Abstract: Little is known about the vascular plant flora that grows on dead wood or about the ecological conditions of its development. We focused on montane beech forests in the Sudeten Mts. in southern Poland and chose Fagus sylvatica. The studies were conducted in the years 2003-2006 between 460 and 890 m a.s.l. Among others, the following parameters of dead logs were recorded: the type of forest community, the status of protection (protected vs. managed), altitude, shade, the humidity of the log, the area of the log [m2] and the degree of the decomposition class. In total, 165 dead logs were analyzed. In total, 25 vascular plant species were encountered. Oxalis acetosella, Impatiens parviflora and Calamagrostis arundinacea were the most frequently found. The species composition of the colonized fallen logs differed significantly between the two forest communities in terms of DCA plot scores and also between the managed vs. protected forests. Canonical Constrained Analysis (CCA) revealed that decomposition degree, altitude and shade are significant factors among the five environmental variables that were studied. The study showed that the mean decomposition degree of beech logs as well as the cover of vascular plants overgrowing the logs was higher in the managed forests.

Keywords: coarse woody debris, fallen trees, beechwood, montane forests

Abstract: Biological degradation of phenolic compounds by a mixed bacterial culture was investigated. Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Bacillus subtilis were the two strains used in the study. pH and the temperature for the growth of bacteria was found to be 70.2 and 372oC, respectively. The mixed microbial culture was able to degrade 250 mgl-1 of phenol and wattle completely within 36 and 48 hours, respectively. The growth kinetics of the mixed culture was also investigated over a wide range of initial concentrations of phenol and wattle by using Haldane’s model. The Haldane growth kinetic model adequately described the degradation of phenolic compounds by the mixed microbial culture. Both phenol and wattle were found to inhibitory compounds. The decay coefficient for the growth of microbial culture on phenol and wattle was found to be 0.0069 and 0.0082 h-1, respectively.

Keywords: phenol, wattle, synergism, biodegradation, growth kinetics

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to determine the present levels of atmospheric heavy metal pollution in the area of the Kazdagi Mountain in the Aegean region in the western part of Turkey. Twenty-five different plants were selected as potential biomonitors of trace elements including nickel, iron, zinc, lead, cadmium, and manganese (ug g–1, dry weight). The samples were collected from two different heights of Mt. Kazdagi. Atomic absorption spectrometry was used to determine the concentrations of trace elements. The mean concentrations determined at 600 m altitude ranged from 0.107 to 0.442, 0.269 to 0.619, 0.873 to 9.030, 0.338 to 0.523 and 0.143 to 2.823 (ug g–1, dry weight), for Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb and Mn, respectively. At 1100 m altitude, the values ranged from 0.119 to 1.806, 0.232 to 0.792, 0.618 to 5.720, 0.371 to 0.534 and 0.766 to 4.782 (ug g–1, dry weight) for Ni, Zn, Fe, Pb and Mn, respectively. No Cd was found at either altitude. For the determination of the existence of any differences between the averages of the herbaceous and woody plants, comparisons were made in the independent sample t–test. In the statistical analysis, comparison of heavy metal pollution values of herbaceous and woody plants for Ni, Fe and Mn was significant (P 0.05), while it was not for Pb and Zn.

Keywords: Mt. Kazdagi, biomonitoring, trace element

Abstract: A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) straws and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on maize (Zea mays L.) growth and organic carbon (C) sequestration in a sterilized sandy loam soil. The experiment included three treatments: control, amendment with wheat straws (S), and amendment with wheat straws plus inoculation with AM fungus Glomus caledonium (S+M). Compared with the control, the amendment of wheat straws significantly (P0.05) increased soil alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in maize seedling period (30 d) and plant phosphorus (P)-uptake and shoot biomass at harvest time (110 d), and also tended to increase soil organic C content as well as produced low but demiurgic crop yield at harvest time. In wheat straw-amended soils, G. caledonium inoculation significantly (P0.05) decreased soil pH and significantly (P0.05) increased plant P-uptake as well as soil ALP activity in seedling period, and tended to increase shoot biomass and grain yield in seedling and harvest periods, respectively. Furthermore, G. caledonium inoculation tended to increase soil organic C content at harvest time, which was significantly (P0.05) higher than that of the control, suggesting potential application of AM fungi in facilitating crop production and C sequestration in straw-returned fields.

