Grassland plant species occurring in extensively managed road verges are filtered by urban environments

Background: Urbanisation filters species in communities depending on their adaptability to conditions in built-up areas, especially in semi-natural habitats. Roadside vegetation is widespread along urban-rural gradients and is therefore a good place to study landscape-scale factors influencing plant community composition.

Aim: Our study aimed to assess how plant species distributions vary between urban and rural landscape contexts and to identify biological traits favoured in urban areas.

Methods: Presence/absence data for 63 indigenous common species were collected in 296 road verge patches distributed along the urban–rural gradient in three French cities. We investigated the effects of landscape composition on species assemblages and related individual species responses to urbanisation to functional traits associated with dispersal and persistence capacity.

Results: Many grassland species were negatively affected by increasing proportion of built-up areas in the landscape. Insect-pollination and high seed production appeared to be key traits favoured in grassland communities in urban areas, whereas dispersal modes were less related to plant distribution.

Conclusions: This study has demonstrated that urban filters affect common species of widespread, managed road verges. Better knowledge of the flora of these herbaceous roadsides may contribute to the conservation of common biodiversity within other grassland habitats found in urban areas.     

Winter habitat associations of seed-eating passerines on Scottish farmland

CapsuleExtensive surveys highlighted the importance of weedy fodder brassicas, stubbles and open farmland landscapes to declining birds.

Aims To determine habitat associations of seed-eating passerines on Scottish farmland in winter, and recommend appropriate conservation measures.

Methods Transect surveys were carried out on farmland in 100 1-km squares, containing 2885 fields, across Scotland. Birds, crops, field boundary features and weeds were recorded on three visits. Bird–habitat associations were examined using logistic regression models.

Results Seed-eating passerines were highly concentrated: 100 fields (1.4% of the area surveyed) held half the total count. The highest field densities of birds were recorded in fodder brassica crops and stubbles, averaging 12 and 3.3 birds/ha respectively. In fodder crops, weedier fields held many more birds. Multiple regression analysis emphasized the importance of fodder crops, stubbles and farmyards and suggested that declining bird species preferred more open landscapes. Several bird species were associated with fields containing very weedy patches, and/or weeds of the family Chenopodiaceae. These features were commonest in fodder brassicas. Many of the crop types found to be important as bird habitats in winter have declined in area in Scotland; the availability of seed food in such habitats may also have diminished. Such changes may partly explain recent population declines.

Conclusions Agri-environment measures for seed-eating passerines should support the widespread provision of small areas of seed-rich wintering habitats, such as weedy fodder brassicas and stubbles, especially in open (0–10% woodland and scrub) landscapes in areas with mild winters.     

Paleobiological implications of shell repair in recent marine gastropods from the northern Gulf of California

Shell repair frequencies in eleven species of Recent gastropods from the northern Gulf of California vary with habitat, shell morphology and intensity of durophagous predation. Squat shells with large apertures tend to have high repair frequencies (0.25–0.50). Shell thickness at the aperture and shell size are not correlated with frequency of repair. Significant intraspecific variation in repair frequency exists between habitats. Samples from rocky habitats have statistically higher repair frequencies than samples of the same species from sandy habitats. However, habitat‐related variation between species is not apparent.

Trends in co‐evolution of gastropods and their durophagous predators are based on the indirect evidence of shell repair frequencies through time. Variation in repair frequency due to environmental and morphological factors may obscure predator‐related temporal trends in repair frequency.     

Among cradles and museums: seasonally dry forest promotes lineage exchanges between rain forest and savanna

ABSTRACT

Background: Cerrado comprises heterogeneous vegetation types. The flora of the vegetation types has distinct biogeographic origins and thus can be hypothesised to have distinct evolutionary imprints.

Aims: We hypothesised that the flora of riparian forest was phylogenetically overdispersed, whereas those of more open habitats were phylogenetically clustered.

Methods: We built a species-level phylogeny for 1,663 species of trees, shrubs and palms and analysed the pattern of lineage distribution, alpha and beta phylogenetic diversity among Cerrado vegetation types (riparian forest, rocky savana, savana and seasonally dry forest - SDTF).

Results: We found a gradient of high phylogenetic diversity and overdispersion from riparian forests towards phylogenetic clustering in vegetation in more open and drier habitats. Habitat shifts were common along the evolutionary history of all families analysed and most families showed a high frequency of shifts from SDTF to riparian forest and savanna.

