Populations at the margins of a species' distribution range are often smaller and more spatially isolated compared to centrally located populations. Therefore, a decline in within-population genetic ...variation and increased differentiation among populations towards range edges is expected. The edge effect can be enhanced by historical range expansions following glaciations in populations located at high latitudes. We investigated the level and distribution of genetic variation between 17 populations (collected from six countries) of the terrestrial orchid Anacamptis pyramidalis, using AFLP markers. Our study revealed no decline in genetic diversity in disjunct populations in Estonia at the northern border of the distribution area of this species, nor in the populations located at the southern edge of the range, on the island of Cyprus. Similarly, edge populations were not more differentiated from each other than the central populations in Slovenia and in Spain. Our results suggest that the degree of genetic variation is determined by the size of populations rather than geographic location of this species and underlines the impact of long-distance gene flow on the maintenance of genetic diversity in connection with major range shifts in the past.
Monitoring of biodiversity at the level of habitats is becoming increasingly common. Here we describe current practices in habitat monitoring based on 150 schemes in Europe. Most schemes were ...initiated after 1990 in response to EU nature directives or habitat management/restoration actions, with funding mostly from European or national sources. Schemes usually monitor both the spatial distribution and the quality of the habitats, and they frequently collect data on environmental parameters and potential causes of changes. Many schemes are local or regional rather than national or international in scope, and sampling effort varies greatly across spatial and temporal scales. Experimental design is used in half of the schemes, however, data are rarely analysed by advanced statistics. Most schemes require two months or less per year in manpower and are typically run by professionals rather than by volunteers. Estimated salaries plus equipment costs average 650,000 Euro per year per scheme, and add up to 80 million Euros annually. Costs are particularly high for schemes based on European or international law and for schemes funded by European or national sources. Costs are also high in schemes in which sampling sites are selected subjectively rather than based on sampling theory, and in schemes that do not use field mapping or remote sensing to document spatial variation in habitats. Our survey demonstrates promising developments in European habitat monitoring but also underlines the need for better spatial coverage, documentation of spatial variaton, improved sampling design and advanced data analysis. Such improvements are essential if we are to judge progress towards the 2010 biodiversity targets.
On very steep dolomite slopes in the western foothills of the Kamnik Alps (Ravni hrib, Javorov vrh, Zaplata, Kriška gora) and southwestern Karavanke Mountains (Dobrča) we conducted a ...phytosociological study into montane grasslands (former hay meadows, partly pastures) where
a species of European conservation concern, also occasionally occurs. They were compared with similar montane grasslands (former hay meadows) on sunny slopes of the Stol ridge above Breginj in the southwestern foothills of the Julian Alps. Based on this comparison we described three new syntaxa:
and
. Both new associations are classified into the alliance
and treated as a long-term successional stage in the belt of altimontane beech forests from the association
In the spring and summer of 2010 a number of new localities of the southeastern-Alpine endemic Leontodon hispidus subsp. brumatii were found on temporarily flooded riparian rocks in the gorge of the ...Sava River between the village of Sava and Zidani Most (central Slovenia). The species has so far been known only in northeastern Italy and western Slovenia (the Soča valley). In order to obtain more specific information its sites were studied phytosociologically and the communities in which it grows in the Sava and the Soča valleys compared. Two new associations were described on the basis of these comparisons: Triseto argentei-Leontodontetum brumatii ass. nov. and Leontodonti brumatii-Seslerietum calcariae ass. nov. As this endemic taxon and its endemic communities are a characteristic of riparian flora and vegetation of some Slovenian mountain rivers and as its localities in the Sava valley are explicitly disjunct and the southeastern-most in the entire known distribution area, they deserve to be studied and protected.
The article provides the list of localities of Letharia vulpina in the eastern Julian Alps (northwestern Slovenia) that were recorded by the authors in 2010. Prior to this year the knowledge on the ...occurence of this lichenized fungus in Slovenia was insignificant (only one known locality, recorded already in the 19th century). With a phytosociological table we present the species composition and structure of natural subalpine larch stands (Rhodothamno-Laricetum deciduae) in which the species Letharia vulpina grows as an epiphyte on old and thick trees. It can also be expected in other Alpine regions in Slovenia where similar natural larch stands are preserved and the air is not over polluted.