Keywords: alkaline phosphatase, Glomus caledonium, P-uptake, rhizosphere acidification, straw return

Abstract: The effectiveness of biodiversity conservation strategies depends on the knowledge about the distribution of habitats or single species. Despite this, efforts on biodiversity monitoring and conservation are currently hindered by a lack of information about the spatial distribution of species on large landscapes. Predictive species distribution models, can provide a powerful tool for solving this ecological problem. The vast majority of data available for modelling plants distribution are herbarium data, which lack reliable records of species absence. Although it has been found that herbarium records do not meet current standards for sampling in ecological studies, they remain often the only available source of sufficient magnitude with regard to relevant distribution data. Modifying existing statistical tools and developing new methods so that herbarium data, despite their shortcomings, can be used for modelling habitat suitability, is currently a growing field. The aim of this paper was to analyse the opportunities and bottlenecks for future application of distribution models in the mapping and monitoring of habitats of conservation interest in a complex Mediterranean area. Here we specifically concentrate on testing the Maximum entropy (Maxent) approach to estimate the distribution of a training habitat through the use of herbarium records and to explore a GIS-based integrated approach. The results obtained highlighted the important role that distribution models can have in individuating the areas where a targeted species or habitat type is most likely to be found, and in showing where to commit the limited available resources for inventories.

Keywords: Ecological niche, GIS, Habitat distribution, Herbarium data, Maxent

Abstract: This paper presents the results of a survey on the habitat and seasonal variation in activity density and richness of ground and dung beetle assemblages in a heterogeneous landscape of central Greece. Beetles were collected using 2,646 pitfall traps across an area of 138 ha representative of the Mediterranean mountainous landscape. Sampling was performed in cereal fields, corn fields, fallow land, grassland, Robinia pseudoacacia plantations, oak forest - farmland ecotone and oak forest using pitfall traps. A total of 18,275 individuals belonging to 38 species were collected, whereas only seven species constituted the 82.64% of the overall captures. Onthophagus ovatus was the most common species in all habitats. Beetle assemblages varied markedly regarding the number of species, while higher densities were reported during June. Significant differences in beetle richness were found considering habitat preferences with the lowest species richness in corn fields. Carabidae assemblages were both most abundant and diverse in plantations, whereas Scarabaeidae assemblages were most abundant and diverse in fallow land. Among estimated diversity indices, Margalef’s index generated similar results with the observed diversity, likewise non parametric estimators. Overall, the results obtained in the present study suggest that agricultural areas in mountainous heterogeneous landscape might be the important factor for conserving rich beetle diversity, whereas supplementary biotic factors should be explored.

Keywords: Mediterranean ecosystems; Carabidae; Scarabaeidae; habitat heterogeneity; correspondence analysis

Abstract: „Heck“ cattle (Bos taurus primigenius, 23 individuals) and Exmoor ponies (Equus ferus caballus,11 individuals) were introduced in a 171 ha tract of forest and pasture. Time budgets of behavior and habitat preferences were calculated. Horses showed significantly more grazing (p 0.001), standing (p 0.01) and comfort behavior (p 0.05) and more lying (p 0.001) and relocation (p 0.001) than cattle. The overall preference indices (Chesson index) had positive values at both species in open pastures (cattle 0,42 and horses 0.33) and for the edges of the wood (0.16, 0.13). The closed wood was avoided by the cattle with -0.51 and horses with -0.57. The highest preference values based on feces dispersion were +0.84 for the cattle in open pasture and +0.64 for the horses in the alder marsh. Both species showed the highest habitat preferences for feeding in open pastures (0.81, 0.77) and for moving in edges of the wooded areas (0.75, 0.69). Horses preferred the closed wooded area for resting (0.17). The median of the daily distances walked was larger for cattle than for horses (p 0.001) but horses reached the larger maximal distance per day (7018 m ) compared to cattle (6762 m).

Keywords: forest, herbivores, nature protection, time budgets, feces, walking distances

Abstract: Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a remote-sensing technique widely applied in archaeology, engineering and environmental sciences. It is a non-invasive geophysical method which uses electromagnetic pulses to create an “image” of the shallow subsurface. In recent years, GPR gained popularity in forestry, thanks to its application in water content estimation, root stress evaluation, root biomass modelling, and roots location. In this paper we present the results of two radar surveys aimed at reconstructing the geometric features of root systems buried at shallow subsurface, thanks to a multiprofile data acquisition and to the use of a three-dimensional software package. Our results show the potentiality of this approach as a reconnaissance method before performing any destructive test.

