Juncus tenuis found in the Åland Islands, SW Finland

A small stand of Slender Rush or Path Rush, Juncus tenuis Willd., was found on trampled gravelly and stony ground at the edge of a car park on a path to café Soltuna on the hills of Geta (Getabergen). There were only 3 larger and 13 small tussocks of the species growing on approximately one square metre. The accompanying vascular plants were few; Agrostis cf. capillaris, Juncus effusus, Leontodon autumnalis, Plantago major subsp. major and Poa annua were the only taxa observed among the rush tussocks. Juncus tenuis was not seen during investigations of the vascular plant flora at Soltuna in 2003 and 2007. Juncus tenuis is introduced from North America to Europe and elsewhere. It is rather common in southern Scandinavia. It has been found in a few places in southern Finland from 1950 onwards; a somewhat uncertain find in the Botanical garden of the University of Helsinki exists from 1894. As Soltuna is a popular touristic place, it is suggested that Juncus tenuis was introduced at Soltuna with car traffic from Sweden

Effects of microsite disturbances and herbivory on seedling performance in the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus (Ranunculaceae)

10 páginas, 3 figuras, 2 tablas.The impact of small scale disturbances on the early seedling performance components of Helleborus foetidus (Ranunculaceae) was studied through a transplant experiment. The aims of this study were: (i) to determine if the herbivory pattern depends on microsite disturbance, by the analysis of two of its components, seedling encounter (the probability of at least one seedling being harmed) and seedling exploitation (the proportion of seedling tissue removed once encountered); (ii) to test if seedlings of H. foetidus in disturbed microsites will survive in a greater proportion than seedlings in undisturbed microsites; (iii) to investigate if seedling survival is correlated with the degree of herbivory. Microsite disturbances had a large effect on the herbivory pattern. Seedlings growing in undisturbed vegetation had a 2-fold higher likelihood of being grazed and suffered 1.38-fold higher damage than those growing in disturbed plots. At the end of this experiment, after fourteen months, only 10.4% of the seedlings transplanted were still alive due to seedling desiccation, but no differences on seedling survival were found between disturbed and undisturbed plots. The effect of herbivory and the interactive effect of herbivory and disturbance on seedling survival only reached statistical significance dependent upon site. We concluded that although small scale disturbances had a large impact on herbivory patterns; they had only a minor role in the early seedling survival of H. foetidus. Only locally, small scale disturbances showed an effect on seedling survival through herbivory. Abiotic factors like summer drought and spatial variations determined the early survival of H. foetidus seedlings to a major extent.This study was supported by grant PB96- 0856 from the Dirección General de Ensen˜ anza Superior e Investigación Científica, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura.Peer reviewe