Conclusions: SDTF seems to be a transitional habitat in evolutionary terms, promoting lineage exchanges between stands of riparian forest and savanna. While riparian forest can be seen as a ‘museum’, that harbours ancient lineages, savanna and rocky savanna are a ‘cradle’ of derived lineages. Habitat shifts are an important underlying drive of high present-day Cerrado flora diversity.     

The effect of woodland area on avian community composition in a fragmented southern UK landscape and associated management recommendations

ABSTRACT

Capsule: Smaller woodlands not only support fewer species but also show different avian community composition due to loss of woodland interior and an increase in edge habitat.

Aims: To use observed community composition changes, rather than traditional total species richness-area relationships, to make area-specific management recommendations for optimizing woodland habitat for avian communities in fragmented landscapes.

Methods: 17 woodlands were selected in Oxfordshire, UK, with areas between 0.2 and 120 ha. Three dawn area searches were conducted in each woodland between 1st April and 28th May 2016 to record encounter rates for each species. The impact of internal habitat variation on woodland comparability was assessed using habitat surveys.

Results: Woodlands with area less than 3.6 ha showed a significant positive relationship between total avian species richness and woodland area. Woodlands with area over 3.6 ha were all consistent with a mean (± se) total richness of 25.4?±?0.6 species, however the number of woodland specialists continued to increase with woodland area. Woodland generalists dominated the total encounter rate across the area range, however the fractional contribution of woodland specialists showed a significant positive correlation with woodland area, while the fractional contribution of non-woodland species significantly decreased. Non-woodland species numbers peaked in mid-sized woodlands with enhanced habitat heterogeneity.

Conclusions: Community composition analysis enabled more targeted recommendations than total species richness analysis, specifically: large woodlands (over 25?ha) in southern UK should focus conservation efforts on providing the specific internal habitats required by woodland specialists; medium-sized woodlands (between approximately 4 and 25?ha) should focus on promoting internal habitat variety, which can benefit both woodland species and non-woodland species of conservation concern in the surrounding landscape; small woodlands (under 4?ha) should focus on providing nesting opportunities for non-woodland species and on improving connectivity to maximize habitat for woodland generalists and facilitate movement of woodland specialists.     

The Middle Jurassic flora from Stonesfield, Oxfordshire, UK

The Stonesfield 'Slate' of Oxfordshire has yielded a diverse Middle Jurassic flora, containing 25 morphospecies, dominated by remains of araucariacean and cheirolepidiacean conifers, bennettitaleans, and leaves of the possible gymnosperm Pelourdea . It mainly represents coastal vegetation, which included mangrove-like stands of Ptilophyllum , and conifers probably growing in lowland coastal habitats that were subjected to periodic water-stress. The Pelourdea leaves may have drifted in from drier, more upland habitats. The flora is similar, but not identical to, the slightly older floras from the Cotswold 'Slate' of Gloucestershire, such as from Eyeford and Sevenhampton. Also comparable are the contemporaneous floras preserved in marine deposits in France and the Venetian Alps of Italy. It is quite different from the Middle Jurassic flora of Yorkshire, which is thought to represent vegetation growing in deltaic habitats. The new combinations Ptilophyllum pectiniformis (Sternberg), Komlopteris speciosa (Ettingshausen) and Pachypteris macrophylla (Brongniart) are proposed for species found at Stonesfield. Nilssoniopteris solitarium (Phillips) comb. nov. is proposed for the species previously named Nilssoniopteris vittata (Brongniart). Taeniopteris vittata Brongniart is retained as the type species of Taeniopteris , a morphogenus to be used for entire cycadophyte leaves that cannot be definitely assigned to the cycads or bennettitaleans. Conites is shown to be an earlier nomenclatural synonym of Bucklandia , to be used for casts and compressions of cycadophyte stems. This requires a number of new combinations for species that have hitherto been included in Bucklandia : Conites anomala (Stokes and Webb), C. gigas (Seward), C. indica (Seward), C. milleriana (Carruthers), C. pustulosa (Harris) and C. yatesii (Carruthers).     

The oldest monitoring site of the Alps revisited: accelerated increase in plant species richness on Piz Linard summit since 1835

Background: High-altitude ecosystems in the Alps have experienced severe environmental changes over the past decades, such as strong warming and increasing numbers of visitors and grazers. Few studies have followed the effects of such changes on the alpine flora over a period longer than a few decades. The summit of Piz Linard (3410 m, south-eastern Switzerland) is the oldest site in the Alps whose flora has been recorded, on average every 20 years since the Little Ice Age (1835).

