A review of plant diversity, vegetation, and phytogeography of the Khorassan-Kopet Dagh floristic province in the Irano-Turanian region (northeastern Iran–southern Turkmenistan)

Phytotaxa ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 249 (1) ◽  
pp. 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
FARSHID MEMARIANI ◽  
VAJIHE ZARRINPOUR ◽  
HOSSEIN AKHANI
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Infraspecific Taxa ◽  
Desert Steppes ◽  
Steppe Communities ◽  
Cliff Vegetation ◽  
Kopet Dagh

The Khorassan-Kopet Dagh (KK) floristic province is located in the northeastern parts of Iran and partly in southern Turkmenistan. The area is a transition zone and a corridor connecting different provinces of the Irano-Turanian region and also Hyrcanian montane forests of the Euro-Siberian region. The unique combination of Irano-Turanian species and also presence of a local center of endemism are evidence of a separate biogeographic entity. The complicated topography, high habitat heterogeneity and vegetation history are reasons for the development of diverse vegetation types. In order to achieve up-to-date information on the plant diversity and distribution patterns, a database was prepared using all floristic records from the area defined as KK. A total of 2576 species/infraspecific taxa belonging to 702 genera and 112 families of vascular plants have been reported from the area, 2498 of which occur within Iran. Altogether, 28 different distribution patterns are recognized among five major phytogeographical groups, including widespread, tri-regional, bi-regional, Euro-Siberian and Irano-Turanian patterns. Irano-Turanian elements, which make up the core flora of KK, are subdivided further into 14 distribution patterns. A significant number of species, i.e. 356 species (13.8%), are endemic to the area. The flora of KK is highly influenced by central Irano-Turanian elements. The main vegetation types of the area include Juniperus woodlands, Pistacia vera woodlands, some isolated enclaves of Hyrcanian forests and scrub, cliff vegetation, mountain steppe communities, semi-desert steppes, loess and marl vegetation, halophytic vegetation, aquatic and hygrophilous communities, and ruderal/invasive plant communities. There are several major threats to the ecosystems and biodiversity of the area. The areas presently protected do not cover all of the vegetation types, and therefore many threatened species are not safe.

scholarly journals Plant diversity of the Pantanal wetland

2011 ◽  
Vol 71 (1 suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 265-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
A Pott ◽  
AKM Oliveira ◽  
GA Damasceno-Junior ◽  
JSV Silva
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Riparian Forests ◽  
Endemic Plants ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Characteristic Species ◽  
Brazilian Pantanal ◽  
Pantanal Wetland ◽  
Seasonal Forests

This is a review of current studies in diversity of the flora and main vegetation types in the Brazilian Pantanal. The flora of this wetland, nearly 2,000 species, constitutes a pool of elements of wide distribution and from more or less adjacent phytogeographic provinces, such as Cerrado, dry seasonal forests, Chaco, Amazonia and Atlantic Forest. The most numerous group includes wide-distribution species, mainly herbs, while the second contingent comes from the Cerrado. Endemic plants are rare, numbering only seven. The vegetation of the sedimentary floodplain is a mosaic of aquatics, floodable grasslands, riparian forests, savannas (cerrados), cerrado woodlands, dry forests, and a large area of mono-dominant savannas, and pioneer woodlands. The main vegetation types are briefly described with their characteristic species, and their estimated areas are given according to the latest mapping.

scholarly journals The Cuito catchment of the Okavango system: a vascular plant checklist for the Angolan headwaters

PhytoKeys ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 113 ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Goyder ◽  
Nigel Barker ◽  
Stoffel P. Bester ◽  
Arnold Frisby ◽  
Matt Janks ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
River System ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
System A ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
First Time

This paper aims to provide a baseline for conservation planning by documenting patterns of plant diversity and vegetation in the upper catchment of the Cuito River. 417 species are recorded from this region. Nine of these are species potentially new to science. Ten species are newly recorded from Angola, with an additional species only recorded previously within Angola from the northern enclave of Cabinda. The 108 new provincial records for Moxico clearly indicate the lack of collections from Angola’s largest province. We note the existence of extensive peat deposits in the Cuito river system for the first time and suggest that one of Barbosa’s vegetation types in the area needs to be reassessed.

scholarly journals Flora and Vegetation of the Island of Kalamos (Ionian Sea, Greece) – Floristic Analysis and Phytogeographical Aspects

Hacquetia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evagelos Baliousis
Keyword(s):  
New Records ◽  
Ionian Sea ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Local Distribution ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Rare Taxa ◽  
Floristic Analysis ◽  
Infraspecific Taxa ◽  
Ionian Island ◽  
First Time

