Phytosociological survey of Northern California dunes

ABSTRACT

The vegetation of sandy coasts of California between Point Arena and Morro Bay, was investigated. Near the tide line, was annual vegetation of the Cakile maritima community. Dunal vegetation included the new Abronio latifoliae-Ambrosietea chamissonis class with the new Ambrosietalia chamissonis order and the new Ambrosion chamissonis alliance (proposed). Foredune vegetation included the two new Abronio latifoliae-Elymetum mollis and Atriplici leucophyllae-Abronietum maritimae associations, with the new Polygono paronychiae-Artemisietum pycnocephalae and Erigero glauci-Abronietum latifoliae associations on more stabilised surfaces. In some localities, Ammophila arenaria var. australis occurs within a Lupino variicoloris-Ammophiletum australis association, which colonises the whole dune ecosystem. In the flat areas characterised by grit and affected by frequent sea ingression is an association characterised by Juncus lesueurii and Distichlis spicata (Junco lesueurii-Distichletum spicatae). In the hollows among inland dunes, affected by stagnation, thick meadows develop which contain two new associations: Stachydo rigidae-Iridetum douglasianae developing on flat areas with a stronger stagnation and Achilleo millefoliae-Elymetum pacifici.     

New syntaxa for the prodrome of Italian vegetation

The aim of this study is to provide new syntaxa for the Italian vegetation checklist. For the class Rhamno–Prunetea which includes the class Paliuretea the new alliance Rhamno saxatilis–Paliurion spinae-christi is described, that is included in the order Paliuretalia spinae-christi with a central-western Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean distribution. Otherwise, the more thermophilous Paliurus spina-christi vegetation is included in the new suballiance named as Oleo sylvestris–Paliurenion spinae-christi within the alliance Oleo–Ceratonion of the class Quercetea ilicis. For the class Trifolio–Geranietea medii, a new alliance named Hyperico calabricae–Asphodelion macrocarpi is proposed here.     

Vegetation of the dry bioclimatic areas in the Dominican Republic

We conduct a study of the dry forest in areas of scant rainfall in the Dominican Republic; these are sites with particular endemic habitats, as the samples reveal a high rate of local and insular endemic species, with 84 (24.85%) endemisms. This work covers dry forests rich in coarse spiny plants and includes a statistical (multivariate analysis), phytosociological and catenal study of the vegetation. We analyse the floristic composition, ecology, distribution and richness in endemisms of each association. The bioclimatic analysis reveals the different thermotypes and ombrotypes on the island, and locates the proposed plant associations in the infra- and thermotropical thermotypes, and in the arid, semiarid and dry ombrotypes. As a result of this phytosociological analysis, we propose the new alliance Harrio nashii–Acacion skleroxylae and four plant associations: Harrisio nashii–Prosopidetum juliflorae, Crotono poitaei–Erythroxyletum rotundifolii, Lonchocarpo pycnophylli–Cylindropuntietum caribaeae and Neoabbottio paniculatae–Guaiacetum officinali; these associations connect catenally with the subhumid forest and mangrove swamps.     

Identifying plant communities of thermophilous deciduous forest in Greece: Species composition,distribution, ecology and syntaxonomy

Abstract

Thermophilous deciduous forest is widespread in northern mainland Greece and extends in patches further south to Peloponnisos and the bigger islands. In this paper, we provide a phytosociological survey of the plant communities of deciduous oak and mixed forest throughout Greece, based on about 370 relevés from the literature and more than 300 personal unpublished ones. Assocation names of the thermophilous deciduous forest are re-evaluated, and syntaxonomic conclusions added. The relevés are classified, and 13 associations and several additional subtypes described and presented in synoptic constancy tables. The following associations were recognized, and characterized by species composition, ecology and distribution: 1. Phillyreo–Carpinetum orientalis, 2. Dryopterido pallidae–Ostryetum carpinifoliae, 3. Tilio tomentosae–Castanetum; 4. Genisto carinalis–Quercetum petraeae, 5. Querco frainetto–Castanetum, 6. Cytiso villosi–Castanetum; 7. Lathyro laxiflori–Castanetum; 8. Symphyto ottomani–Quercetum frainetto, 9. Verbasco glabrati–Quercetum frainetto; 10. Huetio cynapioidis–Quercetum frainetto; 11. Digitali viridiflorae–Quercetum frainetto; 12. Geranio asphodeloidis–Quercetum frainetto; 13. Oenantho pimpinelloidis–Quercetum frainetto. Associations 1–2 are assigned to the alliance Fraxino orni–Ostryion, 4–6 and 8–13 to the Quercion frainetto (both Quercetalia pubescentis), 3 interim to the Tilio–Acerion, and 7 to the Quercetalia ilicis. The two Quercetalia pubescentis alliances co-occur in northern Greece; their habitats differ chiefly in terms of soil conditions, bedrock and topography, rather than in overall climatic character.     