Aims: We re-surveyed the summit flora of Piz Linard to trace its floristic changes and identify their patterns and possible drivers.

Methods: We mapped each species' highest location, distribution and abundance in the uppermost 30 m of the Piz Linard summit in 2011, and compared species composition and species’ altitudinal distribution over time.

Results: Species richness increased at an accelerated rate since 1992 and rose from 12 to 16 species since the previous record in 2003. Most already present species increased in abundance and colonised new areas of the summit, while new arrivals mainly established at sites with already high species richness. Species appeared after 1992 differed from species already present previously by having had lower maximum altitudes elsewhere in south-eastern Switzerland.

Conclusions: Temporal and spatial patterns of colonisations and former altitudinal ranges of species all point to climate warming as the principal driver of floristic change on Piz Linard.     

Teratomorphs of broad-leaved cattail <Emphasis Type="Italic">Typha latifolia</Emphasis> L. in Vozhe Lake

Morphological anomalies such as hypogenesia, dystopia, and polymerization have been found and classified in communities of the broad-leaved cattail Typheta latifoliae in the specific species Typha latifolia L. in technogenically disturbed habitats of Vozhe Lake. Anomalies have also been found in other specific species in the most widespread communities of Vologda Poozer’e, such as Phramitetum australis subpurum and Typheta angustifoliae subpurum. This testifies to the deep changes in hydrophilic flora under anthropogenic influences. The tendency to teratological speciation appears in natural conditions in pure communities of Phramitetum australis, Typheta angustifoliae, and Typheta latifoliae on the northern border of coenotic and ecological areals.     

Analysis of the Colosseum's floristic changes during the last four centuries

ABSTRACT

Different floristic lists of the Colosseum have been carried out starting from the XVII century (Panaroli, 1643; Sebastiani, 1815; Deakin, 1855; Fiorini Mazzanti, 1874; Anzalone, 1951; and recently Celesti Grapow et al., 2001). The comparison among these investigations reveals the rich plant colonisation, due to the great variety of habitats present in the monument and to its state of abandon. The maximum peak of 418 species can be referred in Deakin's list, and the minimum are the current 242 species, mainly distributed in the hypogeans. The total amount of colonising species in time was 684 vascular plants. The species listed for the monument in all the studies are 135, and all the common ones are 192. These are mainly herbaceous plants of ruderal habitats, widely distributed in more or less nitrophylous pastures or pioneer on rocks and walls. 426 species were enumerated before the XX century and later disappeared from the places. 117 species no longer belong to the Roman flora, and 24 species are no longer listed in the regional flora. These were mainly herbaceous and woody species typical of dynamically developed stages, belonging to forest and border line communities. Typical species of very disturbed habitats are also frequent. 66 species were collected only in more recent times. These belong to the synanthropic flora, though less nitrophylous compared with the previous, or are cultivated plants capable of becoming spontaneous under favourable conditions. The comparison among the different floras indicates not only the change in use of the monument, but also that climatic and microclimatic changes occurred in the last centuries. The relative biological and chorological spectra confirm the progressive warming and average reduction of humidity of the site.     

Thermal niche variation among individuals of the poison frog,Oophaga pumilio,in forest and converted habitats

The conversion of natural habitats to human land uses often increases local temperatures, creating novel thermal environments for species. The variable responses of ectotherms to habitat conversion, where some species decline while others persist, can partly be explained by variation among species in their thermal niches. However, few studies have examined thermal niche variation within species and across forest‐land use ecotones, information that could provide clues about the capacity of species to adapt to changing temperatures. Here, we quantify individual‐level variation in thermal traits of the tropical poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, in thermally contrasting habitats. Specifically, we examined local environmental temperatures, field body temperatures (T_b), preferred body temperatures (T_pref), critical thermal maxima (CT_max), and thermal safety margins (TSM) of individuals from warm, converted habitats and cool forests. We found that frogs from converted habitats exhibited greater mean T_b and T_pref than those from forests. In contrast, CT_max and TSM did not differ significantly between habitats. However, CT_max did increase moderately with increasing T_b, suggesting that changes in CT_max may be driven by microscale temperature exposure within habitats rather than by mean habitat conditions. Although O. pumilio exhibited moderate divergence in T_pref, CT_max appears to be less labile between habitats, possibly due to the ability of frogs in converted habitats to maintain their T_b below air temperatures that reach or exceed CT_max. Selective pressures on thermal tolerances may increase, however, with the loss of buffering microhabitats and increased frequency of extreme temperatures expected under future habitat degradation and climate warming. Abstract in Spanish is available with online material.     

