Lubrza, mosses on the road-facing side were very scarce. The moss cover in Gryżów was highly balanced between trunk sides as well as among trunk heights. Typical epiphytic species such as Bryum moravicum, Dicranoweisia cirrata, Leskea polycarpa, and Orthodicranum tauricum preferred the Gryżów tree stands, where they were present in numbers almost twice as high as that at Lubrza. The study shows that constructing a bypass road could be an effective conservation measure for veteran tree protection with their epiphytic moss flora

Isolation and characterization of Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) Markers from the moss genus Orthotrichum using a small throughput pyrosequencing machine

Here, we report the results of next-generation sequencing on the GS Junior system to identify a large number of microsatellites from the epiphytic moss Orthotrichum speciosum. Using a combination of a total (non-enrichment) genomic library and small-scale 454 pyrosequencing, we determined 5382 contigs whose length ranged from 103 to 5445 bp. In this dataset we identified 92 SSR (simple sequence repeats) motifs in 89 contigs. Forty-six of these had flanking regions suitable for primer design. We tested PCR amplification, reproducibility, and the level of polymorphism of 46 primer pairs for Orthotrichum speciosum using 40 individuals from two populations. As a result, the designed primers revealed 35 polymorphic loci with more than two alleles detected. This method is cost- and time-effective in comparison with traditional approaches involving cloning and sequencing

Monitoring of heavy metals and nitrogen concentrations in mosses in the vicinity of an integrated iron and steel plant: Case study in Czechia

Featured Application The findings of this study can be applied in monitoring of atmospheric deposition of heavy metals and nitrogen on a local scale in order to better understand the pollution distribution in the surroundings of a local pollution source, especially in the context of the interpretation of the results respecting the principle's compositional data analyses. A biomonitoring study using terrestrial mosses was performed in the vicinity of an Integrated Iron and Steel plant near the Czech-Polish border. Moss samples were collected in two seasons (June, October) in order to embrace the effect of the heating season on the pollution levels. The contents of metals (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, Sb and Hg) were determined using the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and contents of N, C, H via elemental analysis. The influence of the proximity of the factory, the heating season and modelled concentrations of particulate matter <10 mu m (PM10) on determined concentrations of elements were studied via multivariate statistical methods using clr-transformed data. This approach led to the first-time demonstration that not only the distance from the industrial source but also the sampling season and PM10 concentrations significantly affect the elemental content in mosses; the association of the emissions from the source and the determined concentrations of elements in moss samples were more evident outside the heating season (October). The analyses of transformed data revealed the association of Fe, Cr, V, As and Al with the coarse particles and their dominant spatial distribution depending on the prevailing wind directions. The spatial distribution of Mn, Zn and Cd, which are carried by fine particles, appears to depend more on atmospheric dispersion and long-range transport, and, thus, these metals should be considered weak markers of the pollution load in the close surroundings of an industrial source.Web of Science1117art. no. 826

A brief survey of bryological studies in the Subantarctic, including Macrocoma tenue (Orthotrichaceae), a moss genus and species newly found in Îles Kerguelen

Studies on the bryophyte flora of the Southern Ocean islands and in the Antarctic are briefly reviewed and the current state of knowledge of the moss flora of Îles Kerguelen is discussed. Macrocoma tenue (Hook. & Grev.) Vitt is recorded from the Îles Kerguelen archipelago and this constitutes the first record of the genus Macrocoma (Müll. Hal.) Grout from the Subantarctic. The local plants of the species are characterized and illustrated and their ecology is discussed. Global distribution of M. tenue is reviewed and mapped. It is suggested that the type subspecies of M. tenue is a Gondwanan relictual taxon, which could have evolved on this supercontinent prior to its break-up and, subsequently, it reached Îles Kerguelen where it survived during the Pleistocene glacial epoch

Thirteen years on the hunt for Buxbaumia viridis in the Czech Republic: still on the tip of the iceberg?

Rare epixylic moss Buxbaumia viridis, which is one of the “Annex II” species of the European “Habitat directive”, has been recorded at 124 localities in the Czech Republic in course of the last 13 years. Most of them were discovered in the last five years following a dedicated search at both historical sites of occurrence and new localities with putatively suitable habitat conditions. The recent and historical area of occupancy and extent of occurrence are not obviously different, although most of the recent localities are concentrated in the Western Carpathians and the Hrubý Jeseník Mts. Surprisingly, only 38% of the localities are located in natural forest habitats, of which herb-rich and acidophilous beech forests were among the most commonly inhabited ones. The rest of occurrences were recorded in non-natural forests (habitats strongly influenced or created by man), particularly the coniferous forest plantations. Sufficient amount of decaying wood of the advanced decay stages, as well as sufficient and constant humidity are crucial prerequisites for the occurrence of B. viridis in both types of forests. True epixylic moss Herzogiella seligeri and the liverwort Chiloscyphus profundus were recorded as the most common associated species, while the rest of commonly co-occurring species were facultatively epixylic, ground or ubiquitous bryophytes; other specialized and rare epixylic mosses or liverworts were only rarely recorded. We also designed a potential distribution model for B. viridis based on the distribution of habitats most commonly occupied by the studied moss. Despite the simplicity of the model, its close match with the recent distribution in the Western Carpathians, the Hrubý Jeseník Mts. and Šumava Mts. supports its relevance for the real distribution of B. viridis

Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 11

In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Aneura, Aulacomnium, Dumortiera, Fossombronia, Hennediella, Hygrohypnella, Pohlia, Porella, Riccardia, Tortella, and Tortula, the fungal genera Cortinarius, Mycena, Naucoria, Trichoglossum, and Tubaria and the lichen genera Agonimia, Blastenia, Chaenotheca, Cladonia, Endocarpon, Gyalecta, Lecanographa, Parmeliella, Porpidia, Stenhammarella, and Thelidium

Lewinskya anaglyptodon var. ochyrarum (Orthotrichaceae), a new variety of epiphytic moss from Chile

Lewinskya anaglyptodon var. ochyrarum Plášek, var. nova, is a confirmed record of a new variety from Chile. The new taxon is described and illustrated by macro photos and micro photos from SEM. It is characterized by having double peristome with conspicuous endostome segments which are unknown in the type variety

A Synopsis of Orthotrichum s. lato (Bryophyta, Orthotrichaceae) in China, with Distribution Maps and a Key to Determination

A total of 46 species and two varieties of the traditionally interpreted genus Orthotrichum are currently known to occur in China. They represent five genera, including Orthotrichum (29 species), Lewinskya (14 species and two varieties), and Nyholmiella and Leratia that are represented by a single species each. The fifth genus Florschuetziella, also consisting of only one species, F. scaberrima, is an entirely neglected representative of the China’s moss flora. A list of all accepted taxa is presented and for each taxon all literature records and herbarium specimens are enumerated for provinces in which they have been recorded, and their distribution is mapped. A key to determination of Chinese orthotrichalean mosses is presented. A chronological list of 63 species and varieties and two designations, O. catagonioides and O. microsporum which have never been validly published, reported from China in the years 1892–2020 is presented. Four species, Orthotrichum brasii, O. hooglandii, O. elegans and O. gymnostomum are excluded from the bryoflora of China and Lewinskya affinis var. bohemica and Orthotrichum schimperi are recorded for the first time from this country. Phytogeography of the Chinese taxa of the orthotrichalean mosses is considered and they are grouped into eight phytogeographical elements and five sub-elements