Barbara Sudnik-Wójcikowska

Flora Synanthropization and Anthropopressure Zones in a Large Urban Agglomeration (Exemplified by Warsaw)

Summary The paper aimed to determine how the percentage of neophytes in the flora reflected the intensity of anthropopressure. Within Warsaw 4 anthropopressure zones were assigned. It was checked, by statistical methods, that in respect of the above parameter all zones differed significantly from each other. Therefore, ist seemed justified to consider it as one of the more important indices of the flora synanthropization.

The value and need for protection of kurgan flora in the anthropogenic landscape of steppe zone in Ukraine

Abstract The aim of this study was to determine and compare the floristic value of kurgans distributed over an area of approximately 32,100 km2 spreading in four climatic-vegetation zones (steppes and forest steppe) in southern Ukraine. Among the 450 kurgans visited during the growing seasons 2004–2010, 106 best preserved kurgans were investigated. Of 721 species identified, 69 were sozophytes (species of special concern), threatened with extinction. They were usually recorded on the slopes of kurgans and were mostly associated with communities from the classes Festuco-Brometea and Festucetea vaginatae. The distributional patterns of the most frequent sozophytes within kurgans coming from four different climatic-vegetation zones were analyzed. Our study confirmed that kurgans could play a role as refugia of the steppe flora. However, the spatial isolation (about 82–90% of the Ukrainian steppe was turned in agricultural land) and relatively small populations of sozophytes do not contribute to their survival. Other threats to kurgan flora include the following: a direct destruction of the kurgans by frequent fires, excessive grazing, cultivation practices, human activities, e.g. archeological excavations, or illegal activities of archeological looters. The active conservation of kurgans as archeological sites, as well as areas of high floristic value is recommended.

Rough sets in floristic description of the inner-city of Warsaw

Summary This paper reports an application of rough set theory to floristic description of downtown Warsaw. The original Warsaw - flora dataset consisting of 1181 attributes (presence/absence of vascular plant taxa in 225 grid squares) has been reduced to an 8-attribute subset enabling a minimal discriminant description of the inner-city (Table 1). The distribution of Diplotaxis muralis (Fig. 1) has been recognized as the attribute whose discriminating power is the highest (Table 2). This conforms to an earlier chisquare-based approach. Three taxa out of eight included in the best subset, Diplotaxis muralis, Humulus lupulus and Malva neglecta , had been considered by other authors as good indicator plants for certain urban biotopes. An identification tree extracted from the reduced dataset has been presented (Fig. 2). The tree can be regarded as the shortest (i.e., involving minimum number of species) floristic characteristic of the downtown. Rough sets approach has been found promising and complementary to both experts informal appraisal and statistical methods. This makes it possible to obtain the minimum knowledge representation and enables the extraction of useful rules from the data. Conceivable drawbacks include local character of the identification rules and their susceptibility to small changes in floristic composition. We conclude that fuzzy rough sets and rough fuzzy sets provide an especially interesting framework for geobotanical analyses. They combine coarseness of rough sets with imprecision of fuzzy approach, which would presumably eliminate the shortcomings encountered.

Encroachment of forest species into operating and abandoned railway areas in north-eastern Poland

Abstract Floristic investigations concerning vascular plants, supplemented by a determination of the basic soil parameters and concentration of four heavy metals (Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe), were carried out in 12 railway areas located in north-eastern Poland (eight located on tracks withdrawn from use, four located on operating tracks). The vegetation types of the areas in the immediate vicinity of the selected sites differed (forest, grassland or meadow, ruderal). The soil samples exhibited considerable uniformity with respect to their pH values, and, although the nutrient levels varied, the concentration of the latter did not seem to be a factor limiting plant growth. The concentration of heavy metals did not hinder plant growth. Although the chemical features of the soil were within limits that did not make plant growth difficult, the process of plant regeneration proceeded differently, depending on the accessibility of diaspores from the surrounding areas. The decreasing rate of therophytes, especially aliens, manifested a stage of succession on abandoned tracks. In the case of ground flora, gradual “preparation” of the habitat (shadow factor on the track) was very important. The degree of advancement of forest regeneration on abandoned tracks was more strongly evidenced by the constant return of ground flora species, and not by trees as was commonly thought.

The Flora of Kurgans in the Desert Steppe Zone of Southern Ukraine

Results of the studies on biodiversity of the kurgan flora in the desert steppe of the Black Sea Lowland (the southern part of Kherson Region) are presented. Twenty-six of about 130 kurgans higher than 3 m, distributed over an area of approx. 1500 km, were surveyed. The kurgan flora was estimated at 305 species; the number of species on particular kurgans ranged from 48 to 103, 82 on average. The species of particularly high floristic value were: Allium regelianum, Anacamptis picta (= Orchis picta), Cerastium ucrainicum, Dianthus lanceolatus, Linaria biebersteinii, Muscari neglectum, Senecio borysthenicus, Stipa capillata, and Tulipa schrenkii. The spectrum of life forms of the kurgans flora generally corresponded to the spectrum for the desert steppe zone (almost a half of the flora consisted of therophytes and short-living perennials). Species of alien origin constituted 23% of the kurgans flora, which does not indicate significant anthropogenic influence. Species with wide Mediterranean-Eurasian ranges predominated among anthropophytes. Only 9 species were the synanthropic newcomers, i.e. kenophytes. The phytosociological range of the kurgans flora was quite wide. Species of two classes, Festuco-Brometea and Stellarietea mediae were predominant, which also confirmed the semi-natural character of the kurgan flora. The kurgans constitute a distinctive element of the southern Ukraine landscape. The state of preservation of their plant cover varies. Floristic richness, a share of rare and protected species, as well as shares of non-synanthropic (steppe and halophilous) species can be assumed as the criteria for its assessment. The recommendations regarding kurgans that should be under protection, not only as archaeological sites but also as nature monuments, was based on these assessment criteria.