Plant species loss in an urban area (Turnhout, Belgium) from 1880 to 1999 and its environmental determinants

Information from four archival literature sources from the late 19^th century was matched to present-day plant species distribution data for the region of Turnhout (Belgium) and for 15 smaller sub-regions within this region. In the entire study area 25% of the species recorded in the late 19^th century went extinct during the 20^th century and the extinction rate doubled at the more detailed sub-region level. Binary survival-extinction data and continuous residuals from a linear regression between historical and present-day abundance categories were used to investigate underlying ecological factors of change including habitat preference, ecological amplitude and life strategy. Species increasing relative to the overall trend were generally correlated with nutrient-rich habitats while declining species were more associated with nutrient-poor situations. Generalist species have become relatively more common whilst habitat specialists have strongly declined, resulting in a flora with many ‘losers’ and a few tolerant ‘winners’. The winners are often competitive species while the losers are mainly stress-tolerating species and species with combined life strategies (e.g. SC, SR). Correlations between the decline of historically present habitats and extinction rates of related habitat specialist species show clear trends. We suggest the most important factors involved in changes in flora diversity and vegetation composition are habitat loss due to urbanization and habitat deterioration, mainly due to agricultural intensification.     

Identifying factors that influence bird richness and abundance on farms

Capsule: Farmers can influence species richness and abundance of typical farmland birds positively, even on rather small farms (20–50?ha) within intensively farmed areas.

Aims: To assess the impact of farm settings, farm characteristics and heterogeneity of habitats on bird species richness and abundance, and to indicate which actions and measures farmers can take to promote farmland birds at a farm level.

Methods: Farmland bird species richness and abundance were modelled as a function of farm settings, farm characteristics and semi-natural habitats on 133 farms. The data were analysed at the farm scale, as this is the ‘operating range’ of a farmer, but also at the territory scale, which represents the range birds (mainly passerines) use during the breeding season. Additionally, effects of the farm variables on species abundance/occurrence were investigated for nine widespread species.

Results: Farmland bird species abundance (but not richness) was elevated on organic compared to non-organic farms. Farmland bird species richness and abundance increased with decreasing mean field size. Crop diversity had positive effects on five species at the territory scale. Several semi-natural habitats, especially hedgerows, were associated with higher bird species richness and abundance at both farm and territory scales. Settlement revealed rather negative effects at the farm scale, but several positive relations at the territory scale.

Conclusion: Birds, especially passerines, are restricted to a small area during the breeding season, and so even small farms can contribute to their protection by growing diverse crops, reducing field size and managing a diversity of semi-natural, uncropped habitats. These measures should ideally be accessible within the relatively small scale of a bird territory.     

An inventory of mammalian pests in a New Zealand city

Abstract

Urban ecosystems include many habitat types supporting native flora and fauna. These habitats may also sustain populations of introduced mammalian pests, although relatively little is known about the composition or distributions of these species in urban environments. We made a preliminary survey of the distribution and relative abundance of pest mammals across three urban habitat types (gully, amenity park, residential) in Hamilton, New Zealand. Tracking tunnel and WaxTag® surveys showed that: (1) rats (Rattus rattus or R. norvegicus), mice (Mus musculus) and brushtail possums (Tricho‐surus vulpecula) were detected most often and in highest abundances in gullies, were relatively rare in amenity parks, and were not detected in residential areas; (2) hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were regularly detected in all habitats; and (3) mustelids were not detected in any habitat. Live trapping in areas where rats were detected captured 21 rats, of which 19 were R. rattus. Scat and animal sign surveys found evidence of lagomorphs in amenity parks and gullies but not in residential areas. Cats (Felis catus) were detected in all habitats. These data suggest that important mammalian pests other than cats are either absent (mustelids) or comparatively rare (rats) in urban Hamilton and largely confined to gully habitats. Further research is needed to determine whether detection probabilities of target species vary significantly between the species and habitats we sampled, and to quantify the impact that mammalian pests might have in limiting populations of other animals, especially avifauna.     

Recent changes in the plant composition of wetlands in the Jura Mountains

Aim

To assess vegetation changes in montane fens and wet meadows and their causes over 38 years.

