The Bryophyte Flora of Vienna Zechmeister, Harald G; Kropik, Michaela
Plants (Basel),
08/2023, Letnik:
12, Številka:
16
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The bryophyte flora of Vienna is documented only in parts. Old finds often appeared in publications about Lower Austria; only one study addressed the bryophytes of the inner city. Here, we present a ...bryophyte flora of Vienna, including historical reports and the results of recent investigations. From 1998 to 2023, we recorded 329 bryophyte taxa in Viennese urban territory. Fifty-six of these were liverworts, and 273 were mosses. Sixty-seven taxa are new for Vienna. Forty-nine taxa, given in historical studies, could no longer be found. If we also count these, 378 taxa occurred in Vienna to date. Of the current occurring bryophytes, 67 species have an endangerment classification. Rich in bryophytes were the dry grasslands of the Lobau, the oxbow lakes of the Lobau and the Prater, and large parts of the Wienerwald. But flat roofs and inner-city areas also showed more than 100 species. Compared to other European cities, Vienna is decidedly species-rich and highly responsible for some species in Austria. Reasons for this are the extensive green spaces and the pronounced climatic gradient from the sub-oceanic west to the sub-continental east of Vienna. Awareness raising for bryophytes we recommend in addition to the existing biotope protection.
,
, and
are rare deadwood-dwelling liverworts threatened across Europe.
is thus listed in the Habitats Directive. However, their distribution data are scattered, and their ecologic demands are ...insufficiently studied. Here, we present new locations and data on the ecology of the species, which resulted from a targeted search in selected regions of Austria. We found ten new sites each for
and
and twenty for
. Reproduction was exclusively asexual. The macroclimates of all known locations in Austria did not differ significantly between the three species. It was consistently wet, with a mean annual precipitation of 1615.3 mm, a high evenness of rainfall, and a low desiccation risk. The mean temperature averaged 7.4 °C. The habitat was shaded dead wood of
,
, and
of all decay stages at a median distance of 2.5 m from streams or springy areas in semi-natural forests of montane and submontane regions. Thus, high deadwood volumes under a suitable climate are a prerequisite for the occurrences of the species. The number of locations of new finds has more than doubled in Austria and thus in Europe.
Thirty-eight samples recovered from a latrine in the rural market town of Hadersdorf am Kamp (Lower Austria) and filled during the early 17th century were analysed and compared to the current ...bryophyte vegetation there and in its surroundings. Twenty-eight moss species from the latrine could be identified, and four taxa could be determined only to genus level because of missing sporophytes. The resulting data set is a valuable contribution to the state of knowledge of the bryophyte flora of that historic period, as none of the traditional methods such as herbaria date back to this early era. The most frequent species in the pit, Leucodon sciuroides, Antitrichia curtipendula and Neckera complanata, could hardly be found or not at all in the current bryophyte flora of the investigated area. A comparison of Ellenberg’s indicator values of the historic and current moss taxa revealed significant differences for temperature, humidity and continentality. Temperature values were much lower for the taxa found in the latrine. Furthermore, the historic mosses reflect a more humid and less continental climate than the ones growing nowadays. Many of the mosses found in the latrine are epiphytic or epilithic and could not be found in the investigated area today. These results indicate a different climate during the time of the Little Ice Age in the investigated area. According to the low total biomass of mosses in the pit (1–2 g per 10 l) we suggest that those found in the latrine arrived there mainly by chance, as in sweepings.
To assess the relationship between nitrogen concentrations in mosses and wet bulk nitrogen deposition or concentrations in precipitation, moss tissue and deposition were sampled within a distance of ...1 km of each other in seven European countries. Relationships for various forms of nitrogen appeared to be asymptotic, with data for different countries being positioned at different locations along the asymptotic relationship and saturation occurring at a wet bulk nitrogen deposition of ca. 20 kg N ha−1 yr−1. The asymptotic behaviour was more pronounced for ammonium-N than nitrate-N, with high ammonium deposition at German sites being most influential in providing evidence of the asymptotic behaviour. Within countries, relationships were only significant for Finland and Switzerland and were more or less linear. The results confirm previous relationships described for modelled total deposition. Nitrogen concentration in mosses can be applied to identify areas at risk of high nitrogen deposition at European scale.
