QUESTIONS: How does the spatial configuration of sampling units influence recorded plant species richness values at small spatial scales? What are the consequences of these findings for sampling ...methodology and rarefaction analyses? LOCATION: Six semiânatural grasslands in Western Eurasia (France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Turkey). METHODS: In each site we established six blocks of 40 cm à280 cm, subdivided into 5 cm à5 cm microâquadrats, on which we recorded vascular plant species presence with the rooted (all sites) and shoot (four sites) presence method. Data of these microâquadrats were then combined to achieve larger sampling units of 0.01, 0.04 and 0.16 m² grain size with six different spatial configurations (square, 4:1 rectangle, 16:1 rectangle, three variants of discontiguous randomly placed microâquadrats). The effect of the spatial configurations on species richness was quantified as relative richness compared to the mean richness of the square of the same surface area. RESULTS: Square sampling units had significantly lower species richness than other spatial configurations in all countries. For 4:1 and 16:1 rectangles, the increase of rooted richness was on average about 2% and 8%, respectively. In contrast, the average richness increase for discontiguous configurations was 7%, 17% and 40%. In general, increases were higher with shoot presence than with rooted presence. Overall, the patterns of richness increase were highly consistent across six countries, three grain sizes and two recording methods. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that the shape of sampling units has negligible effects on species richness values when the lengthâwidth ratio is up to 4:1, and the effects remain small even for more elongated contiguous configurations. In contrast, results from discontiguous sampling units are not directly comparable with those of contiguous sampling units, and are strongly confounded by spatial extent. This is particularly problematic for rarefaction studies where spatial extent is often not controlled for. We suggest that the concept of effective area is a useful tool to report effects of spatial configuration on richness values, and introduce speciesâextent relationships (SERs) to describe richness increases of different spatial configurations of sampling units.
Our paper focuses on the philosophical perspective of constructing active (as opposed to reactive) caring masculinities agencies in the contemporary feminist discourse. Since contemporary feminisms ...are not simply anti-essentialist, but more importantly, polyphonic, we believe that it is far more appropriate to talk about ‘masculinities’ as opposed to ‘masculinity’. We are proposing a revised understanding of the self in which the self is not defined primarily in the dichotomous, categorical one-other relationship. We use Paul Ricoeur’s anthropology to describe the self as relational, as well as Joan Tronto’s recent perspective on care which fits well with a Ricoeurian reconstruction of the self. We also engage with Raewyn Connell’s discourse on masculinity and more specifically, hegemonic masculinity. By using ‘caring masculine agencies’ as an alternative to ‘masculinity as reactive anti-femininity’, we are proposing a paradigm shift that hopefully is flexible enough to respect the dynamism inherent to any act of gender-identification.
We fill a gap in understanding wetland vegetation diversity and relationship with environmental determinants in Bulgarian high mountains. A total of 615 phytosociological samples were taken from ...springs, mires, wet meadows and tall-forb habitats throughout Bulgaria, of which 234 relevés are from mire and spring vegetation above timberline. The vegetation was classified by TWINSPAN and the resulting vegetation types were reproduced by the formal definitions using the combination of Cocktail species groups based on phi-coefficient of joint co-occurrence of the species. Nine vegetation types of springs and fens have been clearly delimited above the timberline. All vegetation types include Balkan endemic species, the representation of which varies. Fens generally harbour more Balkan endemics than do springs, with the exception of species-poor high-altitude Drepanocladetum exannulati. The gradient structure of the vegetation was revealed by DCA and by CCA with forward selection of environmental factors. The major determinants of vegetation variation strongly differ above and below the timberline and likewise between springs and fens. The base-richness gradient controls the floristic variation of Bulgarian submontane fens, whereas the complete data set including both submontane and subalpine fens is governed by the altitude gradient from lowland and basin fens to subalpine fens rich in Balkan endemics. When focusing on sites above the timberline only, the first DCA axis separates fens from springs without organic matter. The major species turnover in springs follows the variation in water pH and mineral content in water, whereas fen vegetation variation is primarily controlled by succession gradient of peat accumulation. Altitude remains an important factor in all cases. Weak correlation between water pH and conductivity was found. This correlation was even statistically insignificant in fens above the timberline. Water pH is not influenced by mineral richness in Bulgarian high mountains, since it is buffered by decomposition of organic matter in fens. In springs, pH reaches maximum values due to strong aeration caused by water flow. The plant species richness decreases significantly with increasing altitude. The increase of species richness towards circumneutral pH, often found in mires, was not confirmed in Bulgarian high mountains. The correlation between species richness and pH was significant only when arctic-alpine species and allied European high-mountain species were considered separately. The richness of boreal species was independent on pH. Some of them had their optima shifted to more acidic fens as compared to regions below the timberline. Our results suggest that subalpine spring and fen vegetation should be analysed separately with respect to vegetation-environment correlations. Separate analysis of fens below and above timberline is quite appropriate.
This work represents the first study of the floristic diversity on Bulgaria's ancient mounds. The objective of this research was to assess the importance of the mounds for the preservation of the ...native vascular and cryptogam flora. Our sampling design included 111 ancient mounds distributed throughout the country. We recorded a total of 1059 vascular plants, 58 bryophytes and 61 lichen taxa. Despite their small area, the mounds were shown to preserve nearly a quarter of the Bulgarian flora. The vegetation cover on the mounds included 61% perennials indicating a long-term persistence and stability. The majority (98%) of the established vascular plants were native species. Although the conservation significance of the vascular plant species were not common, we recorded 2 critically endangered, 9 endangered and 14 Balkan endemics during the present study. The lichen
was recorded for the first time in Bulgaria and a new locality of the rare bryophyte
was discovered. The established compositional difference between plots from the northern and southern slopes of the mounds (88.95%) is a testament to the high local habitat diversity. The prevalence of species characteristic for
suggests that the mounds preserve fragments of native grasslands and steppes. The variation in cover of agricultural and other human modified areas in the mounds' immediate surroundings did not substantially affect their species richness. We argue that the ancient mounds should be taken into consideration in future green space planning.