Location

Wetlands, Jura Mountains (Switzerland and France).

Methods

Plots were inventoried in 1974 and re‐located in 2012 (quasi‐permanent plots) on the basis of sketches to assess changes in plant communities. The 110 plots belonged to five phytosociological alliances, two in oligotrophic fens (Caricion davallianae, Caricion fuscae) and three in wet meadows (Calthion, Molinion, Filipendulion). Changes between surveys were assessed with NMDS, and changes in species richness, Simpson diversity, species cover and frequency and the causes of these changes were evaluated by comparing ecological indicator values.

Results

Changes in species composition varied between alliances, with a general trend towards more nutrient‐rich flora with less light at ground level. Species diversity declined, with a marked decreasing trend for the typical species of each alliance. These species were partly replaced by species belonging to nitrophilous and mesophilous grasslands. However, no trend towards drier conditions was detected in these wetlands. The largest changes, with an important colonization by nitrophilous species, occurred in the Swiss sites, where grazing was banned 25 years ago. As a result of floral shifts, many plots previously belonging to fens or wet mesotrophic meadows shifted to an alliance of the wet meadows, generally Filipendulion. Moreover, communities showed a slight trend towards more thermophilous flora.

Conclusions

The investigated wetlands in the Jura Mountains have suffered mainly from eutrophication due to land‐use abandonment and N deposition, with a loss of typical species. Areas with constant land use (grazing or mowing) showed less marked changes in species composition. The most important action to conserve these wetlands is to maintain or reintroduce the traditional practices of extensive mowing and livestock grazing in the wetlands, especially in areas where they were abandoned 25 years ago. This previous land‐use change was intended to improve fen conservation, but it was obviously the wrong measure for conservation purposes.     

Ecological correlates of seed persistence in soil in the north-west European flora

1 Using the data in a recently published seed bank database for north-west Europe, we describe how a species' seed bank behaviour can be characterized by a single 'longevity index', and investigate how representative the information in the database is of the north-west European flora. We also test the hypotheses that seeds of short-lived species are more persistent than those of long-lived species, and long-lived seeds are characteristic of species living in disturbed habitats.
2 The data are not representative of the north-west European flora as a whole; they are a fair reflection of a research effort that has been largely directed towards grassland and arable weeds. Data for rare species, non-agricultural habitats in general and wetlands, rocky habitats and native woodland in particular, are scarce or absent.
3 Annuals and biennials almost always have more persistent seeds than related perennials, and this difference is most striking when, as in Anagallis arvensis and Aphanes arvensis , the short-lived species have moved well away from the 'core' habitat of the family. Confamilial monocarps and polycarps do not differ consistently in seed mass.
4 Gradients of habitat disturbance are accompanied by predictable changes in seed persistence, which are themselves often (but not always) accompanied by parallel shifts in seed size. These results suggest that increasing habitat disturbance (i.e. increasing density-independent mortality) always selects for increased seed persistence, confirming both theory and previous analyses. However, increased seed persistence is not always associated with reduced seed size. This is because persistence depends not only on seed size, but on other traits, many of them physiological. In many habitats the probability of seed burial is strongly linked to seed size and shape, but in arable habitats cultural practices have broken this link.     

Extinction of Fen and Bog Plants and their Habitats in Croatia

Although the fens and bogs of Croatia have already been acknowledged as the nation’s most endangered habitats by Croatia’s National Strategy on Biodiversity Protection, the situation continues to become worse rather than better. Fens and bogs are still rapidly deteriorating and even disappearing. A primary factor appears to be changes in climate since original formation of these peatlands, particularly in recent times. This results in progressive changes in vegetation and finally overgrowth of these habitats by forest vegetation. In many cases human activities, whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, have also led to destruction of such habitats. Looking at all mire types as a whole, acidophilous mires are now nearly extinct in Croatia. Basophilous fens are endangered but not critically so. This is because alkaline waters and associated mineral deposits are relatively widespread through Croatia. Some species have already disappeared from the Croatian flora. The status of other mire plant species is doubtful because there are no records for them in recent decades, while it seems very likely that some of the known surviving species could be lost from Croatia in the near future.     

