In this work, we analyzed the morphology and genetic structure of Teucrium montanum, T. capitatum and their hybrid T. × rohlenae from three syntopic populations. A morphometric study showed that the ...parents and their hybrids exhibited continuous morphological variation, with the hybrid positioned exactly between the parents. Genetic analysis revealed that plants morphologically identified as T. × rohlenae are fertile hybrids that produce hybrid swarms dominated by later-generation hybrids. This suggests that introgression, rather than speciation, is the more likely outcome of hybridization between these plant species. The extent and direction of gene flow between the two species differed markedly between the three syntopic localities. At the Trilj locality, it was clearly unidirectional, with T. capitatum playing the dominant role. At the Sićevo locality, gene flow was slightly asymmetric, favoring the genetic background of T. capitatum, while at the Sliven site, it was completely asymmetric in the opposite direction. The extreme case of unidirectional gene flow was observed at the Trilj locality where plants morphologically identified as T. montanum could not be genetically distinguished from T. capitatum. This suggests that interspecific hybridization occurred long ago, leading to introgression and cryptic hybrids, blurring of species boundaries and generating evolutionary noise.
Although the Balkan Peninsula belongs to the most mountainous regions of Europe, phylogeographic structure of its alpine flora remains insufficiently understood, especially for species distributed ...both in the western and eastern parts of the Peninsula. We analyzed
Campanula orbelica
, a Balkan endemic typical of high-mountain siliceous grasslands, based on the population genetic structure, climatic niche modeling at the species- and intraspecific level, and niche hindcasting back to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 20 kya). Our data reveal a clear phylogeographic pattern with three geographically coherent genetic groups: (i) the most divergent and spatially restricted lineage of the Pirin mountains (east), (ii) neighboring Rila mountains and other eastern Balkan massifs (Rhodopes, Stara Planina, Vitoša), and (iii) the most geographically disjunct mountains of the Scardo-Pindhic range (Šar Planina and Korab) in the west. This pattern indicates multiple refugia and isolated evolutionary centers within the Balkan Peninsula mountains, with the eastern part of the range as likely ancestral area, and an early dispersion into the western region, which formed the main geographical disjunction. The genetic divergence was only partly correlated with geographical isolation, clear dispersal barriers, or climatic niche shifts, suggesting contrasting isolation/dispersal dynamics in various parts of the range. Climatic niche overlap was low among eastern vs. western groups, which correlates with the longest spatial distance and significant genetic divergence, while niche characteristic of the Pirin lineage was a subset of the adjacent Rila lineage niche. High genetic divergence of the Pirin populations was also not correlated with persistent gaps in potential distributions but hypothetically may have been triggered by diversified (limestone/silicate) bedrock conditions. Our results highlight the need for high-mountain phylogeographic surveys in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, to assess the biogeographical relevance of isolation patterns and definition of evolutionarily important units in the high-mountain flora.
The high diversity of ruderal vegetation in urban environments is well known. Although it has been a subject of numerous studies in Serbia, in recent years it has been slightly overlooked, although, ...due to the dynamics of ruderal habitats, constant research is required. We investigated ruderal vegetation in 20 cities across Serbia during a period of 5 years. Most of the relevés were collected during the summer months, and within 712 relevés, 422 taxa were recorded. Results of the cluster analyses and identified diagnostic species revealed 26 plant communities, of which nine are dominated or co-dominated by aliens. The relevés can be grouped into six ecologically well-differentiated major vegetation groups. Our study revealed the ruderal communities which are the most widespread in urban environments in Serbia. Additionally, some communities were registered for the first time in the country.
We investigated vegetation in ravine habitats of Serbia, in order to classify hop hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia Scop.) forests in syntaxonomic terms, assess the effects of environmental factors on ...their floristic differentiation, and detect the biodiversity components of the analyzed communities. Both K-means clustering and Bayesian classification revealed five ecologically interpretable groups of forests that belong to the alliances Ostryo carpinifoliae-Fagion sylvaticae, Ostryo carpinifoliae-Tilion platyphylli, Fraxino orni-Ostryion carpinifoliae, Pseudofumario albae-Ostryion carpinifoliae, and Achilleo ageratifoliae-Ostryion carpinifoliae. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that these alliances are clearly differentiated along a combined light–moisture gradient (from shade and mesic to sunny and xeric variants). The alpha diversity increases from xeric to mesic alliances. A lower alpha diversity in xeric forests may be explained by the stress conditions that prevent mesic species from colonizing the saxatile habitats. Extremely high—almost the greatest possible—values of both the species turnover and beta diversity were detected in all variants of the analyzed forests. Such high diversity may be the result of the strong environmental gradients in ravine habitats. The investigated forests represent an important pool of rare, paleo-endemic species that survived Quaternary glaciations in ravine refugia.