A relic wood of Juniperus turbinata Guss. (Cupressaceae) in Sicily: Structural and ecological features,conservation perspectives

Abstract

Juniperus turbinata Guss. (Cupressaceae) is a threatened tree species occurring in the Mediterranean area. It is listed as a vulnerable species in the Red Book of Italian plants and its various communities are included in Annex I of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC as a priority habitat for conservation. During field investigations carried out to analyse the plant biodiversity of coastal habitats in southern Sicily, a new interesting population was found. This study aims to characterize this relevant new finding with a marked focus on demography and synecology of the plant community in question in order to define its habitat, assess its conservation status and propose conservation measures. Our data highlight that the juniper is characterized by low turnover population dynamics. In order to understand the role of J. turbinata in sandy soil communities of south-eastern Sicily, comparisons of 21 plots (relevés) with 25 established plots in south-eastern Sicily were carried out using cluster analysis and canonical component analysis. This has allowed three different plant communities with different ecological features to be identified.     

Relating postglacial relict plants and Holocene vegetation dynamics in the Balearic Islands through field surveys,pollen analysis and GIS modeling

Abstract

An inventory of the current Balearic plants occurring in mesophyllous environments, with climatic conditions similar to those in the first half of the Holocene, was compiled. The presence of these floristic elements, extending mainly into the postglacial time, has been related to pollen records of different localities in the Balearic Islands. GIS techniques have been applied in order to map the past and the present-day vegetation suitability of some of these mesophyllous species using pollen surface samples, forest inventory data and Digital Climatic Models. We integrated the information provided by field survey, pollen records and suitability mapping in order to discuss the vegetation dynamics of different habitats. We focused on the nature and the possible causes of the vegetation landscape change that occurred approximately 5000 – 6000 uncal. years BP, when Fagus, Corylus and Buxus formations were replaced by xeric-type formations with Olea dominance.     

The vegetation of alpine belt karst-tectonic basins in the central Apennines (Italy)

Abstract

The vegetation communities of the karst-tectonic basins of the Majella massif alpine belt were studied using the phytosociological methods, and analysed from coenological, synchorological and syntaxonomical viewpoints. During the field-work, 115 relevés were performed using the phytosociological approach of Braun-Blanquet, and these relevés were further subjected to multivariate analyses. Eight clusters of relevés resulted from the numerical classification. The plant communities identified in the study area were ascribed to the following five associations, two sub-associations and one community type: Leontopodio – Seslerietum juncifoliae (ass. nova); Helianthemo – Festucetum italicae (ass. nova); Gnaphalio – Plantaginetum atratae; Taraxaco – Trifolietum thalii gnaphalietosum magellensis (subass. nova); Luzulo italicae – Nardetum, Carici – Salicetum retusae; Saxifrago – Papaveretum julici, Saxifrago – Papaveretum androsacetosum (subass. nova), Plantago atrata and Leontodon montanus community. The distribution of these communities within the karst basins was found to be related to variations in topographic and geomorphological parameters, such as altitude, slope, soil availability and stoniness. All the new associations proposed in this paper belong to the suballiance Leontopodio – Elynenion and to the alliance Seslerion apenninae, both of which are endemic to the central Apennines. In order to compare the plant community types identified within the Majella massif to similar associations found in the rest of the Apennine chain, synoptic tables were constructed. Finally, a comparative phytogeographical analysis of the alpine belt vegetation of the Apennines, Dinarides, southern Balkans and eastern Alps is presented.     