Keywords: Remote Sensing, Ground Penetrating Radar, Root, Forestry

Abstract: Ants have been used as indicators of disturbííííance, because of their fast response to environmental changes. However, it is not well defined which disturbance factors are associated with specific changes on the ant community. We evaluated the effect of disturbance on the ant community in a xeric community from central Mexico. Two sites with contrasting levels of disturbance were chosen based on a quantitative index. We compared ant abundance, ant diversity and the main disturbance factors affecting the ant community. Also, we identified the bioindicator species of ants and the feeding guilds. Soil compaction and cattle paths were the most important factors of disturbance within the study sites. These factors probably affect the community of ants by preventing them from colonizing the surrounding vegetation as well as from nesting in the soil. Ant diversity was lower in the disturbed site than in the conserved one. Four ant species were identified as bioindicators of disturbance. Although functional diversity did not differ between sites, the guild of granivore ants was the most affected by soil compaction. This is of great importance because the foraging patterns of granivore ants determining the structure and other aspects of the plant community.

Keywords: antropogenic change; bioindicator species; feeding guilds; quantitative disturbance index; soil compaction

Abstract: Macrobenthic algae and grazers like gastropods, amphipods etc. eventually form a key component of intensified grazing ecosystem in rocky intertidal area. Grazing gastropods suppresses the abundance of canopy forming algal species, thus lead to a reduced algal diversity in the long term. We conducted feeding trials with single and mixed diet during a 28–Days indoor experiment to examine the grazing intensity among green, red and brown algae namely Ulva lactuta, Enteromorpha linza, Gelidium and Padina tetrastromatica following a gut content analysis of experimental gastropods such as Euchelus asper and Nerita oryzarum. Feeding experiments revealed that Euchelus asper consumed 70% Enteromorpha, 10% Ulva and about 10% Gelidium whereas, Nerita oryzarum consumed 45% Ulva and 10% Enteromorpha during single diet experiment. Euchelus asper showed its preference towards all experimental diet where as Nerita preferred Ulva to a greater extends than Enteromorpha and rest other combined diet. Our results showed a higher grazing pressure exerted by Euchelus asper might pose a threat for algal culture and form competition in animals of same trophic level intern affecting their population. Similar experiment may be useful to control mass canopy forming algal growth and habitat studies for grazing animals will also be attributed.

Keywords: grazer, herbivory, seaweed

Abstract: Characterization of light micro-environment in plant canopy is vital in ecological and agricultural research. In this study, spatial heterogeneity of light micro-environment in tobacco canopies was characterized in biologically active radiation of blue, red, far-red, as well as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) based on field measurements. The results revealed that spectral composition of light penetrating into these canopies varied significantly with both depth and horizontal locations, featured with abrupt drop in PAR and relatively mild decrease in far-red. The variations had good accordance of linear correlations between PAR, blue and red, whereas quadratic relations between far-red and other biologically active radiation in PAR. These spectral variations were manifested pronouncedly by R/FR (red to far-red ratio), a light signal perceived by plant organs for modulating their growth and development. The main contribution of this study is introducing a generic measurement method for charactering the spatial and spectral variation of light micro-environment within canopy. It is a basal and vital step to the profound study of the interaction between plants and their natural light micro-environment.

Keywords: plant; light environment; spatial heterogeneity; red to far-red ratio; biologically active radiation

Abstract: This paper reviewed the potential for agricultural land management activities for increased soil carbon sequestration with particular reference to Africa. The sections of this review covered different land management activities (including agroforestry, conservation tillage, fallow management, mulching/cover crops, water management, rotation, manure, fertilizer use, grazing management) which lead to carbon sequestration in different farming systems. This review has revealed that there is high potential to sequester additional carbon through selected land management practices. The performance of these practices depends on soil properties and climatic conditions, and the degree of soil degradation at the time of time of intervention. There is need to integrate these land management practices for carbon sequestration into larger sustainable development and livelihoods strategies and practices in order to enhance an holistic approach and reduce some of the constraints that may inhibit these positive effect of land management practices for carbon sequestration.

