Notes on Quercus ilex L. in Liguria (NW Italy)

The climatic characteristics of the Liguria region have been outlined by means of raw data and derived indices (water balance related to potential evapotraspiration, Rivas-Martinez's index of mediterraneity and thermicity, De Martonne's index of dryness, and Emberger's pluviothermic quotient and index of summer dryness). Their interpretation suggests that Liguria is a boundary region between two different climatic areas: the Mediterranean and that of Central Europe.The distribution of Quercus ilex communities in Liguria have suffered the heavy consequences of human activity on the coastal belt of the region. There is, however, sufficient evidence to show that their presence is closely linked to climatic conditions. Quercus ilex communities are absent from the western coastal belt where the annual water balance is below –50 mm and high mean temperatures occur. They are also absent from marly limestone dominated areas where annual water balance is below 300 mm. Quercus ilex woods show a preference for water balance values between 0 and 600, with the better developed forests being found in central and eastern coastal Liguria.The Ligurian Quercus ilex woods are ascribed to Quercetum ilicis Br.-Bl. 1915. Given that the presence within their floristic composition of a group of species of Querco-Fagetea (more species in eastern stands, few in western ones) is an almost constant characteristic, the subass. fraxino-ostryetosum Mariotti 1984 can be retained for many of them. Quercus ilex is not present in the initial succession stages of Mediterranean Liguria vegetation. It can be found in later stages when the vegetation is more fully developed towards a maquis type structure. In this case it tends to become dominant and the community develops (if no fire or other human interference occurs) into a Quercus ilex forest. Frequently, this succession takes place under an old tree layer cover (generally Pinus sp.), a remanant of man's past management of the vegetation in the area.     

Relation between climate and vegetation along a Mediterranean-Temperate boundary in central Italy

The relationship between climate and vegetation was investigated along a Mediterranean-Temperate boundary in central Italy. The study area is a transition zone between the Temperate (Eurosiberian) and Mediterranean regions and has an altitudinal range of almost 1750 m. Ordination and cluster analysis were used. The results did not show any sharp boundary but a climate-vegetation mosaic ranging from upper mountain thermotype and lower hyperhumid ombrotype with Fagus sylvatica L. woodlands at higher altitudes, to meso-Mediterranean thermotype and lower subhumid ombrotype with Mediterranean maquis and Quercus ilex L. woods on the coast. Six phytoclimatic groups are distinguished and described in terms of climatic parameters, vegetation types and morphological and chorological traits. These parameters indicate a change without sharp discontinuities between groups. The Mediterranean to Temperate transition in this Tyrrhenian sector is broad and includes most of the study area.     

Climate continentality and treeline species distribution in the Alps

Abstract

The distribution of tree species and the elevation of the alpine treeline are strongly affected by climate continentality. In the present work we performed a detailed survey of the upper limits of tree vegetation in two areas with contrasting climate located in the central Italian Alps, in order to evaluate the structure of the treeline under different degrees of continentality. Tree and krummholz (stunted) individual position, their dimension and life form were recorded from the upper limit of the closed forest to the species limit. The results were compared with an estimation of tree species distribution at the treeline in the whole Lombardy Alps, performed by a survey of tree species occurrence in areas of known climatic traits. The structure of the treeline (upper limits, life form altitudinal arrangement) and its ongoing dynamics were different in the two areas: climate continentality assessed by hygric and thermal continentality indices influenced the distribution of some treeline species. Although the influence of human and geomorphologic disturbance could not be excluded, the importance of the degree of continentality must be stressed when evaluating the response of the treeline to past and present climatic change.     

A numerical phytoclimatic classification of China

The relationship is examined between vegetation and climate using climatic variables collected from 644 meteorological stations located throughout China. Multivariate methods are applied directly to the raw climatic data in order to define climatic clusters and to examine the relationship between the clusters and vegetation types. This approach is based on the concept of multidimensional climatic space defined by the combination of climatic variables. Phytoclimatic classes are defined on the basis of the distribution of vegetation types in climatic clusters and a new phytoclimatic classification of China is proposed. Patterns of climatic changes between neighbouring phytoclimatic classes are described. Two indexes of the influence of climate on vegetation are proposed based on discriminant analysis.     