A Phylogenetic Analysis of Human Syntenies Revealed by Chromosome Painting in Euarchontoglires Orders

To search for cytogenetic signatures that can help to clarify evolutionary affinities among the five orders within the Euarchontoglires clade, we focused on associations of conserved syntenic blocks that have been accumulated in the karyotypes of Primates (Strepsirhini and Haplorhini), five families of Rodentia, Scandentia (Tupaia belangeri), Dermoptera (Galeopterus variegatus) and Lagomorpha (Oryctolagus cuniculus). We examined available chromosome painting data to identify conserved chromosomes and chromosomal segments, and syntenic associations likely to have characterized the ancestral eutherian karyotype. The data set includes 161 characters that have been subjected to a concatenated analysis using maximum parsimony (MP) and Bayesian inference (BI). The phylogenetic pattern recovered is generally consistent with reconstructions based on molecular and morphological data (particularly with respect to higher systematic groupings), but there are several anomalies (e.g., in the position of the lagomorphs). Both MP and BI topologies have weak statistical support, as a consequence of the high number of autapomorphic and homoplastic character states that have evolved during the history of the clade. The vast majority of derived associations are located on the terminal portions of the branches, and very few can be identified to support deeper divergences in the tree, indicating that chromosomal structures are far more fluid that was previously recognized. The high levels of homoplasy reflected in our data suggest that the number of possible syntenic character states is limited by chromosomal structures, and the same associations occur repeatedly.     

The Quercus cerris woods of the alliance Carpinion orientalis Horvat 1958 in Italy

Abstract

A phytosociological study of the alliance Carpinion orientalis in the hilly and subcoastal areas of the Italian peninsula is presented. These woods are included in the suballiances Laburno-Ostryenion and Lauro-Quercenion; the distinction between these two suballiances is not always easy also because of the conservation status of these forest ecosystems. The hilly and subcoastal Turkey oak woods of the alliance Carpinion orientalis are mainly distributed on the Adriatic side of the Italian peninsula, where they are found on neutro-basic substrata to which these coenoses are linked. The Turkey oak woods of the alliance Teucrio siculi-Quercion cerridis are strongly linked to the acidic substrata typical of the Tyrrhenian side, but are sporadically found on the Adriatic side within small enclaves with more acidic substrata. A numerical analysis allowed us to rearrange the lower hierarchical levels of the associations of Turkey oak woods of the alliance Carpinion orientalis. In particular, the association Lonicero xylostei-Quercetum cerridis is included in the alliance Carpinion orientalis, and the new subassociation festucetosum exaltatae is proposed. The subassociation rosetosum arvensis is proposed for the association Daphno laureolae-Quercetum cerridis, and the new subassociation cytisophylletosum sessilifolii of the association Aceri obtusati-Quercetum cerridis is described.     

A phytosociological survey of the boreal forest (shape Vaccinio-Piceetea) in North America

A survey of syntaxa of vegetation of North American boreal forests (class Vaccinio-Piceetea) is presented. This phytosociological survey, carried out combining the Braun-Blanquet method with numerical syntaxonomical analyses (cluster and correspondence analysis), describes the associations of the North American boreal forests, which have several species, varieties or vicariant species in common with their Eurasian counterparts, and can be placed in the class Vaccinio-Piceetea. By means of tabular and multivariate analyses, 2084 North American relevés were compared with 3273 relevés from European, Japanese and Korean boreal forest, to describe and typify 4 orders, 10 alliances and 37 associations. Diagnostic tables, ordination, clustering, and climatic, edaphic and biogeographical data were used to show floristic affinities among these syntaxa and interpret their distribution areas. Syntaxa were briefly characterized by their floristic composition, physiognomy, succession, zonation, and biogeographical distribution.     