Članek podaja seznam nahajališč vrste Letharia vulpina v vzhodnih Julijskih Alpah (severozahodna Slovenija), ki so jih avtorji popisali v letu 2010. Pred tem letom je bila vednost o pojavljanju te lihenizirane glive v Sloveniji zelo majhna (eno samo znano nahajališče, opaženo že v 19. stoletju). S fitocenološko tabelo prikazujemo vrstno sestavo in zgradbo naravnih subalpinskih macesnovih sestojev (Rhodothamno-Laricetum deciduae) v katerih vrsta Letharia vulpina raste kot epifit na starih in debelih drevesih. Pričakujemo jo lahko tudi v drugih alpskih območjih v Sloveniji, kjer so ohranjeni podobni naravni macesnovi sestoji in kjer ozračje ni preveč onesnaženo.
Morphological and coenological differences between closely related speciesStellaria nemorum L. andS. montanaPierrat are described.Stellaria montana is frequent in Slovenia and occurs mostly in the ...montane belt (altitude 600–1200 m). It has been recorded in thirty two forest communities (associations or lower syntaxa). Although widely distributed in EuropeS. nemorum is more rare in Slovenia. It occurs mostly in upper-montane (altimontane) and subalpine belt (altitude 1200–1600 m) in ten forest or shrubby communities. Both,S. nemorum andS. montana are valuable diagnostic species for certain associations. They characterize sites with fresh soil, rich in nitrogen. As an example we present two syntaxa of beech forests of Slovenia, in which the species of theS. nemorum group have high constancy and cover value.
Morphological and coenological differences between closely related species Stellaria nemorum L. and S. montana Pierrat are described. Stellaria montana is frequent in Slovenia and occurs mostly in ...the montane belt (altitude 600-1200 m). It has been recorded in thirty two forest communities (associations or lower syntaxa). Although widely distributed in Europe S. nemorum is more rare in Slovenia. It occurs mostly in upper-montane (altimontane) and subalpine belt (altitude 1200-1600 m) in ten forest or shrubby communities. Both, S. nemorum and S. montana are valuable diagnostic species for certain associations. They characterize sites with fresh soil, rich in nitrogen. As an example we present two syntaxa of beech forests of Slovenia, in which the species of the S. nemorum group have high constancy and cover value.
This paper provides phytosociological tables that describe scrub and forest communities with Alnus viridis in the Slovenian Alps. We described three new associations: Rhododendro hirsuti-Alnetum ...viridis (a green alder community on calcareous bedrock in the Eastern and Southeastern Alps), Huperzio selagi-Alnetum viridis (a green alder community in the silicate rocks under Mt. Komen in the eastern Savinja Alps) and Alno viridis- Sorbetum aucupariae (a successional stage of mountain ash and green alder on potential beech sites in the foothills of the southern Julian Alps; similar stages are known also elsewhere in the Alps), and presented additional three associations (Polysticho lonchitis-Fagetum, Rhodothamno-Laricetum and Rhododendro hirsuti-Pinetum mugo) whose stands comprise green alder.
V članku s fitocenološkimi tabelami opisujemo grmiščne in gozdne združbe, v katerih v slovenskih Alpah uspeva vrsta Alnus viridis. Opisali smo tri nove asociacije: Rhododendro hirsuti-Alnetum viridis (združba zelene jelše na karbonatni podlagi v vzhodnih in jugovzhodnih Alpah), Huperzio selagi-Alnetum viridis (združba zelene jelše v silikatnem skalovju pod goro Komen v vzhodnih Savinjskih Alpah) ter Alno viridis-Sorbetum aucupariae (sukcesijski stadij jerebike in zelene jelše na potencialno bukovih rastiščih v prigorju južnih Julijskih Alp, podobne stadije poznajo tudi drugod v Alpah) ter predstavili še tri druge asociacije (Polysticho lonchitis-Fagetum, Rhodothamno-Laricetum in Rhododendro hirsuti-Pinetum mugo), v čigar sestojih uspeva zelena jelša.
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