Volume 62 (2013): Issue 2 (June 2013)

Orthotrichum pulchellum Brunt. has been collected in Poland recently. So far, only one old record of the species from the nineteenth century is known from this country. The epiphytic moss has been discovered recently on three localities in the north-western part of the country. Diagnostic features and ecology are presented. The historical and recent findings of the species in Poland are briefly discussed and its current distribution is mapped. It is suggested that the species should be placed on the red-list of mosses in Poland in the category “Indeterminate”.

The black soldier fly Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) is recorded from Bohumín in Czech Silesia (Czech Republic). This finding represents not only the first record from the Czech Republic but also the northernmost occurrence (at 49°55'N) of this species in Europe. H. illucens is a non-indigenous fly in Europe that was introduced from the New World and is now distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. The first Czech record is documented in detail and the causalities of the occurrence of H. illucens at so high a latitude is discussed. An updated distribution of the species in Europe is mapped.

The paper discusses the floristic structure, distribution and habitat requirements of a shrubby community of Salicetum schugnanicae ass. nova. The potential range of the association is described within the Pamir Alai Mts in Middle Asia. The biotope of this community comprises alpine, humid tall-herbs with shrubby physiognomy on relatively flat slopes of mountain valleys. Th plots of the association were found at elevations between 2,500 and 3,500 m above sea level. Phytocoenoses of the Salicetum schugnanicae are characterised by an apparent domination of a characteristic species Salix schugnanicae in shrub layer. The density of the willow thicket is moderate, from 35 to 90%. The herb layer of the community is moderately rich in species and consists mainly of taxa typical for Mulgedio-Aconitetea class (Angelica komarovii, Codonopsis clematoides, Geranium collinum, G. regelii, Heracleum lehmannianum and Polygonum coriarium) and Nardion alliance (e.g. Blysmus compressus, Carex orbicularis subsp. hissaro-darvasica, Dactylorhiza umbrosa, Heleocharis meridionalis, Pedicularis peduncularis, Primula iljinii, Swertia juzepczukii). Also the moss layer is abundant as it is typically for peaty or boggy habitats similar to alpine mires. The most frequent bryophytes noted in the plots are: Brachythecium mildeanum, Calliergonella cuspidata or Cratoneuron commutatum. The described willow association is one of the rarest and most rapidly disappearing plant communit in Tajikistan. This makes the association of highest conservation priority and special management attention.

There are precious remnants of Tilio-Carpinetum vegetation in the Nysa Kłodzka Valley near Grodków forming three forests. During the years 2002-2004, the line transect method has been employed to assess dominance of birds breeding in these forests. Three transects were fixed in the forest interior and two transects on the edges along the Nysa Kłodzka river. A total of 63 bird species were recorded, inside the forests - 59, while on the edges - 51 species. Both in the interior and on the edges dominant species constituted 53%. However, species composition in the dominant groups were different. Both in interior and on the edges Fringilla coelebs, Sturnus vulgaris, Phylloscopus collybita and Sylvia atricapilla dominated; in interior forest Parus major, Sitta europaea and Erithacus rubecula were also dominants, while on the edges - Turdus merula and Emberiza citrinella were also in this group. In comparison with natural Tilio-Carpinetum hornbeam forest, the proportion of dominant species in hornbeam forests near Grodków was lower, what is probably the result of the edge effect.