Abstract The floristic investigation of the Ionian island of Kalamos resulted in the addition of 275 specific and infraspecific taxa, which are reported here, to a present total of 502 taxa. For each newly recorded taxon local distribution and habitat types are presented. Convolvulus pentapetaloides and Malcolmia graeca subsp. hydraea are reported for the first time from the Ionian islands. Some of the new records concern rare taxa in Greece or regional endemics, which are, therefore, chorologically significant, such as Alkanna corcyrensis, Stachys ionica, Heptaptera colladonioides. A brief description of some of the vegetation types of the island is given. The results of floristic analysis and phytogeographical aspects demonstrate the pronounced Mediterranean character of the island’s flora.

Considering Urban Social Functions at Fine Spatial Resolution to Understand the Distribution of Invasive Plant Species in Cities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muriel Deparis ◽  
Nicolas Legay ◽  
Francis Isselin-Nondedeu ◽  
Sébastien Bonthoux
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Important Variable ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Structural Elements ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Urban Classification ◽  
Fine Spatial Resolution ◽  
Linear Elements

Abstract ContextCities are high sources of plant invasions. To understand mechanisms of introduction and dispersion of invasive alien species (IAS) in city, we need a thoroughly description of the social and structural components of urban landscapes. ObjectivesWe assessed the effects of neighborhood types and their associated human activities and structural linear elements on the distributions of IAS in a French medium city (Blois). We examined how the relative contributions of these variables varied between scales of analysis. MethodsWe recorded the presence of seven IAS species in the entire city (22 km²), at three spatial resolutions: 100×100m, 200×200m and 400×400m. We characterized neighborhoods through their main covers, human uses, and ages and structural elements through impervious soil, area of and distance to roads and railways.ResultsNeighborhood type was the most important variable in explaining IAS distributions. This variable was especially important at the finest scale which allowed a fine urban classification. B. davidii and B. aquifolium were found in individual residential neighborhoods, whereas R. pseudoacacia and A. altissima were most encountered in industrial areas. The effects of the structural elements differed between species and were lower. ConclusionsCharacterizing the high spatial and functional heterogeneity of urban landscapes at fine scale is critical to understand IAS distribution patterns. We show that considering human uses and planting practices is determinant to understand IAS introduction patterns. Then, linear transport corridors and ruderal conditions explain the dispersion and establishment of IAS across the city and potentially to the surrounding natural spaces.

Simulation of potential distribution patterns of the invasive plant species Xanthium spinosum L. (Bathurst burr) in Xinjiang under climate change

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
塞依丁·海米提 SAYIT Hamit ◽  
努尔巴依·阿布都沙力克 NURBAY Abdushalih ◽  
许仲林 XU Zhonglin ◽  
阿尔曼·解思斯 ARMAN Jiesisi ◽  
邵华 SHAO Hua ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Potential Distribution ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Distribution Patterns ◽  
Invasive Plant Species

How do heterogeneity in vegetation types and post-fire age-classes contribute to plant diversity at the landscape scale?

2015 ◽  
Vol 346 ◽  
pp. 22-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.S. Cohn ◽  
J. Di Stefano ◽  
F. Christie ◽  
G. Cheers ◽  
A. York
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Age Classes

scholarly journals The Biodiversity Promotion Areas: effectiveness of agricultural direct payments on plant diversity conservation in the semi-natural grasslands of the Southern Swiss Alps

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (14) ◽  
pp. 4155-4172
Author(s):  
Simone Ravetto Enri ◽  
Emiliano Nucera ◽  
Michele Lonati ◽  
Pier Francesco Alberto ◽  
Massimiliano Probo
Keyword(s):  
Biodiversity Conservation ◽  
Functional Groups ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Swiss Alps ◽  
Species Number ◽  
Ecological Indicator ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Natural Grasslands ◽  
Meadow Species