•Nitrogen concentrations in mosses were determined at sites across Europe.•Moss concentrations were compared with measured wet nitrogen deposition.•The asymptotic relationship for Europe showed saturation at ca. 20 kg N ha−1 y−1.•Moss concentrations complement deposition measurements at high spatial resolution.
Nitrogen concentration in mosses shows saturation occurring at a measured wet bulk nitrogen deposition of ca. 20 kg N ha−1 yr−1.
There is an increasing demand for green plant walls in indoor environments because of their multifaced benefits, such as aesthetic appeal, indoor air quality improvement, or psychological well-being. ...Mosses are believed to be excellent for these walls due to their easy application and maintenance. However, so far there is no evidence for their indoor survival. In this study, we tested the moss species Hypnum cupressiforme, Bryachythecium rutabulum, Eurrhynchium angustirete, Thuidium tamariscinum, Streblotrichum convolutum, Syntrichia ruralis, and Ceratodon purpureus for indoor use in living moss walls. We evaluated their vitality through the monitoring of leaf coloration over a twelve month period, subjecting them to varying temperature ranges (14–20 °C), humidity levels (60–100%), and diverse irrigation methods (drip and spray irrigation, 300–1500 mL per day) within controlled climate chambers. Depending on the combination of these variables, mosses survived up to six months. Hypnum cupressiforme and Ceratodon purpureus performed best. However, as the time span of survival was limited, the use of living mosses for indoor purposes at the current stage cannot be recommended. An additional problem is that the requisition of living material such as in the culturing of moss under horticultural conditions is difficult and harvesting from natural environments is detrimental to most habitats.
Deadwood is a biodiversity hotspot and habitat for numerous highly endangered species.
has been assessed as a flagship species for deadwood-rich forests and is subject to monitoring under the ...Habitats Directive, yet we lack a solid understanding of the factors controlling its distribution. The study aimed to specify the climate and habitat preferences of
and identify the best predictor variables. We collected presence-absence data of the species at 201 sites between 2016 and 2020. Study sites cover three biogeographic regions (Pannonian, Continental, and Alpine). They also represent a deadwood gradient ranging from managed forests to natural forest reserves and virgin forests. Our results suggest that desiccation and deadwood amount are the best predictor variables. The amount of deadwood at the colonized sites ranged from 1 m
/ha to 288 m
/ha, with a median of 70 m
/ha. The maximum desiccation, i.e., consecutive days without rain and at least 20 °C was 9.6 days at colonized sites. The results of logistic regression models suggest that desiccation limits
occurrence on deadwood in the drier continental parts of eastern Austria. Derived details on climate and habitat requirements of
can specify management and conservation. They clearly show how strongly the species is dependent on climate, which can counteract deadwood measures.
Knowledge about the epixylic moss Buxbaumia viridis has increased significantly due to the monitoring obligation under the Habitats Directive. However, there are still open questions about its ...dispersal, as the wind plays a limited role in forest ecosystems, and vectors have been suspected but not yet studied systematically for this species. Here, we present data on potential vectors of Buxbaumia viridis collected for the first time with the help of cameras, completed by monitoring the fate of sporophytes during their life cycle in the Limestone Alps National Park in Austria over a period of two years. Young, green sporophytes appeared mainly in autumn, with the highest number in October. Most of them survived winter and spring but did not exceed the age of 14 months. The sharpest decline in capsules occurred in summer when mature, and the lowest number of sporophytes appeared at the end of August. Most likely, mice seem to be responsible for this loss, as the photos from the wildlife cameras suggest, and should be considered both as predators and vectors. Birds should be considered as vectors, too. In summary, most of the reproductive biomass is sacrificed in favor of more effective dispersal, including over longer distances.