Syntaxonomic revision of chasmophytic vegetation of the Centaureo cuspidatae-Portenschlagiellion ramosissimae (Southeastern Adriatic)

Abstract

The Centaureo-Portenschlagiellion describes the cliff vegetation of the Southeastern Adriatic. This habitat type harbours many endemic taxa and has a high value for biodiversity conservation. Notwithstanding its importance, knowledge of the syntaxonomy of this alliance is still poor. This article aims at revising the synchorological, coenological and floristic relationships of the associations of the Centaureo-Portenschlagiellion. The revision is based on a data set of 103 relevés of Mediterranean xerothermic cliffs from Croatia, Bosnia i Herzegovina and Montenegro. The relevés were clustered by using the Flexible beta method. An indicator species analysis was used to identify the diagnostic taxa of the main clusters of relevés and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination was undertaken to visualize the floristic relationships among them. Results revealed that only seven associations belong to the Centaureo-Portenschlagiellion, whereas the others already described in phytosociological literature were invalidly described or should be treated as syntaxonomic synonyms of the previous ones. Two associations (Inulo-Centaureetum cuspidatae and Portenschlagiello-Campanuletum portenschlagianae) were reduced to the rank of subassociations of the Moltkio-Inuletum verbascifoliae. Two other subassociations were described for the first time. Data provided with this revision may be considered as essential base-line information that should aid in evaluating the state of this vegetation type in the future.     

Vegetation pattern of mountains in West Greenland – a baseline for long-term surveillance of global warming impacts

Background: Steep environmental gradients, coupled with predicted high temperature rises in the Arctic make arctic mountain vegetation highly suitable for surveillance of changes related to global warming. However, guidelines and baselines for such a purpose are widely lacking since arctic mountain vegetation has been little explored.

Aims: We explore options for long-term surveillance on the basis of a detailed analysis of extant plant community patterns and their underlying environmental conditions in the mountainous inland of West Greenland.

Methods: Distribution, abundance and site conditions of vegetation types were analysed, using 664 vegetation samples and detailed vegetation maps in four altitudinal belts.

Results: Most plant communities had a restricted elevation distribution and were confined to special habitats predominantly defined by mesotopography and soil moisture.

Conclusions: Based on the strong linkage to habitat conditions, horizontal and vertical changes of species distribution and vegetation pattern are excellent indicators for inferring underlying environmental changes on three different scales. The recommendations given concerning climate sensitive species and plant communities, ecotones for setting up observation sites as well as stratification of analysis by habitats can be the basis for establishing long-term surveillance programmes on arctic mountain vegetation.     

Xerie Mediterranean-type shrubland associations of Alta and Baja California and the community/continuum debate

A survey of the xeric shrublands of Pacific coastal North America from San Francisco to El Rosario (Mexico), including the inner Channel Islands, was conducted using 99 sample sites of 0.063 ha size. TWINSPAN classification and DECORANA ordination confirmed the existence of two plant formations, distinguishable physiognomically: coastal sage scrub and coastal succulent scrub. Within coastal sage scrub, four floristic associations were recognized: Diablan, Venturan, Riversidian and Diegan. Within coastal succulent scrub, two floristic associations were defined: Martirian and Vizcainan. These associations occur in distinct geographical regions following the coastline, with the Riversidian association occurring in the basin inland from Venturan and Diegan regions. Their locations are strongly correlated with differences in evapotranspirative stress regimes. The Channel Island sites show affinities to several of the mainland associations. The Venturan association can be further subdivided floristically into two subassociations, dominated by Salvia mellifera and S. leucophylla respectively. These subassociations which are coextensive geographically at a regional scale, typically do not intermingle at a local scale but often meet along sharp boundaries in the landscape. The dominant species segregate by moisture preference, S. mellifera preferring coarser-texture soils and more southerly aspects than S. leucophylla. Richness and equitability of these sites are depressed relative to other xeric shrubland sites, reflecting the fact that the two subassociations partition the Venturan flora into substantially non-overlapping subsets of species. This segregation of associates between the two Salvia dominance types strongly suggests biotic influence of the dominants on subordinate species, perhaps mediated by allelopathy. This biotic interaction, leading to relatively strong floristic subassociations segregating independently in the landscape, would provide an example of the holistic community structure referred to by Clements and his followers, embedded within a larger pattern of continuity in species distributions.Nomenclature follows Munz & Keck (1959), Munz (1974) and Wiggins (1980).I am grateful to the following for research assistance: S. Coon, E. Hobbs, S. Lavinger, J. F. O'Leary, K. R. Preston, B. Rich and A. Troeger. I also thank the numerous public and private land owners who permitted access to the study sites. This research is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant DEB 76-81712.     