北美东部8种温带树种向北分布的限制气候因子

利用分布于北美东部的 8种温带落叶树种为研究材料 ,应用反映热量和降水状况的 11个变量为气候指标 ,用标准差分析方法分析了这 8个树种的分布北界与气候因子之间的关系。结果表明 ,在所使用的气候指标中 ,同一树种不同地点的温暖指数或年生物温度的标准差最小 ,说明积温是限制这些树种向北分布的主要气候因子 ;温暖指数和寒冷指数随着年降水量的增大而减小 ,寒冷指数随着年较差的增加而增加 ,温暖指数随着水热综合指数的增加表现出减小的趋势。表明 ,除了生长季节的积温之外 ,降水和大陆性等气候条件对温带树种向北分布也起着重要作用     

Correlation of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks with specific abiotic traits in the western palearctic

This meta-analysis of reports examining ticks throughout the Western Palearctic region indicates a distinct geographic pattern for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato prevalence in questing nymphal Ixodes ricinus ticks. The greatest prevalence was reported between the 5°E and 25°E longitudes based on an analysis of 123 collection points with 37,940 nymphal tick specimens (87.43% of total nymphs; 56.35% of total ticks in the set of reports over the target area). Climatic traits, such as temperature and vegetation stress, and their seasonality correlated with Borrelia prevalence in questing ticks. The greatest prevalence was associated with mild winter, high summer, and low seasonal amplitude of temperatures within the range of the tick vector, higher vegetation indices in the May-June period, and well-connected vegetation patches below a threshold at which rates suddenly drop. Classification of the target territory using a qualitative risk index derived from the abiotic variables produced an indicator of the probability of finding infected ticks in the Western Palearctic region. No specific temporal trends were detected in the reported prevalence. The ranges of the different B. burgdorferi sensu lato genospecies showed a pattern of high biodiversity between 4°W and 20°E, partially overlapping the area of highest prevalence in ticks. Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are the dominant species in central Europe (east of ～25°E), but B. garinii may appear alone at southern latitudes and Borrelia lusitaniae is the main indicator species for meridional territories.     

Repercussions of Simulated Climate Change on the Diversity of Woody-Recruit Bank in a Mediterranean-type Ecosystem

Extreme climatic events have the potential to affect plant communities around the world, and especially in the Mediterranean basin, where the frequency of milder and drier summers is expected to be altered under a global-change scenario. We experimentally investigated the effect of three contrasting climatic scenarios on the diversity and abundance of the natural woody-recruit bank among three characteristic habitats in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem: forest, shrubland, and bare soil. The climatic scenarios were dry summers (30% summer rainfall reduction), wet summers (simulating summer storms), and current climatic conditions (control). Seedling emergence and survival after the first summer was recorded during 4 consecutive years. The wet summer boosted abundance and diversity at emergence and summer survival, rendering the highest Shannon H??index. By contrast, the dry summer had no effect on emergence, although survival tended to decline. Nonetheless, the habitat had a key role, bare soil showing almost null recruitment whatever the climatic scenario, and forest keeping the highest diversity in all of them. Our results show that recruit-bank density and diversity depends heavily on extreme climatic events. Community dynamics will depend not only on increased drought but also on the balance between dry and wet years.     

Climate and vegetation in China V. Effect of climatic factors on the upper limit of distribution of evergreen broadleaf forest

In order to clarify correlations between the upper limit of distribution of evergreen broadleaf forest and climatic factors, 62 stands distributed at the upper limit of the forest were collected from various parts of China, and their thermal and precipitation factors were estimated. Among six thermal climatic indices, i.e., warmth index (WI), coldness index (CI) and annual mean (AMT), January mean (JMT), mean minimum (MMT) and minimum (MT) temperatures, the CI at the stands showed the smallest range of variance, and it was therefore considered to be the most significant for interpreting the upward distribution of the forest. However, the distribution of the forest in mountain areas in southwestern China could not be explained by lower temperatures in winter such as CI but by a cumulative temperature such as WI. The continentality and precipitation factors were also important for delimiting the distribution of the forest. In addition, the relation between the distribution of the forest and the MMT was noted, and it was concluded that the MMT was an effective thermal index for explaining the upper limit of distribution of evergreen broadleaf forest in China.     

