Volume 39 (2015): Issue 1 (September 2015)

Calypogeia fissa is a suboceanic-mediterrean and amphiatlantic species, which comprises two subspecies: C. fissa subsp. fissa occurring in Europe and C. fissa subsp. neogea Schust. known from North America. Recently, within the European part of distribution, three groups (P_S, P_B and G) were distinguished with the aid of genetic and molecular markers. The flow cytometry results revealed that two of the detected groups of the European C. fissa, which are frequent in Poland (P_S and P_B), differ in ploidy level: the P_S group is haploid, whereas the P_B group is diploid. Isozyme pattern at two loci may suggest an allopolyploid origin of the diploid P_B group.

The investigation results of the transformer species participation (Echinocystis lobata (Michx.) Torr. & A. Gray, Heracleum sosnowskyi Manden., Impatiens glandulifera Royle, I. parviflora DC., Reynoutria japonica Houtt., Robinia pseudoacacia L.) in different plant communities of the Ukrainian Polissya (Forest zone of Ukraine) are presented. All the abovementioned species are strong edificators in the region that can significantly change important species composition parameters of communities and character of landscape.

Studies of the flora of villages in a connection with the surrounding landscape are rare and mostly limited to the built-up area and its general location in a geographical region. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the diversity patterns of flora against the background of local landscape units in the rural areas and to analyse them in the context of village transformation. The study comprised 30 villages of medieval origin representing the oval-shape type, with differently preserved structure of built-up area and cultivated fields, located in the Lubuskie Lakeland. The terrain within a buffer zone of 200 m in width, located outside of the built-up area, was divided into spatial complexes. In each of these complexes, floristic lists were compiled. The structure of surrounding landscape within the buffer zone of 1 km in width, measuring from the village centroid, was analysed using ArcGIS.

The recorded flora comprised 767 taxa of spontaneously occurring vascular plants. Extremely rare and common species were the most numerous. Native species distinctly prevailed over alien in all types of spatial complexes and the majority of them occurred in the habitats transformed by man. There were noted altogether 244 species of anthropophytes.

The index of anthropophytization of flora (WAnt) showed that both types of built-up areas (transformed and non-transformed) reached the highest values, slightly higher than fields and central green. Index of flora modernization (WM) showed the same pattern. Only water bodies were strikingly different from other complexes in respect to both indices (WAnt - significantly lower values, while WM - much higher). Differences in the floristic composition of transformed and non-transformed villages were not significant at the level of whole village. The villages were still harbouring rare species from the group of relics of former cultivation and archaeophytes, but observations conducted since 2007 confirmed that they have been decreasing in number. The percentage of groups of species with different affinity toward urban areas have shown that in the studied rural areas, the share of urbanophilic species is still very low as compared to the dominant group of urbanoneutral and moderately urbanophobic species.

The annual plant Senecio sylvaticus L. (Asteraceae) is regarded as a doubtfully recorded in Turkey. It has not been collected in the country since the first report of its occurrence in the north eastern Black Sea Region in 1875. This paper reconfirms the occurrence of Senecio sylvaticus in Turkey. New specimens were collected from the Ereğli and Alaplı regions (Zonguldak province, NW Turkey) in 2014. The species description, distribution maps and photographs are given.

In the presented study, male and female reproductive success was analyzed in relation to the population size, floral display and pollinators’ availability in natural and anthropogenic populations of the orchid Malaxis monophyllos (L.) Sw. Our results indicated significant differences between all investigated populations in parameters of floral display, including heights and number of flowers per inflorescence, as well the number of flowering individuals and their spatial structure. Additionally, populations differed both in male (pollinia removal) and female (fruit set) reproductive success, but only the fruit set clearly differentiated anthropogenic and natural populations. Despite the average flower number per plant being significantly higher in two of the anthropogenic populations, it was not related to the fruits set, which was significantly lower there. Moreover, our preliminary study concerning the potential pollinators of M. monophyllos showed a higher contribution of flies in natural habitats than in anthropogenic ones. Thus, we can suspect that the main factors influencing the level of female reproductive success in M. monophyllos populations are abundance of effective pollinators, as well as flower visitors, which may have resulted in a different level of pollen discounting in populations. Therefore, further studies concerning breeding system and pollination as important forces that shape demographic processes in M. monophyllos populations are necessary. Our results also indicate that suitable conservation methods in M. monophyllos should always include the preservation of potential pollinators, especially in these new, secondary habitats.