Rinvenimenti Floristici Marchigiani

Summary

The author communicates the list of taxa not commonly occurring in the “Marche”, which he has collected in localities not yet mentioned in the bibliography of that area. The list includes also several species more or less widely cultivated in that zone.     

Morphological,chorological and ecological plasticity of Cistus incanus in the southern Balkans

Abstract

Two subspecies of Cistus incanus L. occurring in the southern Balkans were studied: C. incanus L. ssp. incanus and C. incanus ssp. creticus (L.) Heywood. After studying the morphological differences, the communities dominated by these two subspecies were sampled according to the central European method. The localities of the relevés show the distribution pattern of the two subspecies. The typical subspecies can be found in the area of distribution of thermophilous deciduous forests of Carpinion orientalis, whereas the subspecies creticus grows in the area of the evergreen broad‐leaved forests of Quercetea ilicis. The communities were classified as Diantho–Cistetum incani Micevski et Matevski ex ?arni, Matevski et ?ilc ass. nova hoc loco and Calicotomo villosae–Cistetum cretici Oberdorfer 1954. Analyses of traits (life span, life form, proportion of certain families, bioindicator values and chorotypes) reveal that the harshest site conditions prevail within Diantho–Cistetum incani, which appears as an initial stage of the vegetation succession. Calicotome–Cistetum cretici is a subsequent stage of succession, since the extreme degradation of vegetation on these sites results in ephemeral communities dominated by Poa bulbosa assigned to Romulion.     

Study of the vegetation in the Multiple Use Natural Reserve of Monterrico (Guatemala)

The Multiple Use Natural Reserve of Monterrico lies on the Pacific coast of the southwest Guatemala in the Chiapas Sector of the Chiapaneca-Hondureña Province. It belongs to the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas and has a predominantly estuarine and coastal marine ecosystem. We took 218 vegetation relevés that contained 72 species belonging to 138 genera and 69 plant families. Multivariate analysis techniques have led to the determination of seven different associations. Three of them are mangrove swamp associations (Lagunculario-Rhizophoretum manglis; Lagunculario-Avicennietum germinantis Peinado, Alcaraz, Delgadillo, De la Cruz, Álvarez and Aguirre, 1994; Rhizophoretum manglis Cuatrecasas, 1958). Three new associations are proposed. These are one reed–bulrush association (Typho domingensis-Phragmitetum australisass. nova) and two sand-dwelling associations, one made up of evergreen grasses dominated by Canavalia rosea which grows on mobile dunes (Thephrosio-Canavalietum roseaeass. nova) and a dry forest phytocoenosis dominated by deciduous and some evergreen species, such as Pithecellobium dulce, that grow on more consolidated sandy soils (Gliricidio-Pithecellobietum dulcisass. nova). Finally, special mention must be made of the presence of the pleustohelophytic association Eichhornietum crassipedis Samek and Moncada, 1971. This is the first time that these mangrove swamp associations and this hydrophytic association have been recorded in Guatemala.     

基于探索性因子分析的输血科人员胜任力模型构建

??????? 目的 构建医院输血科室人员胜任力模型。方法 采用横断面问卷调查收集数据,采用探索性因子分析对胜任力模型内部结构进行分析。 结果 医院输血科室人员胜任力模型包含了6个公因子和24个特征指标,维度分别为：专业技能、个人特质、能力素质、防控差错、遵守规范和职业素养。结论 构建医院输血科室人员胜任力模型可以极大的丰富医院人力资源管理策略,在甄选、培训和绩效测评输血科室人员等方面具有积极的现实意义。