In the present study, ten (10) selected bacteria isolated from chasmophytic wild Chenopodium were evaluated for alleviation of drought stress in chickpea. All the bacterial cultures were potential P, ...K and Zn solubilizer. About 50% of the bacteria could produce Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate (ACC) deaminase. The bacteria showed wide range of tolerance towards pH, salinity, temperature and osmotic stress. Bacillus paralicheniformis L38, Pseudomonas sp. LN75, Enterobacter hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89, B. paramycoides L17 and Micrococcus luteus LA9 significantly improved growth and nutrient (N, P, K, Fe and Zn) content in chickpea under water stress during a green house experiment conducted following a completely randomized design (CRD). Application of Microbacterium imperiale LJ10, B. stercoris LN74, Pseudomonas sp. LN75, B. paralicheniformis L38 and E. hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89 reduced the antioxidant enzymes under water stress. During field experiments conducted following randomized block design (RBD), all the bacterial inoculations improved chickpea yield under water stress. Highest yield (1363 kg ha
) was obtained in plants inoculated with Pseudomonas sp. LN75. Pseudomonas sp. LN75, B. paralicheniformis L38 and E. hormachei subsp. xiangfengensis LJ89 have potential as microbial stimulants to alleviate the water stress in chickpea. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of using chasmophyte associated bacteria for alleviation of water stress in a crop plant.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Recent divergence can obscure species boundaries among closely related taxa.
section
(Caryophyllaceae) has been taxonomically controversial, with about 30 species described. We investigate species ...delimitation within this section using 500 specimens sequenced for one nuclear and two plastid markers. Despite the use of a small number of genes, the large number of sequenced samples allowed confident delimitation of 50% of the species. The delimitation of other species (e.g.,
,
and
) was more challenging. We confirmed that seven of the ten chasmophyte species in the section are not related to each other but are, instead, genetically closer to geographically nearby species belonging to
yet growing in open habitats. Adaptation to chasmophytic habitats therefore appears to have occurred independently, as a result of convergent evolution within the group. Species from the Western Mediterranean Basin showed more conflicting species boundaries than species from the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, where there are fewer but better-delimited species. Significant positive correlations were found between an estimation of the effective population size of the taxa and their extent of occurrence (EOO) or area of occupancy (AOO), and negative but non-significant correlations between the former and the posterior probability (PP) of the corresponding clades. These correlations might suggest a lower impact of incomplete lineage sorting in species with low effective population sizes and small distributional ranges compared with that in species inhabiting large areas. Finally, we confirmed that
and
are distinct species, that
might furthermore include two different species and that
from Corsica and
from the Lipari Islands are sister species.
Understanding the ranges of rare and endangered species is central to conserving biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Species distribution models (SDMs) have become a common and powerful tool for ...analyzing species–environment relationships across geographic space. Although evaluating the distribution of rare species is integral to their conservation, this can be difficult when limited distribution data are available. Community science platforms, such as iNaturalist, have emerged as alternative sources for species occurrence data. Although these observations are often thought to be of lower quality than those of natural history collections, they may have potential for improving SDMs for species with few occurrence records from collections. Here, we investigate the utility of iNaturalist data for developing SDMs for a rare high‐elevation plant, Telesonix jamesii. Because methods for modeling rare species are limited in the literature, five different modeling techniques were considered, including profile methods, statistical models, and machine learning algorithms. The inclusion of iNaturalist data doubled the number of usable records for T. jamesii. We found that a random forest (RF) model using ensemble training data performed the highest of any model (area under curve = 0.98). We then compared the performance of RF models that use only natural history training data and those that use a combination of natural history (herbarium specimens) and iNaturalist training data. All models heavily relied on climate data (mean temperature of driest quarter, and precipitation of the warmest quarter), indicating that this species is under threat as climate continues to change. Validation datasets affected model fits as well. Models using only herbarium data performed slightly poorer when evaluated with cross‐validation than when validated externally with iNaturalist data. This study can serve as a model for future SDM studies of species with similar data limitations.
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FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The Aegean archipelago, characterized as a natural laboratory for research concerning plant species diversity and phytogeography has a complex geological and paleogeographical history that varies ...among its phytogeographical areas. A different combination of factors of variable intensity and duration time drives patterns of its impressive plant species richness and endemism. Cliffs, a conspicuous feature of the Aegean landscape, consist of biologically closed communities that serve as refugia for obligate chasmophytes, the majority of which are Greek or Aegean endemics, and for this reason, they are also considered as habitat islands on the Aegean islands. A synoptic analysis is presented concerning chasmophytic plant diversity focusing on endemic obligate chasmophytes. Phytogeographical patterns of obligate chasmophytes, and especially the endemic ones as well as their elevational range and distribution and zeta diversity, are analyzed and discussed in the frame of climatic change, mentioning that the most threatened endemic obligate chasmophytes are those specialized in high elevation areas, and focusing on the need for monitoring and conservation.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
The Gulf of Naples is an important centre of endemism, well known from the floristic point of view, but much less from the phytosociological one. In this paper we investigated the non-forest ...vegetation focusing on communities rich in endemics. We described two communities as new:
for the garrigues on limestone,
for the vegetation on dolomitic rocks, both from the Lattari mountains, and we extend the area of
for the vegetation on volcanic rocks and rarely on limestones along the coast, which was known for a few localities. The syntaxonomical position and the phytogeographical context of these communities are discussed. A few taxonomic notes are added on rare or interesting species retrieved in the course of the enquiry.
Sparsely vegetated habitats of cliffs and screes act as refugia for many regional and local endemic specialized plant taxa most of which have evolved precisely for that type of habitat. The interplay ...between taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional plant diversity on rock and scree habitats of extreme environmental conditions, enlightens the relations of plant communities and ecosystems and facilitates management planning for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The identification of biodiversity patterns and hotspots (taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional) contributes to the integration of the ecosystem services (ES) approach for the mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services (MAES) implementation in Greece and the creation of thematic maps based on the MAES reporting format. The overlap among the protected areas’ network revealed that almost all areas of cliffs and screes of medium, high, and very high taxonomic and phylogenetic plant endemism are included in the Natura 2000 area network. The results of this study provide the baseline information for ES assessments at sparsely vegetated land of cliffs and screes. Our results contribute to the implementation of certain indicators of the national set of MAES indicators in Greece such as (a) floristic diversity and (b) microrefugia of endemic diversity and support of decision-making.
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