Patterns of territory size and defence level in rural and urban tawny owl (Strix aluco) populations

The effect of different variables on the territory size and defence level of tawny owl ( Strix aluco L.) populations was studied in two habitats: mixed farmland (1976–1978) and town (1986–1988). Territory size was determined by plotting the position of territorial challenges (hoots) of males which were individually recognizable in most cases. No differences were found in size, defence, number of competitors and biomass between territories in farmland and in town, but territories in town were more fragmented and showed a larger nearest neighbour distance. Size of rural territories was adequately predicted both by some structural habitat features and food supplies, while size of urban territories was affected only by habitat structure and by years of territory occupancy. No effect on territory size by competing neighbours was found in either habitat, thus confirming that behavioural interactions between the owners of territories and potential settlers prevent a decrease of territory size.
Defence level of urban territories was affected by 'social'variables (nearest neighbour distance and years of occupancy), structural variables (percentage of poplar grove and diversity), and food supply, while in rural territories only structural variables (fragmentation or natural vegetation) and food supplies affected defence level.
This was due to different settlement tactics in the two areas, depending on the extent and quality of suitable habitat.     

Climatic changes in eastern Asia as indicated by fossil floras. II. Late cretaceous and Danian

Four Late Cretaceous phytoclimatic zones — subtropical, warm-temperature, temparature and boreal — are recognized in the Northern Hemisphere. Warm-temperature vegetation terminates at North Sakhalin and Vancouver Island. Floras of various phytoclimatic zones display parallel evolution in response to climatic changes, i.e., a temperature rise up to the Campanian interrupted by minor Coniacian cooling, and subsequent deterioration of climate culminating in the Late Danian. Cooling episodes were accompanied by expansions of dicotyledons with platanoid leaves, whereas the entire-margined leaf proportion increased during climatic optima. The floristic succession was also influenced by tectonic events, such as orogenic and volcanic activity which commenced in Late Cenomanian-Turonian times. Major replacements of ecological dominants occurred at the Maastrichtian/Danian and Early/Late Danian boundaries.     

Predictive mapping of alpine grasslands in Switzerland: Species versus community approach

Abstract. Separate logistic regression models were developed to predict the distribution and large-scale spatial patterns of dominant graminoid species and communities in alpine grasslands. The models are driven by four bioclimatic parameters: degree-days of growing season (basis 0 °C), a moisture index for July, potential direct solar radiation for March, and a continentality index. Geology and slope angle were used as a surrogate for nutrient availability and soil water capacity. The bioclimatic parameters were derived from monthly mean temperature, precipitation, cloudiness and potential direct solar radiation. The environmental parameters were interpolated using a digital elevation model with a resolution of 50 m. The vegetation data for model calibration originate from field surveys and literature. An independent test data set with samples from three different climatic zones was used to test the model. The degree of coincidence between simulated and observed patterns was similar for species and communities, but the κ-values for communities were generally higher (κ= 0.539) than for species (mean individual κ= 0.201). Information on land use was detected as a major factor that could significantly improve both the species and the community model. Nevertheless, the climatic factors used to drive the model explained a major part of the observed patterns.     

Territorial behaviour of the Robin Erithacus rubecula: the importance of vegetation density

Robin Erithacus rubecula territories were mapped in an isolated copse of mixed deciduous woodland. An index of vegetation density, measured at numerous randomly chosen sites within the copse, was found to be higher in areas occupied by Robins. Both vegetation density and territory area were compared with measures of breeding success. In all cases vegetation density was correlated with breeding success and territory area was not. Possible evolutionary advantages to defending areas with dense vegetation are discussed.     

