The present edition of the annotated checklist is a comprehensive catalogue of all vascular plant taxa: native and alien that occur in Iceland. The checklist features nearly 2500 taxa names, ...including ca. 1000 accepted names and more than 1400 synonyms and encompasses, apart from the updated list of native taxa, a complete and revised list of non-native plants (both naturalized and casual) as well as a number of more important cultivated species. According to the checklist, there are 426 native taxa in the Icelandic flora. Ten taxa have been classified as doubtfully native, ten taxa have been classified as non-native of unknown age and 19 taxa qualified as archaeophytes. There are at least 65 non-native taxa naturalized in the Icelandic flora. In total, there are 530 taxa able to form self-sustaining populations in Iceland. Apart from the main core, 282 taxa have been registered as casual aliens (not able to form self-sustaining populations). One species – Primula egaliksensis, has been classified as extinct. The list encompasses also 150 taxa excluded from the Icelandic flora, with brief explanations of the reasons that lead to the exclusion.
A morphometric study of the three species of Lepidium L. sect. Dileptium DC. is presented. Multivariate methods (cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis) were employed to investigate ...phenetic relations between examined individuals. As a result a set of quantitative characters useful in species determination was proposed and discussed.
Tolerance to heavy metals in plants is a model process used to study adaptations to extremely unfavorable environments. One species capable of colonizing areas with high contents of heavy metals is ...Armeria maritima (Mill.) Wild. A. maritima plants growing in metalliferous areas differ in their morphological features and tolerance levels to heavy metals compared to individuals of the same species growing in non-metalliferous areas. The A. maritima adaptations to heavy metals occur at the organismal, tissue, and cellular levels (e.g., the retention of metals in roots, enrichment of the oldest leaves with metals, accumulation of metals in trichomes, and excretion of metals by salt glands of leaf epidermis). This species also undergoes physiological and biochemical adaptations (e.g., the accumulation of metals in vacuoles of the root's tannic cells and secretion of such compounds as glutathione, organic acids, or HSP17). This work reviews the current knowledge on A. maritima adaptations to heavy metals occurring in zinc-lead waste heaps and the species' genetic variation from exposure to such habitats. A. maritima is an excellent example of microevolution processes in plants inhabiting anthropogenically changed areas.
We report the human-assisted spread of
Senecio pseudoarnica
, native to the northern coasts of North America and the Far East, to arctic and subarctic regions of Europe. Our findings indicate that ...the species, imported as a decorative plant, is currently rapidly spreading along coastal areas of Iceland and Norway. An exponential model comprehensively explained the increase in the number of known localities. Close climate matching between the native and non-native ranges, as well as practically exact environmental matching, are the main factors that facilitate the process of naturalisation and invasion. It is likely that a complete eradication of the species is already impossible, and further studies are needed to guide effective management strategies.
The highlands and mountains of Iceland are one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Europe. This study aimed to provide comprehensive and up-to-date data on non-native plant species in these ...areas and to answer the following questions: (1) How many non-native vascular plant species inhabit highland and mountainous environments in Iceland? (2) Do temporal trends in the immigration of alien species to Iceland differ between highland and lowland areas? (3) Does the incidence of alien species in the disturbed and undisturbed areas within Icelandic highlands differ? (4) Does the spread of non-native species in Iceland proceed from lowlands to highlands? and (5) Can we detect hot-spots in the distribution of non-native taxa within the highlands? Overall, 16 non-native vascular plant species were detected, including 11 casuals and 5 naturalized taxa (1 invasive). Results showed that temporal trends in alien species immigration to highland and lowland areas are similar, but it is clear that the process of colonization of highland areas is still in its initial phase. Non-native plants tended to occur close to man-made infrastructure and buildings including huts, shelters, roads etc. Analysis of spatio-temporal patterns showed that the spread within highland areas is a second step in non-native plant colonization in Iceland. Several statically significant hot spots of alien plant occurrences were identified using the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic and these were linked to human disturbance. This research suggests that human-mediated dispersal is the main driving force increasing the risk of invasion in Iceland's highlands and mountain areas.
Non-native vascular flora of the Arctic Wasowicz, Pawel; Sennikov, Alexander N.; Westergaard, Kristine B. ...
Ambio,
03/2020, Volume:
49, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We present a comprehensive list of non-native vascular plants known from the Arctic, explore their geographic distribution, analyze the extent of naturalization and invasion among 23 subregions of ...the Arctic, and examine pathways of introductions. The presence of 341 non-native taxa in the Arctic was confirmed, of which 188 are naturalized in at least one of the 23 regions. A small number of taxa (11) are considered invasive; these plants are known from just three regions. In several Arctic regions there are no naturalized non-native taxa recorded and the majority of Arctic regions have a low number of naturalized taxa. Analyses of the non-native vascular plant flora identified two main biogeographic clusters within the Arctic: American and Asiatic. Among all pathways, seed contamination and transport by vehicles have contributed the most to non-native plant introduction in the Arctic.
This review provides a synopsis of the main findings of individual papers in the special issue Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic. The special issue was developed to inform the ...State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report developed by the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council working group. Salient points about the status and trends of Arctic biodiversity and biodiversity monitoring are organized by taxonomic groups: (1) vegetation, (2) invertebrates, (3) mammals, and (4) birds. This is followed by a discussion about commonalities across the collection of papers, for example, that heterogeneity was a predominant pattern of change particularly when assessing global trends for Arctic terrestrial biodiversity. Finally, the need for a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based monitoring program, coupled with targeted research projects deciphering causal patterns, is discussed.
The improvement of health, safety and protection of workers at risk from explosive in the workplace is governed by the European ATEX Directives requiring the employer to carry out a risk assessment ...for possible explosion scenario. In order to determine explosion risk, the recently proposed methodology ExLOPA requires the identification of the explosion scenario and its structural elements, conventionally by applying different Process Hazard Analysis methods. This paper presents a novel strategy based on the combination of an expert system for explosion scenario identification (ExSys), with subsequent application of ExLOPA method. An expert system (ExSys) employs values from ad-hoc prepared engineering databases to identify the explosion loss event tailored for the selected target process and the given workplace. Subsequently, an explosion barrier model is developed, to provide data for a representative explosion scenario, which is finally used for explosion risk assessment by the ExLOPA methodology. The proposed technique supports and extends the application of the Layer of Protection Analysis especially for safety assurance assessment of risk-based determination for chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, energy, food, wood and other process industries and related services.
This paper describes a long-term (1988–2018) data series from pollen monitoring in two locations in Iceland: Akureyri and Reykjavík. Our data showed a low diversity of airborne pollen present in the ...aeroplankton of Iceland. We showed that
Betula
spp. and
Poaceae
can be considered the main pollen allergens in Iceland. Both
Betula
spp
.
and
Poaceae
pollen seasons in Iceland are characterised by a late onset compared to continental Europe.
Betula
spp. seasons are further characterised by a longer duration and low SPI and peak values. Icelandic
Poaceae
seasons are shorter, but have SPI and peak values comparable to those recorded in continental Europe. We recorded no synchronisation in the intensity of pollen production between our monitoring sites in Iceland, and our data do not confirm the existence of repeatable cycle (bi- or triennial) of high and low pollen production in
Betula
spp. Statistically significant trends towards increasing SPI values were recorded in Reykjavík (
Betula
spp
.
) and Akureyri (
Poaceae
).
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