Human activity is a factor strongly influencing the current state of vegetation. The abandonment of traditional land use enables uncontrolled secondary succession. Libanotis pyrenaica, a host plant for Orobanche bartlingii, is a great example of species that spread as a result of this process, especially in the area of the Silesian-Cracow Upland. The aim of this study is to show that the expansion of L. pyrenaica caused by changes in land use promotes spreading of O. bartlingii - a species rare in Poland and Europe. During the field research conducted in the last decade, further localities of O. bartlingii were found. The gathered data were summarized to supplement the known distribution of the species and to present floristic and ecological characteristics of the phytocenoses with the participation of L. pyrenaica and O. bartlingii.

By the end of the 19th century, Lactuca tatarica was reported for the first time from an adventive occurrence on the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts. In Wolin Island, the species has become established in the natural habitat and is clearly spreading in recent years. The community with L. tatarica was studied currently on the western point of Wolin Island along the stretch between the mouth of the Świna (Swine) River and a newly constructed breakwater of the external harbour. The taxon occupies relatively low parts of the sandy elevations of dune ridges, in patches of the Honckenyo-Agropyretum juncei association (habitat 2110). Furthermore, L. tatarica has been reported in recent years from some locations in Świnoujście (Usedom (Uznam) Island), Międzyzdroje, Wisełka and Międzywodzie.

The investigations presented here were carried out in years 2013-14, in a Molinietum caeruleae meadow with interrupted plant cover caused by animal activity (patch I); abandoned Molinietum caeruleae meadows with untouched plant canopy, dominated by species with considerable height of the above-ground parts (patches II-VI); as well as the edge (patch VII) and the interior (patch VIII) of a birch woodlot. The height of standing vegetation and soil moisture increased in subsequent patches, whereas the light availability at ground level showed inverse tendency. The abundance of Trollius europaeus subpopulations in all studied patches was rather low. In patch I, juvenile individuals dominated, while in other stands - flowering adults prevailed. The lack of temporal variability in the number of basal leaves observed in patches III, IV, V, VI and VII might be due to lack of available area necessary for clonal proliferation of ramets, while the increase of basal leaves number in other sites might suggest unlimited iterative growth. The dimensions of basal leaves in consecutive years were constant in majority of subpopulations, while they showed strong spatial variability increasing gradually from patch I to patch VII and, subsequently, decreasing in patch VIII. The substantial dimensions of basal leaves may enable better light capture in sites with great level of lateral shade, while smaller dimensions in patches located within a woodlot may be due to shade from above created by trees. Lack of temporal variability and presence of substantial spatial variability in the number and height of generative stems, as well as flower production might enhance chances for successful pollination in a competitive environment. Significant changes of follicle number in time and space suggest successful process of pollination in all patches excluding patch VIII. The weak condition of the ramet clusters in patch I is not compensated by considerable seedling recruitment, whereas the satisfactory state of the ramet clusters in patches II-VIII may not suffice for the long-term maintenance of populations in colonized areas.

Studies aimed at the identification of the range and method of spread of alien plant species in settlement areas in Kampinos National Park (KNP) and its immediate vicinity were carried out in years 2012-2014. Special emphasis was put on surveying the sites of invasive alien species (IAS), and diagnosing potential threats posed to the natural and semi-natural vegetation of the national park by the IAS present in rural areas. We found 53 alien vascular plant species, including 40 invasive taxa which may potentially pose a threat to the ecosystems of KNP. Species encroaching from settlement areas to semi-natural and natural communities included: Bidens frondosa, Echinocystis lobata, Impatiens glandulifera, I. parviflora, Juncus tenuis, Lupinus polyphyllus, Reunoutria japonica and Solidago gigantea. Most of them were species from the highest invasiveness (IV and III) classes in Poland. Similarity analysis carried out for all investigated localities with regard to all alien species, and only for invasive ones showed a clear division into separate groups: villages within the boundaries of the national park and villages outside the park.