基于C值和>5℃积温的内蒙古自治区植被-气候分类

C值是崔启武(1981)提出的一个水热联系方程的参数,代表了一个地区的干湿状况。本研究根据150个气象站点资料,计算了内蒙古自治区1961—1990年30年平均C值和>5℃积温,并生成空间分布图。结合内蒙古自治区植被地带分布图,绘制了内蒙古10个植被地带的C值和>5℃积温的散点图,较好地表现了内蒙古各植被带与气候指标的关系,并确定了内蒙古各植被带的C值和>5℃积温的界限。根据确定的各个植被带的C值和>5℃积温的界限,模拟了内蒙古自治区植被带的空间分布。通过Kappa一致性检验结果表明,C值与>5℃积温结合可以较好地反映内蒙古植被地带的空间分布状况。作为一个综合气候指标,C值为模拟内蒙古植被带分布提供了重要信息。     

Le bioclimat mediterraneen: Caracteres generaux,modes de caracterisation

Summary This first paper on the Mediterranean bioclimate is devoted to the definition of the mediterranean climate and to its territorial extension.It is noted that all climatologists agree on the essential characteristic of this type of climate: the relative dryness of the summer. The author maintains the definition given by Emberger, implying an estival pluviometric minimum and a biologically dry summer.The problem of the delimitation of the seasons and the presence of a late summer in coastal regions are discussed. A territory around the Mediterranean Sea is delimited in which the summer is the least wet season, separated by a narrow transition zone from another territory in which summer is the wettest season. The degree of dryness of the summer is maintained: Köppen's criterion for a month is dry if it receives less than 30 mm of precipitation. Gaussen's dryness criteria (P+2T), retained by Walter, and those of Emberger-Giacobbe (P/M=S), are equivalent if the maximum value of the latter is taken as 5. These criteria provide a delimitation of the extension of climates exhibiting a dry summer that is closely similar to that based on Köppen's criterion.The simultaneous application of both types of criterion enables a characterization of the extension of the climates in which the summer is both the least wet and a biologically dry season. It appears that the Mediterranean Isoclimatic Area territory thus considered extends far wider than found by western elimatologists. However, the author stresses some agreement with eastern and Arab climatologists. This divergence may be explained by supplementary constraints added to the general definition of the Mediterranean climate: on the whole a moderate dryness and temperate conditions. It is noted how some biologically routine delimitations are erroneous, e.g. climate of the olive tree,Olea europaea, andQuercus ilex, and sclerophyllous evergreen formations. Some authors seem to reduce the mediterranean climate to a coastal azonality, whereas it has been shown that this is one of the great types of climate resulting from general atomospheric circulation.The passage from a typical Mediterranean regime to a summer rain regime is more progressive than the study of seasonal regimes implies.An examination of the types of Mediterranean climate in the A.I.M. follows.Monthly precipitation regimes of part of the stations of the A.I.M. are compared and classified by application of a classification algorithm to the matrix of Kendall's rank correlation coefficients. Two large units are determined, the first comprising four groups and the second five.Global continentality is dealt with by combination of pluvial continentalityC, expressed by Angot's ratio, which is the ratio of precipitation during the six longest months to the precipitation during the six shortest months, together with thermal continentalityK' expressed by a coefficient derived from that of Gorczinski. It is emphasized that a Mediterranean climate is marked by a pluvial continentality < 1, and a thermal continentality withK'/25 C.Thermal forms are defined in accordance with the principles of Trewartha. Aridity is considered successively from several viewpoints. The value of the pluviometric module is discussed without being adopted, as it is quite inadequate. The module of the driest month, combined with the number of dry months, gives good overall results. Characterization by Klimadiagramm is analysed, compared with Martonne's index, and reviewed. The method of Thornthwaite is also examined.Finally, Giacobbe's study of arido-humidity is presented in detail; standards for interpretation are given as well as an example. An application of the analysis of the duration of the vegetative pause is given, as well as a measure of the intensity of aridity. Various applications of this method are discussed.