Question
: Rich fens of the
Sphagno warnstorfii-Tomentypnion nitentis
alliance require a specific combination of base richness and climate to occur. Their rarity at the southeastern margins of their ...European range has previously prevented rigorous vegetation classification. We asked how many associations may be delimited here and whether some of them are restricted to the high Balkan Mountains showing high endemicity.
Study area
: Entire territories of Bulgaria and Romania.
Methods
: We compiled all available vegetation-plot records, including some hitherto unprocessed data. We classified them by both divisive (modified TWINSPAN) and agglomerative (beta-flexible clustering) numerical classification method, with OPTIMCLASS1 applied to set the number of clusters. A semi-supervised approach (k-means) was additionally applied to confirm the classification of Southern-Carpathian (Romania) rich fens, where some Balkan taxa occur. Differences in base richness and elevation were tested by one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s pairwise test.
Results
: Three associations were delimited and all three occur in Bulgaria, from where only one association had been previously reported. Two associations characterised by
Sphagnum contortum
and Balkan and Southern-European species occur in Bulgaria, but not in Romania, one at lower elevations around 1,200 m, and one at higher elevations around 2,000 m where pH is lower. One lower-elevation (around 1,300 m) association with
S. warnstorfii
and
S. teres
is shared between Romania, Bulgaria and Central Europe.
Conclusions
: We have described a new high-mountain association, with two subassociations that differ by successional stage and dominant peat moss species (
S. contortum
and
S. warnstorfii
, respectively). These subassociations could be reconsidered when more data from other Balkan countries are available. Rich fens in southeastern Europe are rare, have a diverse vegetation, and are deserving of the further attention of nature conservation authorities and vegetation scientists.
Taxonomic reference
: The nomenclature was harmonized following The Euro+Med PlantBase (Euro+Med 2021) for vascular plants and Hill et al. (2006) for bryophytes, except of
Angelica pancicii
that is accepted as a separate taxon in Bulgaria (Andreev et al. 1992; Delipavlov et al. 2003). Critical taxa, not always reliably differentiated in the field and in literary sources, were merged to aggregates:
Alchemilla vulgaris
agg. (all
Alchemilla
species),
Anthoxanthum odoratum
agg. (
A. alpinum
,
A. odoratum
),
Molinia caerulea
agg. (
M. arundinacea
subsp.
arundinacea
,
M. arundinacea
subsp.
freyi
,
M. caerulea
),
Palustriella commutata
agg. (
P. commutata
,
P. falcata
),
Plagiomnium affine
agg. (
P. affine
,
P. elatum
,
P. ellipticum
),
Sphagnum palustre
agg. (
S. centrale
,
S. palustre
).
Syntaxonomic reference
: Peterka et al. (2017) for alliances.
Recent research points to the fact that new medical technological innovations are just as relevant in the context of long‐term care or chronic care as they are in the context of acute care. In the ...spirit of the Nuffield Foundation recommendations, this paper explores the possibilities of using robotic aides in long‐term care and identifies the tensions that must be considered and addressed if robotics is to be introduced successfully in nursing homes. Our examination is two‐pronged. First, we delve into a fundamental issue surrounding AI, namely that of consciousness. We argue that automation will always have only a limited use in caregiving since caregiving as an activity requires the use of human‐type, that is, organic, consciousness. We support the thesis that the emergence and formation of human‐type consciousness require feelings such as empathy and the sense of touch, which, in turn, create the sense of kinship with fellow human beings. And second, we examine the benefits as well as risks of using robotic aides such as ZORA and PARO in long‐term care facilities. More specifically, we look at ZORA's use in a group setting, and PARO's use in an individual setting. We emphasize that long‐term care is one‐on‐one care, including but not limited to intimate care. Crucially, we argue that touch is at the heart of this type of care. We argue that some of the tensions with the use of robotic aides are generated precisely because of the lack of human touch.
A total of 546 releves collected in western Bulgaria and referred to Festuco-Brometea were classified into the alliances Festucion valesiacae, Saturejion montanae, Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati and ...Chrysopogono-Danthonion calycinae. All releves assigned to alliance Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati were further classified towards lower level which resulted in the description of a new association - Hieracio pilosellae-Festucetum dalmaticae and two new subassociations added to ass. Galio lovcense-Artemisietum chamaemelifoliae. Both associations were ecologically well differentiated on the basis of soil parameters (pH and humus content) as well as some additional factors (exposition, land use, etc.).
V zahodni Bolgariji smo naredili 546 vegetacijskih popisov, ki jih uvrščamo v razred Festuco-Brometea in dalje v zveze Festucion valesiacae, Saturejion montanae, Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati in Chrysopogono-Danthonion calycinae. Vse popise, ki smo jih uvrstili v zvezo Cirsio-Brachypodion pinnati smo členili na nižje sintaksonomske enote. Opisali smo novo asociacijo - Hieracio pilosellae-Festucetum dalmaticae in dodali dve novi subasociaciji k asociaciji Galio lovcense-Artemisietum chamaemelifoliae. Obe asociaciji sta ekološko jasno ločeni na podlagi talnih parametrov (pH in vsebnost humusa) in nekaterih dodatnih dejavnikov (ekspozicija, raba tal, itd.).
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