Monitoring the presence of invasive species in natural wetlands is crucial for numerous reasons, including their negative impact on biodiversity, conservation and the ecosystem services provided by ...these important fragile areas. The aim of this paper was to investigate the presence and distribution of the highly invasive liana Echinocystis lobata (wild cucumber), and to determine its coenological relations with the native plant species in the Ramsar sites of the southern part of the Pannonian Plain (the southeastern part of Central Europe, northern Serbia). We conducted the phytocenological research of the selected protected riparian areas in detail over a six-year period (2011-2015 and 2020). This study revealed the significant presence of the highly invasive species E. lobata in the studied sites. Wild cucumbers were found in 146 plots in four out of the seven investigated areas. Cluster analyses distinguished four groups of relev?s dominated by E. lobata, which were described, and their dominant and constant species were identified. Habitat type identification was done, and the habitat preferences of E. lobata were determined. The spatial distribution of the four groups is such that they occur in a number of different habitat types or local communities. The species pool which makes up each of these four groups is thus geographically larger than the local community under study, so we can treat them as independently established and well-defined new community assemblages. Plant communities dominated by the invasive species E. lobata have not been described previously. Therefore, this work provides new data, and contributes to the further research and comparative analyses needed to describe invasive plant communities dominated by wild cucumber. In addition, the identification of habitat types which are most occupied by E. lobata is very important for managers of protected areas, as it allows them to better control and remove this highly invasive species, but also to prevent its further spread.
This study represents the first data gathering and analysis of the floristic
composition of ruderal vegetation in Serbia, published over the last 70
years. The dataset included 748 relev?s of ruderal ...communities and a total
of 716 plant species and subspecies. The study showed that the most abundant
were widespread taxa, especially taxa of the Eurasian area type, while alien
species accounted for a relatively small proportion of the ruderal flora
(about 10%). Therophytes and hemicryptophytes were most abundant in the life
form spectra. Five vegetation groups were identified, corresponding to the
following vegetation classes: Bidentetea, Sisymbrietea, Digitario
sanguinalis-Eragrostietea minoris, Artemisietea vulgaris and Polygono-Poetea
annuae. The analysis of similarity showed that there are small floristic
differences between particular vegetation groups. The determined diagnostic
species for the vegetation groups were compared with those of the
corresponding anthropogenic vegetation classes, and a high degree of
similarity was found for all but one group. The most frequent taxa in all
five groups were Polygonum aviculare, Convolvulus arvensis, Plantago major
subsp. major and Chenopodium album.
This paper presents new records and noteworthy data on the following taxa in
SE Europe and adjacent regions: diatoms Discostella asterocostata and
Stephanodiscus hantzschii f. tenuis, red alga Bangia ...atropurpurea, green
alga Ulva pilifera, saprotrophic fungi Didymella vitalbina and
Phragmotrichum rivoclarinum, mosses Buxbaumia aphylla, Sphagnum divinum, and
Tortella fasciculata, monocots Anacamptis ? nicodemi, Epipactis palustris,
Epipogium aphyllum, and Gymnadenia frivaldii and dicots Androsace lactea,
Drosera rotundifolia, Potentilla montenegrina, and Tozzia alpina subsp.
carpathica are given within SE Europe and adjacent regions.
This paper presents new records and noteworthy data on the following taxa in
SE Europe and adjacent regions: brown alga Heribaudiella fluviatilis, red
alga Batrachospermum skujae, saprotrophic fungus ...Gnomonia
geranii-macrorrhizi, mycorrhizal fungi Amanita alseides and Russula
griseascens, liverwort Ricciocarpos natans, moss Blindia acuta, Leucodon
sciuroides var. morensis and Pseudostereodon procerrimus, monocots Allium
ampeloprasum, Carex ferruginea and Carex limosa and dicots Convolvulus
althaeoides, Fumana aciphylla, Hieracium petrovae, Lamium bifidum subsp.
bifidum and Ranunculus fontanus are given within SE Europe and adjacent
regions.
This paper presents new records and noteworthy data on the following taxa in
SE Europe and adjacent regions: stonewort Chara intermedia, liverworts
Fossombronia wondraczekii and Pseudomoerckia ...blyttii, mosses Hamatocaulis
vernicosus and Hookeria lucens, monocots Gladiolus palustris, Neotinea
tridentata, and Orchis militaris and dicots Cardamine serbica, Cardamine
waldsteinii, Hieracium kotschyanum and Pilosella petraea are given within SE
Europe and adjacent regions.
This paper presents new records and noteworthy data on the following taxa in
SE Europe and adjacent regions: the diatom alga Eunotia boreoalpina; the
saprotrophic fungus Clitocybe truncicola; the ...liverwort Haplomitrium
hookeri; the moss Leptodon smithii: the monocots Epipactis purpurata, Stipa
tirsa, Typha laxmannii and T. shuttleworthii; and the dicots
Krascheninnikovia ceratoides, Polygonum albanicum and Sorbus latifolia.
nema
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