According to the International Code of Phytosociological Nomenclature, a younger name of a syntaxon may be conserved against its older name to improve the stability of the nomenclature and avoid ...misunderstandings in scientific communication. Here, we propose conserving the name Philonotidion seriatae Hinterlang 1992 for arctic-alpine, bryophyte-dominated, non-calcareous spring vegetation against the names Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925, Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1926, and Montion Maas 1959. In current vegetation classification systems, the two name-giving taxa of Cardamino-Montion no longer indicate the character of the vegetation corresponding to the nomenclatural type of this alliance and are instead characteristic of other currently distinguished alliances. Maintaining the oldest name Cardamino-Montion in strict adherence to the Code would be a source of errors. In the current vegetation classification systems, two similar but counter-intuitive names would then have to be used: Cardamino-Montion for arctic-alpine springs (although the name-giving taxa are more indicative of montane springs) and Epilobio nutantis-Montion for montane springs (although the name-giving taxon Epilobium nutans is indicative of arctic-alpine vegetation). Hence, there is a risk that the name Cardamino-Montion may gradually become ambiguous. We also propose conserving the name Philonotidion seriatae against Mniobryo-Epilobion hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 to prevent confusion in case of a merger of these alliances. (36) Philonotidion seriatae Hinterlang 1992 Typus: Cratoneuro-Philonotidetum Geissler 1976 (holotypus) (=) Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925 Typus: Bryetum schleicheri Braun-Blanquet 1925 ≡ Montio fontanae-Bryetum schleicheri Braun-Blanquet 1925 nom. corr. et invers. (alternative name) (holotypus) (=) Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1926 nom. superfl. ≡ Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925 (=) Mniobryo-Epilobion hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 Typus: Mniobryo-Epilobietum hornemannii Nordhagen 1943 (lectotypus selected by Zechmeister & Mucina 1994) (=) Montion Maas 1959 nom. superfl. ≡ Cardamino-Montion Braun-Blanquet 1925 Taxonomic reference : Euro+Med PlantBase (http://europlusmed.org; accessed 4 January 2024)
To evaluate a new N-monitoring program in the framework of the UN-ECE ICP-Vegetation program using mosses as bioindicators, 490 moss samples were collected at 220 sites in Austria and analyzed for ...total N (N content) and delta(15)N signatures. Within-site variability of N content and delta(15)N signatures was tested for the first time on a large scale and was extremely low compared to between-site variability. N content in moss tissue ranged between 0.76% and 1.99% and delta(15)N signatures between -10.04 and -2.45. Altitude was significantly correlated with N content (P=0.021) and delta(15)N signatures (P<0.001). When comparing moss data to deposition data from 35 measurement sites, significant correlations between N content and N deposition (P=0.014) were found. Increasing delta(15)N signatures provided evidence for a change in N source and its respective isotopic composition with altitude, e.g., due to long-distance transport of reactive N or as a result of changes in the wetdry deposition ratio. Our study underlines that N deposition can generally be estimated by N content in mosses on a large scale, but that this approach has certain limitations, especially in areas with large differences in altitude and precipitation.
Background
Indoor pollution is a real threat to human health all over the world. Indoor pollution derives from indoor sources (e.g. smoking, gas stoves, coated furniture) as well as from outdoor ...sources (e.g. industries, vehicles). Long-term monitoring measurements in indoor environments are missing to a large extent due to a lack of simple to operate measuring devices. Mosses proved well as biomonitors in hundreds of studies. Nevertheless, indoor use has been extremely scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to determine indoor and outdoor pollution by active biomonitoring using moss as well as NO
2
samplers to analyse outdoor and indoor levels of pollution. We exposed moss (
Pleurozium schreberi
) for 8 weeks indoors and outdoors in 20 households in the city of Girona, Spain. Al, Cr, Cu, Zn, Sn, Cd, Pb, Mo, and Sb were analysed by moss-samplers. Additionally, NO
2
was measured with Palmes diffusion tubes.
Results
Compared to the pre-exposure analysis, concentrations of almost all elements both on indoor and outdoor mosses increased. Except for Cd, all metals and NO
2
had, on average, higher concentrations in outdoor mosses than at corresponding indoor sites. However, some 20% of the samples showed inverse patterns, thus, indicating both indoor and outdoor sources. Indoor/outdoor correlations of elements were not significant, but highest for markers of traffic-related pollution, such as Sn, Sb, and NO
2
. The wide range of indoor–outdoor ratios of NO
2
exemplified the relevance of indoor sources such as smoking or gas cooking. Though mostly excluded in this study, a few sites had these sources present.
Conclusions
The study at hand showed that moss exposed at indoor sites could be a promising tool for long-time biomonitoring. However, it had also identified some drawbacks that should be considered in future indoor studies. Increments of pollutants were sometimes really low compared to the initial concentration and therefore not detectable. This fact hampers the investigation of elements with low basic element levels as, e.g. Pt. Therefore, moss with real low basic levels is needed for active monitoring, especially for future studies in indoor monitoring. Cloned material could be a proper material for indoor monitoring yet never was tested for this purpose.
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