The Siberian iris Iris sibirica : a new station near Łańcut (SE Poland)

Kosaciec syberyjski Iris sibirica L. jest gatunkiem charakterystycznym dla łąk ze związku Molinion caeruleae, w Polsce narażonym na wyginięcie ze względu na zmiany sposobu użytkowania łąk. Nowe stanowisko odnotowano na przełomie maja i czerwca 2008 roku, w pobliżu Łańcuta, na terenie Podgórza Rzeszowskiego. Stosunkowo małej populacji towarzyszą takie gatunki, jak: krwiściąg lekarski Sanguisorba officinalis, firletka poszarpana Lychnis flos-cuculi, przytulia północna Galium boreale, krwawnica pospolita Lythrum salicaria. Skład florystyczny oraz usytuowanie w zwartym kompleksie łąkowym przemawiają za naturalnym pochodzeniem stanowiska

The kenophytes of the western part of Podgórze Rzeszowskie

The paper presents a list of 108 species of vascular plants in the Podgórze Rzeszowskie as a result of floristic studies carried out from 2007 to 2011. The plant distribution and habitat occurrence is given

Substrate factors determine roadside vegetation structure and species richness : a case study along a meridional gradient in fennoscandia

This study assessed the effects of road-related alteration of substrate, including increased salinity, on vegetation along a meridional gradient in Fennoscandia. Vegetation community composition were surveyed in 29 randomly selected 1-m(2) sized roadside plots. Number of plant species and plant cover (%) on the plots were positively interrelated (p < 0.0001). Both variables also decreased towards the north and with increasing coarseness of the substrate. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) indicated that roadside vegetation diversity and composition were most related to the importance of the road (i.e. its size and traffic intensity) and substrate pH. Road importance affects plant dispersal, whereas substrate pH was found to be a factor limiting growth. CCA indicated also that vegetation composition was affected by the meridional gradient and by the substrate salinity; both substrate salinity pH and salinity were not related to meridional gradient. Our results indicate that roadside vegetation diversity and composition is driven by natural and anthropogenic factors

The alien flora of the Rzeszów Foothills

The aim of the study was to analyze the synanthropic flora of the Rzeszów Foothills (south-eastern Poland). Floristic studies were carried out in years 2007-2013 using the cartogram method in the ATPOL system (2×2 km square grid). Here we present the numerical data (number of species in each historical-geographical group, families most frequently represented by anthropophytes), show the proportion of specific growth forms and describe habitat preferences. The Rzeszów Foothills region had already been shown as strongly impacted by anthropogenic pressures. The total number of vascular plant species detected was equal to 1115; among them, the synanthropes represent about 30%. Also the index of synanthropy was calculated to confirm strong anthropogenic transformation of the studied area. In the presented study, 47 invasive plant species were discovered in the region. Moreover, the role and distribution of the most interesting and invasive of the synanthropic species was analyzed based on their negative impact on the native flora. We also identified plant species with high invasive potential and indicated causes of their appearance and spread

Predicting the potential distribution area of Solidago ×niederederi (Asteraceae)

In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential distribution area of Solidago ×niederederi, a natural hybrid between North American S. canadensis and European S. virgaurea, in Central and East Europe using the MAXENT modeling approach. The final MAXENT model was constructed based on 83 occurrence records from Austria, Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia and six abiotic environmental variables. The jackknife test revealed that annual temperature range, mean temperature of wettest quarter, and minimum temperature of coldest month had the highest gain for the training and test data when used alone, whereas precipitation seasonality, precipitation of coldest quarter, and precipitation of warmest quarter reduced the gain the most when excluded from the model and thus contributed the most information not presented with the other variables. A high probability of occurrence (>0.6) for S. ×niederederi was found in 12 countries, namely Austria, Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast), Slovenia, Slovakia, and Ukraine. Our results showed in which areas the hybrid may be established under the European temperate climatic conditions; however, we do not indicate which areas exactly may be under invasion by the hybrid because such a statement needs population dynamic data for proper investigation. To prevent the negative impact of S. ×niederederi on native S. virgaurea (i.e. competition for pollinators and introgression) we suggest that it should be controlled first in areas of high probability of occurrence, especially in Lithuania, Kaliningrad Oblast, Slovakia, Poland, and Austria, where the areas of high probability of hybrid occurrence account for more than 5% of the territory concerned

The relationship between soil bacteria substrate utilisation patterns and the vegetation structure in temperate forests

The aim of the study was to explore the relationship between the functional diversity pattern of soil bacteria and the vegetation diversity and structure in temperate forests (Poland). Pine-dominated forests occur on soils with lower pH, fewer nutrient contents (P, Na, Mg, Mn and K) and higher C/N and C/P ratios than beech-dominated forests and mixed broadleaved forest with hornbeam and ash. Both forest type and soil horizon (O and A) strongly influenced bacterial catabolic activity and the number of substrates decayed on Biolog® ECO plates. Pine forest soil bacteria were less active and less functionally diverse than those in deciduous forest soils. The community-level physiological profiles (CLPPs) were dissimilar (one-way analysis of similarities) between pine and mixed deciduous forests, but only in the O soil horizon. Carboxylic acids primarily contributed to the average dissimilarity in CLPP between forests (the similarity percentage procedure); these substrates are preferentially used by pine forest soil bacteria. The canonical correspondence analysis indicated that soil pH, nitrogen and organic matter contents and plant diversity index H′plant were related to bacterial CLPP in the O soil horizon. Only for the soil O horizon, the Mantel test showed a clear relationship between vegetation structure and bacterial CLPP

A spread of Typha laxmannii (Typhaceae) in southern Poland

The paper is based on the floristic studies carried out in southern Poland by multi- author team and revision of herbarium material from the genus Typha. The paper presents 19 new localities of Typha laxmannii which spreads throughout Poland. Notes on habitats and a distribution map of the species in Poland are also given. Additionally, an original key to species of the genus Typha, occurring in Poland is included