Attila Molnár

Recent distribution of the Euro-Siberian-sub- Mediterranean species Elatine alsinastrum L. (Elatinaceae)

Abstract - The general distribution of the endangered Euro-Siberian sub-Mediterranean species Elatine alsinastrum L. is provided using literature, web-sources and herbaria dataset. The distribution pattern shows some regularities: occurrence of locations along river valleys, formation of concentrated site clusters in some lowlands, wide distances between locations or site clusters or single locations between their clusters. The distribution patterns in central Europe seem to be rather well related to the history of the human migration in Europe at least since the Late Holocene. The scattered locations on the eastern part of the distribution area are likely to be a consequence of missing information, rather than to the fragmentation of its distribution.

First record of Gagea szovitsii in Central Europe

Morphological characters, habitat preference, and currently known distribution of the species Gagea szovitsii (A.F. Láng) Besser, a new indigenous vascular plant species of Central Europe, are presented. The plant was found in alkali grasslands of the south-eastern part of the Great Hungarian Plain (SE Hungary). Currently, this can be regarded to the westernmost occurrence of this pontic species. Both G. szovitsii and its closest relative G. bohemica are briefly characterized here with respect to their identification, ecology and distribution. Original illustrations on G. szovitsii are presented. The paper firstly emphasizes the difference of reproductive strategy between G. szovitsii and G. bohemica; the former reproduce itself primarily sexually via seeds, while the latter reproduce itself in asexual way principally by bulbils. Taking the paleo-environmental history of its habitat into consideration, the species can be regarded as an ancient, indigenous Pontic-Pannonian steppe element of Hungary.

Reconstruction of early Holocene Thermal Maximum temperatures using present vertical distribution of conifers in the Pannon region (SE Central Europe)

Palaeoclimatic reconstruction is a main subject of palaeoecology, clarifying fossil palaeoenvironmental patterns. Our study provides a macroecological approach to reconstruct the mean annual temperature (MAT) of the Pannon region at the early Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM, warmest period of the Holocene), based on the absence of forest-dwelling conifers in the North Hungarian Mountains and their presence in the surrounding Carpathians on the same altitude. We suppose that the HTM was enough warm to drive conifers to extinction from elevations between 900 and 1100 m a.s.l. in the relatively isolated N-Hungarian Mts. Conversely, HTM still allowed the survival of residual dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) stands on the isolated peaks of the West Transylvanian Mountains between 1600 and 1800 m a.s.l. Our study provides an estimate for the value of MAT of HTM of Pannon region with an interval of 0.4°C, relying on macroecological considerations. We calculate the temperature of the HTM 1.3–1.7°C warmer than the present temperature. This method can be used in a general sense, if conditions meet the requirements of the method even in horizontal cases, with area isolates of climate-sensitive species.

Growth‐form and spatiality driving the functional difference of native and alien aquatic plants in Europe

Abstract Trait‐based approaches are widely used in community ecology and invasion biology to unravel underlying mechanisms of vegetation dynamics. Although fundamental trade‐offs between specific traits and invasibility are well described among terrestrial plants, little is known about their role and function in aquatic plant species. In this study, we examine the functional differences of aquatic alien and native plants stating that alien and native species differ in selected leaf traits. Our investigation is based on 60 taxa (21 alien and 39 native) collected from 22 freshwater units of Hungarian and Italian lowlands and highlands. Linear mixed models were used to investigate the effects of nativeness on four fundamental traits (leaf area, leaf dry matter content, specific leaf area, and leaf nitrogen content), while the influence of growth‐form, altitude, and site were employed simultaneously. We found significantly higher values of leaf areas and significantly lower values of specific leaf areas for alien species if growth‐form was included in the model as an additional predictor.We showed that the trait‐based approach of autochthony can apply to aquatic environments similar to terrestrial ones, and leaf traits have relevance in explaining aquatic plant ecology whether traits are combined with growth‐forms as a fixed factor. Our results confirm the importance of traits related to competitive ability in the process of aquatic plant invasions. Alien aquatic plants can be characterized as species producing soft leaves faster. We argue that the functional traits of alien aquatic plants are strongly growth‐form dependent. Using the trait‐based approach, we found reliable characteristics of aquatic plants related to species invasions, which might be used, for example, in conservation management.