In the first supplement to the fauna of the Diptera Acalyptrata of the Gemer area (Slovakia) new records from the Muránska planina National Park are presented. Based on the material examined, records of Micropezidae (3 species), Psilidae (4), Clusiidae (9), Acartophthalmidae (2), Anthomyzidae (4), Aulacigastridae (2, a family recorded for the first time from Gemer area), Periscelididae (2) and Asteiidae (2) are given, with comments for each species about general distribution, biology, faunistic and/or nature conservation importance. Four species are new additions to the fauna of Slovakia, viz. Chamaepsila andreji (Shatalkin, 1996), Ch. confusa Shatalkin & Merz, 2010 (both Psilidae), Clusiodes gentilis (Collin, 1912) (Clusiidae) and Periscelis winnertzii Egger, 1862 (Periscelididae), and six other species are recorded from the Gemer or Muránska planina NP for the first time. Apart from the faunal novelties, Rainieria calceata (Fallén, 1820) (Micropezidae), Clusiodes caledonicus (Collin, 1912), C. verticalis (Collin, 1912) (Clusiidae), Aulacigaster pappi Kassebeer, 2001 (Aulacigastridae) and Periscelis annulata (Fallén, 1813) (Periscelididae) are the most significant species in the area, belonging to rare taxa distinctly jeopardized due to association with (in Central Europe) endangered habitats. A new host plant of Stiphrosoma sabulosum (Haliday, 1837) (Anthomyzidae) is recorded, viz. Agrostis gigantea Roth. (Poaceae).

The aim of this study was to examine the size and composition of soil seed bank in the beech forest of Beskid Śląski (southern Poland). The study was conducted in autumn 2009 on two patches of vegetation. The applied method of research was seedling germination from the soil samples. The soil was sampled to the depth of 10 cm using a 5 cm diameter cylinder. The observation of the seedling's growth was conducted in laboratory conditions for 5 months. The size of the soil seed bank was estimated at 592 seeds/m2 (16 species) for Dentario glandulosae-Fagetum community and 2030 seeds/m2 (9 species) for Luzulo nemorosae-Fagetum comunnity. Dominant species in the seed bank was Juncus sp. and Luzula luzuloides. In addition, the composition of the seed bank and the above-ground vegetation did not show any significant similarities and a greater number of seeds were located in the upper 5cm layer of soil.

Orthotrichum affine var. bohemicum is epiphytic moss described in 2011 based on material from the Czech Republic. During bryological survey in 2013, five new localities were recorded in the western part of the Czech Republic. Description of the new localities and ecology are presented.

In the second supplement to the fauna of the Diptera Acalyptrata of the Gemer area (Slovakia) new records from the Muránska planina National Park are given. Based on the material examined, records of 2 species of Trixoscelididae, 1 species of Chyromyidae and 68 species of Sphaeroceridae are presented, with comments about their general distribution, biology, faunistic and/or nature conservation importance. Chyromya miladae Andersson, 1976 (Chyromyidae) and six species of Sphaeroceridae, viz. Borborillus uncinatus (Duda, 1923), B. vitripennis (Meigen, 1830), Norrbomia hispanica (Duda, 1923), N. somogyii (Papp, 1973), Leptocera oldenbergi (Duda, 1918) and Minilimosina (Svarciella) guestphalica (Duda, 1918), are new additions to the fauna of the Gemer area; 31 other species of Sphaeroceridae are added to the fauna of the Muránska planina NP. All these seven faunal additions belong to significant species in the area due to their association with threatened habitats, general rarity or because occurring on new limits of areas of their distribution.

We present the bryofloristic results of three field courses, which took place in different regions of the Czech Republic in 2012 and 2013. The regions included the northern part of České středohoří hills of North Bohemia, the Žďárské vrchy Mts of East Bohemia and the warm South Moravian region between Hustopeče and Kyjov. Altogether 307 species and four additional varieties (more than one-third of the known country’s bryoflora) were recorded in course of all three events, with species counts from the individual 4-days-courses varying between 133 and 187 evaluated taxa. Most important records are briefly commented.

New records of Anisopodidae, Dixidae, Ditomyiidae, Keroplatidae, Mycetophilidae, Ptychopteridae and Thaumaleidae (Diptera) are presented from Muránska planina National Park in the Gemer region in Central Slovakia. The material was obtained mainly in the years 2012– 2013 by means of Malaise traps and by individual collecting by the authors. Three species, Keroplatus tipuloides Bosc, 1792, Mycomya trivittata (Zetterstedt, 1838), and Sciophila geniculata Zetterstedt, 1838 are recorded from Slovakia for the first time.

The paper presents description of a new, abundant locality of rare in Silesia Province medicinal plant Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. Its distribution and threats in this area are briefly discussed.