L'auteur est reconnaissant au regretté Professeur Emberger de l'avoir accueilli dans son laboratoire et d'avoir longuement discuté avec lui problèmes traités ici. Il a apprécié les commentaires et les avis qui lui ont été donnés par MM. les Pr. Akman (Ankara), Beroutchatchivili (Tblisi), Legris (Toulouse), Louay (Damas), Monnier (Rennes), Nasirov (Douchambe), Orshan (Jérusalem), Sauvage (Montpellier), Zohari (Jérusalem), ainsi que de MM. Caviedes (Santiago du Chili), Guillerm (Montpellier), Le Houérou (F.A.O.), Long (C.N.R.S., Montpellier), Malekpour (Téhéran), Scheepers (Prétoria) et Sugar (Zagreb). Il remercie particulièrement M. le Dr. Van der Maarel qui l'a aidé pour la mise au point du manuscrit.     

A biogeographical analysis of the European Atlantic lowland heathlands

Questions: What is the climatic envelope of European Atlantic heathlands and the relationship between their floristic geographical variability and climatic parameters? Are the biogeographic patterns extracted from genuine heath plants comparable to those extracted from the accompanying flora? To what extent does the species composition extracted from phytosociological data support the current theory of refuge areas of heath vegetation in southern Atlantic Europe during the Pleistocene ice ages? Location: Atlantic Europe and NW Morocco. Methods: The geographical territory in which Atlantic heathlands occur was divided into 23 sectors following geographic and chorological criteria. A presence–absence table with 333 taxa was then constructed with the available phytosociological data. The taxa were classified into different groups according to their phytosociological affinity. Several types of numerical analysis were performed with this matrix and the climatic data obtained from meteorological sources. Results: Heathlands require a humid and oceanic climate and are limited by cold temperatures in the north and by summer droughts in the south. The highest floristic richness of this vegetation type is found in NW Iberia. Ordinations indicate a strong correlation between floristic composition of biogeographic sector and summer drought (Ios) and thermicity (It). Conclusions: The main climatic factors determining lowland heathland floristic distribution are thermicity and summer drought. The current optimal conditions for heath flora in NW Iberia suggest that there were southern refuges during the Pleistocene ice ages from which northward expansion has taken place.     

Time lag and negative responses of forest greenness and tree growth to warming over circumboreal forests

The terrestrial forest ecosystems in the northern high latitude region have been experiencing significant warming rates over several decades. These forests are considered crucial to the climate system and global carbon cycle and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. To obtain an improved estimate of the response of vegetation activity, e.g., forest greenness and tree growth, to climate change, we investigated spatiotemporal variations in two independent data sets containing the dendroecological information for this region over the past 30 years. These indices are the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI3g) and the tree‐ring width index (RWI), both of which showed significant spatial variability in past trends and responses to climate changes. These trends and responses to climate change differed significantly in the ecosystems of the circumarctic (latitude higher than 67°N) and the circumboreal forests (latitude higher and lower than 50°N and 67°N, respectively), but the way in which they differed was relatively similar in the NDVI3g and the RWI. In the circumarctic ecosystem, the climate variables of the current summer were the main climatic drivers for the positive response to the increase in temperatures showed by both the NDVI3g and the RWI indices. On the other hand, in the circumboreal forest ecosystem, the climate variables of the previous year (from summer to winter) were also important climatic drivers for both the NDVI3g and the RWI. Importantly, both indices showed that the temperatures in the previous year negatively affected the ecosystem. Although such negative responses to warming did not necessarily lead to a past negative linear trend in the NDVI3g and the RWI over the past 30 years, future climate warming could potentially cause severe reduction in forest greenness and tree growth in the circumboreal forest ecosystem.     