The occurrence of Spiraea crenata and other rare steppe plants in Pannonian graveyards

Abstract Spiraea crenata was categorised as a species extinct from Hungary at the end of the 20th century. This stepperelic species was rediscovered in 2000 in a rural graveyard (Pusztamonostor). As a result of our recent survey of 294 Pannonian graveyards, we found further 12 localities of S. crenata. We also found 27 populations of further protected plant species, mainly with pontic, pontic-pannonian, Eurasian or continental distribution. We found that the total scrub cover of graveyards with S. crenata was significantly higher than graveyards without this species; this is obviously related to the fact that the individuals of S. crenata were found mostly in edges of the graveyards, where they could survive mowing among high and dense scrubs or small trees. Other factors (geographic position, altitude above sea level, area of graveyards, proportion of grasslands, and proportion of territory covered by graves) were not related to the presence of the species. The total number of other protected species was significantly higher in graveyards with S. crenata. Most of the sites with S. crenata functioned as graveyards during the 2nd Military Survey of the Austrian Empire (1806–1869; 10 out of 13 sites), and the 3rd Military Survey (1869–1887; 12 of 13 sites). The long usage history of these graveyards suggests that the S. crenata individuals – along with other remarkable species – might be remnants of the original steppe vegetation rather than the result of plantations for ornamental purposes. Our results highlight the role of graveyards in the preservation of steppe flora, one of the most endangered component of the European flora.

The World Saffron and Crocus collection: strategies for establishment, management, characterisation and utilisation

Since 2007, the European Commission AGRI GEN RES 018 “CROCUSBANK” action has permitted the creation of the alleged World Saffron and Crocus Collection (WSCC), a unique collection which contains a representation of the genetic variability present in saffron crop and wild relatives at global scale. At present the germplasm collection, housed at the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca (BGV-CU, Spain), consists of 572 preserved accessions representing 47 different Crocus species (including saffron Crocus) and is expected to increase up to more than 600 accessions by the end of CROCUSBANK action (May 2011). The preserved biodiversity of saffron (Crocussativus L.) covers a wide range of the genetic variability of the crop and currently consists of 220 accessions from 15 countries: 169 of these come from European cultivation countries, 18 from commercial areas in non EU countries, 26 from regions of minimal or relict production and/or from abandoned fields and 7 from commercial nurseries. The non-saffron Crocus collection currently comprises 352 accessions: 179 collected from the wild in 12 countries of natural distribution, 24 from donations of public and private institutions, 91 from commercial nurseries and 58 acquired from BGV-CU collection management. Here we provide a record of collections, activities concerns and current strategies for documentation, conservation, characterisation, and management of the collection as important tools for researchers with interest in these valuable genetic resources.

The World Saffron and Crocus collection: Strategies for establishment, management, characterisation and utilisation

Since 2007, the European Commission AGRI GEN RES 018 “CROCUSBANK” action has permitted the creation of the alleged World Saffron and Crocus Collection (WSCC), a unique collection which contains a representation of the genetic variability present in saffron crop and wild relatives at global scale. At present the germplasm collection, housed at the Bank of Plant Germplasm of Cuenca (BGV-CU, Spain), consists of 572 preserved accessions representing 47 different Crocus species (including saffron Crocus) and is expected to increase up to more than 600 accessions by the end of CROCUSBANK action (May 2011). The preserved biodiversity of saffron (Crocussativus L.) covers a wide range of the genetic variability of the crop and currently consists of 220 accessions from 15 countries: 169 of these come from European cultivation countries, 18 from commercial areas in non EU countries, 26 from regions of minimal or relict production and/or from abandoned fields and 7 from commercial nurseries. The non-saffron Crocus collection currently comprises 352 accessions: 179 collected from the wild in 12 countries of natural distribution, 24 from donations of public and private institutions, 91 from commercial nurseries and 58 acquired from BGV-CU collection management. Here we provide a record of collections, activities concerns and current strategies for documentation, conservation, characterisation, and management of the collection as important tools for researchers with interest in these valuable genetic resources.