Abstract An agro-environmental payment for the management of the so-called ‘Biodiversity Promotion Areas’ (BPA) has been used to accomplish biodiversity conservation goals in Switzerland. These areas have been managed according to specific limitations on mowing dates and fertilizers. We assessed the regional-scale effectiveness of BPA implementation within Ticino Canton by answering the following questions: (i) is plant species diversity higher in BPA than in conventionally managed grasslands (CMG)? (ii) which are the differences between BPA and CMG in terms of climatic, topographical, ecological, and vegetation variables? (iii) which vegetation types, functional groups, and plant species are specifically related to BPA? A total of 242 vegetation surveys (64 in BPA and 178 in CMG, respectively) was carried out in 55 farms and the main climatic and topographic features were assessed. Differences in terms of plant diversity, ecological indicator and pastoral values, species functional groups, vegetation types, and indicator species between BPA and CMG were assessed. The BPA harboured a higher plant diversity. They were located in steeper areas, at higher elevations, and characterised by lower soil nutrient content, mowing tolerance, and pastoral value than CMG. Dry meadow species number and cover were higher in BPA, while nutrient-rich meadow species number was higher in CMG. The species associated to BPA belonged to a wider range of functional groups and 38% of them belonged to the national list for biodiversity promotion in agriculture, whereas no species associated to CMG belonged to that list. Thus, our results confirmed the effectiveness of BPA for biodiversity conservation for the Southern Swiss Alps.

scholarly journals Zur Pollenanalyse von Lössen: Untersuchungen der Lößprofile von Oberfellabrunn und Stillfried (Niederösterreich)

1964 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-39
Author(s):  
Burkhard Frenzel
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Northern Eurasia ◽  
Loamy Soil ◽  
Plant Associations ◽  
Surface Samples ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Steppe Communities ◽  
History Of ◽  
Eemian Interglacial

Abstract. A method for pollenanalytical investigations of loesses is described. If several sources of error are duely taken into consideration, this method is successful in the reconstruction of the vegetation history of those phases of pleniglacial times, during which the thick loess layers were accumulated. The method can be employed in pollenanalytical investigations of weathered and unweathered loesses, with the exception of redeposited loesses. It can be shown that the famous sequence of fossil soils at Oberfellabrunn, known as the soils of the "Fellabrunner Komplex" („Stillfried A"), which is sometimes held to be the equivalent of the "Göttweig Interstadial", must be divided into the brown loamy soil at the base of the sequence, which was formed during the Eemian Interglacial, and into the younger humic layers, which developed during the Interstadials of Amersfoort and Brørup. The amelioration of climate during the "Stillfried B-Interstadial" (perhaps equivalent of the "Paudorf Interstadial"?) was strong enough to enable local subalpine conifer forests and riverine broad-leaved forests to spread along the rivers and other suitable places within the still dominant steppe formations on the drier loess plateaus. The loess layers of the Riss and Würm glaciations have been accumulated within the eastern Dart of Niederösterreich in different steppe communities, which can be described at best as belonging to the Gramineae steppe formation, rich in herbaceous plants. Sometimes there occurred plants of recent tundra-communities in the loess steppe: but real tundras did not exist at that time in Niederösterreich. This holds true most of all for the last period of loess accumulation after the Stillfried B-Interstadial. When being compared with pollen spectra of surface samples of recent tundra, steppe and semidesert plant communities, it becomes evident, that the open vegetation, thriving during the last glaciation in vast regions of Northern Eurasia cannot be described in terms of modern plant associations.

scholarly journals Trends in plant ecology research in Ethiopia (1969-2019): Systematic analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kflay Gebrehiwot ◽  
Sebsebe Demissew
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Plant Ecology ◽  
Flow Diagram ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Systematic Analysis ◽  
Afromontane Forest ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
Plant Ecological

AbstractThe objective of this paper was to systematically analyze the trend of plant ecological research in Ethiopia. The inclusion and exclusion of the articles for analysis were performed using Reporting Standards for Systematic Evidence Syntheses (ROSES) flow diagram developed for systematic review/meta-analysis. The number of articles published, authors, and collaboration has increased dramatically since the 1960s. Most of the research largely focused on the Dry evergreen Afromontane Forest and grassland complex (DAF) and Moist evergreen Afromontane Forest (MAF) vegetation types, comprising of about 52.6%. Of the remaining vegetation types, the woodlands (14.3%) i.e. Acacia-Commiphora woodland and bushland proper (ACW), and Combretum-Terminalia woodland and wooded grassland (CTW), desert and semi-desert scrubland (DSS) (2.3%), and the Afroalpine (AA) and Ericaceous Belt (EB) (1.5%) received little attention. A descriptive study on plant community ecology revolving on floristic composition and community structure is the dominant research theme, which revealed a narrow theme in contrast to the global trend. Other plant ecological studies such as reproductive and dispersal ecology of invasive plant species, and pollination ecology seems largely a neglected topic by the academia. Furthermore, the recommendations forwarded are not result-based. As a future direction, the Ethiopian government should develop a project database both for completed and ongoing projects.

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