Declines in occurrence of plants characteristic for a nutrient‐poor meadow habitat are partly explained by their responses to nutrient addition and competition

Species losses and local extinctions are alarmingly common, frequently as a consequence of habitat destruction. Nevertheless, many intact habitats also face species losses, most likely due to environmental changes. However, the exact drivers, and why they affect some species more than others in apparently intact habitats, are still poorly understood. Addressing these questions requires data on changes in occurrence frequency of many species, and comparisons of the responses of those species to experimental manipulations of the environment. Here, we use historic (1911) and contemporary (2017) data on the presence–absence of 42 plant species in 14 seemingly intact Molinia meadows around Lower Lake Constance to quantify changes in occurrence frequency. Then, we performed a common‐garden experiment to test whether occurrence frequencies in 1911 and changes therein by 2017 could be explained by responses of the 42 species to nutrient addition and competition with the acquisitive generalist grass Poa pratensis. Within the 14 still intact Molinia meadows, 36 of the 42 species had declined since 1911. As expected, nutrient addition generally led to increased biomass production of the 42 target species, and competition with P. pratensis had a negative effect. The latter was stronger at high nutrient availability. The more frequent species were in 1911 and the more they declined in frequency between 1911 and 2017, the less above‐ground biomass they produced in our experiment. Competition with P. pratensis magnified this effect. Our work highlights that environmental change can contribute to local extinction of species in otherwise intact habitat remnants. Specifically, we showed that increased nutrient availability negatively affected formerly widespread Molinia‐meadow species in competition with P. pratensis. Our study thus identified a likely mechanism for the decline in occurrence frequency of species in the remaining Molinia meadows.     

The importance of the oil-shale Bings of West Lothian,Scotland, to local and national biodiversity

Summary

The oil-shale bings of West Lothian, Scotland, are a group of post-industrial waste sites, unique in Britain and Western Europe. The industrial exploitation of oil-bearing rocks has created a habitat with its own distinctive flora and fauna. The floral diversity of individual sites has been documented as species lists in several studies. A comprehensive list of more than 350 plant species, with supplementary information on animal species, was compiled from an extensive literature review of these studies. From these data it was possible to determine the extent of species variation within and between bings, identify locally and nationally rare species, and thus to determine the importance of the oil-shale bing habitat at a local and national scale. The results will go some way to allay concerns about the loss of local biodiversity, generally throughout the country side, due to changes in agricultural practices and increased urbanisation. Findings from the bings and evidence from other types of derelict land suggest that species are not lost, they have moved to new habitats.     

Declines in plant species richness and endemic plant species in longleaf pine savannas invaded by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Imperata cylindrica</Emphasis>

Despite the widespread perception that non-native species threaten biodiversity, there are few documented cases of non-native species displacing rare or specialized native species. Here, I examined changes in plant species composition over 5 years during patch expansion of a non-native grass, Imperata cylindrica, in longleaf pine flatwoods in Mississippi, USA. I used a multivariate approach to quantify the degree of habitat specialization and geographic range of all species encountered. I examined losses of species collectively as a function of plant height (controlling for initial frequency) and then the relationship between height and the degree of association with longleaf pine flatwoods, disturbed habitats, and the outer Gulf Coastal Plain of the southeastern USA. Patch expansion resulted in dramatic declines in species richness and increases in ground-level shade at both sites in just 3 years. Most tall saplings, shrubs, and vines were not endemic to longleaf pine communities and were less likely to be displaced than short herbs, most of which were indicative of longleaf pine communities. These results suggest that invasion of longleaf pine communities by I. cylindrica will likely cause significant losses of short, habitat-specialists and reduce the distinctiveness of the native flora of these threatened ecosystems.     

Characteristics and Main Trends of Anthropogenic Florogenesis in the Southern Volga Uplands

The entire range of aspects of anthropogenic florogenesis in the southern part of the Volga Uplands is addressed. Trends in the anthropogenic dynamics of local flora in the last 100 years have been identified. A shift 50–100 km northward of the southern border of natural habitats of some boreal species (Antennaria dioica (L.) Gaertn., Maianthemum bifolium (L.) F.W. Schmidt, Pyrola rotundifolia L., etc.) has been noted. Data on the adventive flora and modern migration paths of the plants within the study area are provided. The adaptive activity of aboriginal species in relation to the entire range of anthropogenic habitats of the region is characterized. Information on findings of protected plant species in anthropogenic biotopes is provided. Overall, flora aridization and xerophytization have been noted, as has an increased role of tree and shrub life forms in the anthropogenic florogenesis. It is proposed to use a method based on the identification of anthropochorophilic elements in the aboriginal flora to forecast the adaptation of flora to the conditions of anthropogenic habitats.