Keywords: climate change, land management, soil carbon, conservation

Abstract: Gradual increases in temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentrations have resulted from the increased human use of fossil fuels since the beginning of industrial activity. In coastal wetland ecosystems, salt marshes constitute important habitats because they play important ecological roles, acting as carbon sinks by capturing atmospheric CO2 and storing it in living plant tissue. Ecological models are important tools for understanding the results of anthropogenic impacts on a global scale. Global warming poses threats to salt marshes through different effects, e.g., increases in sea level. The objectives of this study were i) to assess how temperature increases will influence the growth of salt marsh plants, ii) to infer the carbon budget of salt marshes under temperature increase scenarios and iii) to predict how salt marsh plants will keep pace with increases in sea level. These goals were achieved by developing growth models of three different plants (Spartina maritima, Scirpus maritimus and Zostera noltei) found in the Mondego estuary. Models were developed for C3 and C4 plant species. The results suggest that a temperature increase enhances the aboveground biomass of salt marsh plants. According to the predictions of the models, the sedimentation rate of S. maritima and Z. noltei can keep pace with increases in sea level, but this is apparently not the case for S. maritimus. If S. maritimus disappears from the Mondego estuary, the carbon sequestration ability of the system should decrease due to the loss of active plant tissue. This conclusion is based on the fact that S. maritimus accumulated more than 80% of the total carbon sequestered in the tissues by the three studied species.

Keywords: plant growth model, sea level increase, sedimentation, salt marsh, estuaries

Abstract: The differences between the cultivation of conventional and organic fields can result in changes in weed flora. Although herbicides do not affect all weed species equally, their use can have long-term effects on weeds and may prevent their emergence for weeks after treatment. On the other hand, the common mechanical weed control of organic farms is not selective, but weeds can reappear immediately after the treatment. Nonchemical techniques of weed control are not only used under organic conditions, but also in conventional fields, because of the increasing demands for the restricted use of chemicals in food production. The main aim of our research is to see how different weed control practices result in different weed populations, and how these populations change during the growing season of maize. This work was based on data from 93 conventional and organic maize fields in south-eastern Hungary surveyed between 2007 and 2011. The studied fields were divided into four groups, according to the farming system employed and the season of the survey (conventional in spring, conventional in summer, organic in spring, organic in summer). The aim was to explore the seasonal change of weed flora and the differences between farming systems. Our analysis, which included a comparison of the main weed species, shows that fields managed conventionally and organically are different in terms of both their early and late vegetation. Conventional fields in spring were the most distinct from the other three field groups, as they were not well characterized by any weed species. All the other field groups had dominant species present.

Keywords: weed structure, weed flora, organic farming, maize

Abstract: Abiotic and biotic stress conditions have negative effects on growth and yield of crop plants worldwide. The need to improve the nutritional value, stress and disease tolerance of cultivated plants is of great importance. The problem is usually solved by breeding or by the production of transgenic plants; however, the application of biologically active substances with favourable properties can be an alternative, cost- and time-effective possibility. S-methylmethionine (SMM) is an intermediate compound in the plant sulphur metabolism, being ubiquitous in the plant kingdom. SMM has important role in stress and disease tolerance of plants by taking part in plant sulphur metabolism. Previous investigations have shown that SMM has beneficial effects on the physiological status of plants and provides protection against various stress factors. The present review aims to sum up the main results concerning the beneficial effects of SMM treatment against Maize dwarf mosaic virus infection and cold stress in maize, and to reveal the possible applications of SMM in agricultural practice.

Keywords: abiotic stress, biotic stress, maize, MDMV, S-methylmethionine

Abstract: Boundaries are key entities in understanding ecological patterns and mechanisms. If challenges of fragmentation and global changes are to be met, objective techniques are needed to describe boundary characteristics and predict future dynamics. In vegetation science, the moving split window (MSW) technique has been efficiently used for boundary analysis. However, a wider but more rigorous application of the method could considerably promote our understanding of vegetation pattern and organization. First, we briefly describe the MSW method and its history. Next, we review publications that used MSW for field data to analyse vegetation boundaries. We also evaluate the studies that investigated MSW properties. Since such studies are scarce, our own additional tests are also provided. The MSW has been used in a multitude of different environments to answer highly diverse study questions. Study layouts (e.g. transect length, plot size, window width) have been plentiful. As for future directions, the MSW could broaden our knowledge on vegetation continuity vs. discontinuity and abioticbiotic relations. It should more widely be used to study boundary dynamics. Real cross-scale studies could be achieved by using considerably different window widths without averaging the resulting dissimilarities. A significance test is needed for the correct interpretation of the results.

Keywords: boundary, ecotone, transect, dissimilarity profile, dissimilarity indices