Present,Future, and Novel Bioclimates of the San Francisco,California Region

Bioclimates are syntheses of climatic variables into biologically relevant categories that facilitate comparative studies of biotic responses to climate conditions. Isobioclimates, unique combinations of bioclimatic indices (continentality, ombrotype, and thermotype), were constructed for northern California coastal ranges based on the Rivas-Martinez worldwide bioclimatic classification system for the end of the 20^th century climatology (1971–2000) and end of the 21^st century climatology (2070–2099) using two models, Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) model and the Parallel Climate Model (PCM), under the medium-high A2 emission scenario. The digitally mapped results were used to 1) assess the relative redistribution of isobioclimates and their magnitude of change, 2) quantify the loss of isobioclimates into the future, 3) identify and locate novel isobioclimates projected to appear, and 4) explore compositional change in vegetation types among analog isobioclimate patches. This study used downscaled climate variables to map the isobioclimates at a fine spatial resolution −270 m grid cells. Common to both models of future climate was a large change in thermotype. Changes in ombrotype differed among the two models. The end of 20^th century climatology has 83 isobioclimates covering the 63,000 km² study area. In both future projections 51 of those isobioclimates disappear over 40,000 km². The ordination of vegetation-bioclimate relationships shows very strong correlation of Rivas-Martinez indices with vegetation distribution and composition. Comparisons of vegetation composition among analog patches suggest that vegetation change will be a local rearrangement of species already in place rather than one requiring long distance dispersal. The digitally mapped results facilitate comparison with other Mediterranean regions. Major remaining challenges include predicting vegetation composition of novel isobioclimates and developing metrics to compare differences in climate space.     

Prolamin storage proteins and alloploidy in wild populations of the small grass Brachypodium distachyon (L.) P. Beauv.

This paper reports the glutenin diversity of a collection of 23 wild populations of the grass Brachypodium distachyon collected in the Mediterranean and southern areas of the Iberian Peninsula. The plant material studied included the three different cytotypes of this species: 2n?=?10, 2n?=?20 and 2n?=?30. A specific method of extraction was used to isolate the glutenin subunits from the caryopsis. Separation by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) showed them to correspond to wheat low-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS). Twenty-two LMW-GS?Clike were identified that showed great diversity within and between populations. All the populations investigated were polymorphic for the endosperm proteins studied. The 2n?=?30 forms had the largest number of subunits; these were also more diverse than those of the 2n?=?10 or 2n?=?20 forms. The 2n?=?10 forms, the most common in the higher, interior areas of the Iberian Peninsula, showed the smallest subunit variation. In fact, negative correlations were found between subunit diversity and altitude and longitude. In contrast, a positive correlation was detected with the annual average temperature and the indices of thermicity and Mediterraneity. The similarity between the populations was estimated using the Sorensen?CDice coefficient, calculated on the basis of the presence/absence of the 22 LMW-GS proteins. The similarity indices were used to produce a dendrogram using the unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA). This method produced three main groups corresponding to the three cytotypes. An analysis was made of the possible correlation between eco-geographic and climatic factors and the gene diversity and polymorphism shown in the populations. The diversity correlated positively with the number of chromosomes (2n), annual mean temperature, index of thermicity and index of Mediterraneity. In contrast, diversity correlated negatively with altitude, longitude and index of precipitation during the summer. The number of chromosomes correlated negatively with altitude, longitude and precipitation during summer and positively with all the other climatic indices. These results are coherent with the fact that diploid forms were more common in areas of the interior and at higher altitude, where the climate is more extreme.     

A GIS approach to identifying territorial resource competition

Computer simulations using a geographical information system were developed to investigate the relationships between the habitat composition of red grouse territories and the alignment of territory boundaries in relation to vegetation patterns. Field data were from a fifteen year study on Kerloch Moor, north-east Scotland, between 1963 and 1977.
In order to determine whether observed territories were arranged randomly with respect to a number of habitat characteristics, they were compared with many simulated sets of possible territory arrangements by translation of the territory boundaries to a number of different positions relative to the vegetation mosaic. A suite of summary statistics was calculated for the simulated configurations, against which the observed configurations were tested.
There was little evidence for territorial resource competition by red grouse. The positions of territories were not strongly influenced by their composition in terms of vegetation types or heather edge. Neither was there any obvious preference for territory boundaries to lie within particular vegetation types. However, there was clear evidence that physical features of the habitat (fences, walls, tracks, etc.) had a strong influence on the position of territory boundaries.
Temporal and spatial habitat heterogeneity led to a number of technical and analytical problems, and the implications of these are discussed.