Communities ofAnthriscus caucalis andAsperugo procumbens in Slovakia

Two ruderal seam communities, theLactuco-Anthriscetum caucalidis andAhthrisco-Asperugetum procumbentis, are described in Slovakia. Both communities occur on loess in regions of warm and dry climate. Besides the species of theGalio-Alliarietalia, those of theSisymbrietalia andArtemisietalia design the floristical composition of the communities. Numerical classification and ordination techniques were adopted to clarify systematic relations of the communities and show the structure of the revealed clusters. A comparison of the results of the numerical methods and the syntaxonomical table synthesis has been performed and briefly discussed.     

The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity exploration

The biodiversity of the 5,000 km-long Great Escarpment of southern Africa is currently poorly known, despite hosting half of the subcontinent’s centres of plant endemism and to have a rich endemic vertebrate fauna, particularly in the north-west and east. A country-based overview of endemism, data deficiencies and conservation challenges is provided, with Angola being the country in most need of Escarpment research and conservation. Given that the Escarpment provides most of the subcontinent’s fresh water, protection and restoration of Escarpment habitat providing such ecological services is urgently required. Key research needs are exhaustive biodiversity surveys, systematic studies to test refugia and migration hypotheses, and the effects of modern climate change. Such research results can then be consolidated into effective conservation planning and co-ordinated international efforts to protect the rich biodiversity of the Escarpment and the ecological services it provides.     

Gazania lanata and G. splendidissima: Two new species of Asteraceae (tribe Arctotideae) from the Greater Capensis, with an updated key for the genus

Two new species of Gazania Gaert. (Asteraceae, tribe Arctotideae) from the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa are described. Gazania lanata Magee & Boatwr., a local endemic of dolomite lenses near Robertson, is distinguished by the spatulate to sublyrate, simple or weakly pinnatilobed leaves, the bristle-like hairs along the inflorescence and the densely lanate vestiture of the young growth and involucre. Gazania splendidissima Mucina, Magee & Boatwr. from the arid Namaqualand coast between Port Nolloth and Hondeklipbaai, is distinguished by the suffrutescent habit, semi-succulent leaves with a densely mealy uppermost surface, and prominently maculate involucre. An updated key to the now 18 recognised Gazania species is provided to facilitate identification of these and existing taxa in the genus.     

The Boschberg (Somerset East, Eastern Cape) — A floristic cross-roads of the southern Great Escarpment

The Boschberg and Groot-Bruintjieshoogde form the wettest and floristically most distinct section of the Sneeuberg mountain complex. As such they warrant a separate detailed investigation, particularly in terms of their connectivity between the main Sneeuberg in the west, the Great Winterberg-Amatolas in the east, and with the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) to the south and south-west. Following a detailed botanical investigation and overview we conclude that the Boschberg and Groot-Bruintjieshoogde are a floristic hub between the CFR and southern Great Escarpment, as well as between the moister eastern and drier western components of the Great Escarpment. Our data confirm that the Boschberg forms part of the south-eastern connection between the CFR and the Afromontane region in southern Africa, a connection first suggested by Weimarck (1941).     

Patterns of Clonal Growth Modes Along a Chronosequence of Post-Coppice Forest Regeneration in Beech Forests of Central Italy

Forest coppicing leads to changes in composition of the herbaceous understory through soil disturbance and alteration of the light regime. While the role of seed dispersal traits at the start of succession after coppicing has been extensively studied, the role of persistence traits such as clonal growth and bud banks is not yet sufficiently understood. To gain better understanding of this role, we studied the patterns of clonal growth organs and related clonal traits of species in a series of coppiced beech forests of the Central Apennines (Marches region, Italy) in various stages of recovery after the last coppicing event. We conducted stratified random sampling and established a chronosequence of recovery stages based on stand age (reflecting the number of years since the last coppicing). The beech stands were classified into three age groups (Post-logged, Recovering, and Old-coppice stands) according to the characteristic stages of beech coppice dynamics. Clonal growth organs and the corresponding clonal traits of plants in the forest understory vegetation were assessed with the help of a CLO-PLA1 database. We found no significant change in the proportion of clonal species along the studied chronosequence. In contrast, most of the traits and about the half of the clonal growth organs showed correlation with stand age or preference for a certain habitat (i.e., stage of regeneration). Clonal and bud bank traits proved to play an important role in the persistence of species subjected to forest coppicing cycles in the studied area.     

Fine-scale spatial population patterns and mobility of winter-annual herbs in a dry grassland

Abstract. Winter annuals were mapped in a series of permanent plots located in gaps in an Austrian dry grassland over a period of 3 yr. Great differences in abundance were found among nine winter annuals — Arabis auriculata, Arenaria leptoclados, Cerastium glutinosum, Erophila spathulata, Holosteum umbellatum, Hornungia petraea, Saxifraga tridactylites, Thlaspi perfoliatum and Veronica praecox –- occurring in the gaps. The absolute frequency of species varied considerably from year to year, while their relative proportions remained nearly constant in the plots over the study period. High spatial dissociation (low level of spatial coincidence) between populations was observed; this was ascribed to boleochory, known to generate monospecific patches. No trend in self-replacement of a species was found. This means that occupying a place in one year does not necessarily mean the same place will be occupied in following years. The probability of a species replacing another was found to be low. The space could be inhabited by any species or remain unoccupied. We suggest that the distribution patterns of species are controlled by dispersal and preference for microhabitats, at least at the scale of 20 cm × 20 cm. It was shown by a permutation method based on cumulative frequencies, that at smaller scales the habitat differentiation vanishes. We suggest that, up to a typical dispersal range of the winter annuals, the Carousel model can be applied due to the lack of coincidence (and presumably also interactions) of individuals. Nevertheless, time may eliminate the habitat differentiation at any scale. A design of an improved data-sampling and a handling procedure was developed.