Microzonal distribution of soils and plants along the catenas of mound structures

The results obtained during a complex study of soils and plants on mounds located in four subzones of forest steppe and steppe are presented. Having studied the vertical microzoning of the mounds, general and specific features of the distribution of soil properties (based on 40 indicators) have been shown in their geographical, catenary, and expository aspects. Functional changes have been found in the interdependence between soil and plant, which developed as a result of the thousands years of evolution of the ecosystems.

The Flora of Kurgans in the West Pontic Grass Steppe Zone of Southern Ukraine

The results of studies on the biodiversity of the kurgan flora in west Pontic grass steppe of the Black Sea Lowland (the western part of Kherson region) are presented. Twenty-six of about 183 kurgans higher than 3 m, distributed over an area of approx. 3280 km, were surveyed. The kurgan flora in the grass steppe contained more species than in the desert steppe, and was estimated at 352 species. The number of species on particular kurgans ranged from 72 to 141, 110 on average. Anthropogenic influences, such as the immediate vicinity of cultivated fields, contributed significantly to the penetration of synanthropic species, particularly therophytes, from the neighbouring habitats to the kurgans. Short-living plants: one, two or three years old were predominant (43%), phanerophytes accounted for only 5% of the kurgan flora. Halophyte species were much less numerous here than in the desert steppe. Species of alien origin, i.e. archaeophytes and kenophytes, constituted 30% of the kurgan flora. A total of 28 syntaxa of a higher rank were represented in all the kurgans studied. As in the case of the desert steppe, species belonging to classes Festuco-Brometea and Stellarietea mediae were predominant in the grass steppe, which also confirmed the semi-natural character of the kurgan flora. The species of particularly high floristic value were: Amygdalus nana, Astragalus borysthenicus, A. dasyanthus, A. pallescens, Cerastium ucrainicum, Dianthus lanceolatus, Ephedra distachya, Eremogone rigida, Galium volhynicum Hyacinthella leucophaea, Linaria biebersteinii, Phlomis hybrida Prangos odontalgica, Ranunculus scythicus, Stipa capillata, S. lessingiana, S. ucrainica and Tulipa biebersteiniana. The species encountered on the kurgans comprised 22% of the total flora of steppes in Ukraine, and about 56% of the flora of the Ascania Nova Biosphere Reserve. Kurgans are protected by law as archaeological sites. Taking all of this into account, kurgans, which constitute refugia for the steppe flora, should also be put under protection as nature monuments. Kurgans, which are uniformly distributed in the steppe zone, can play an important role in the local restoration of the plant cover that had been practically destroyed on the steppe plains (and differs from the better preserved steppe vegetation of balkas and ravines).

Flora of kurgans in the forest steppe zone in Ukraine

MOYSIYENKO, І. І. Flora of kurgans in the forest steppe zone in Ukraine / І. І. MOYSIYENKO, B. SUDNIK-WOJCIKOWSKA // Чорноморськ. бот. ж. - 2010. - Т. 6. - № 2:. - С. 162-199.

Zonal character of the flora of kurgans in central and southern Ukraine

Zonal character of the flora of kurgans in central and southern Ukraine In the years 2004-2010 floristic studies were carried out on kurgans in 4 different climatic/vegetation zones: 3 steppe zones (west and central Pontic desert steppe, west Pontic grass steppe, west and central Pontic herb-rich grass-steppe) and a forest steppe zone. Among the 450 kurgans surveyed, 106 barrows met the selection criteria. The species composition and the contribution of different life forms to the flora of kurgans changed along the north-south gradient. Jaccards similarity coefficient and Wards clustering method were used to compare the qualitative composition of flora in particular zones. The results of this comparison confirmed floristic differences between kurgans located in the four zones. Kurgans in the desert steppe zone proved to have the most distinct flora among the floras considered. The biggest similarities were found between the flora of kurgans in the forest steppe zone and that of barrows in the west and central Pontic herb rich grass steppe.

Flora of kurgans in the Pontic herb(-rich) grass steppe zone in Ukraine

Представлені результати дослідження флористичного багатства курганів в зоні різнотравнота багаторізнотравно-злакових степів (згідно з MAP OF THE NATURAL VEGETATION OF EUROPE 2000: «the west and central Pontic herb-grass steppe» (M5) та «west and central Pontic herb-rich grass steppe» (M1) зони) в Миколаївській та Кіровоградській областях. Вивчено 29 курганів понад 3 м. заввишки, що розташовані на території понад 9000 км. Досліджена флора курганів за кількістю видів переважає флору курганів зон злакових та пустельних степів і налічує 439 видів. Кількість видів на одному кургані змінюється від 89 до 171 (середня 125,5). В зоні різнотравнота багаторізнотравнозлакових степів переважають гемікриптофіти, на відміну від флор курганів зон, що розташовані південніше, де переважають терофіти. Також більш чисельними виявились тут фанерофіти (8,7 %). Короткоживучі рослини (одно-, дво-, трирічні монокарпіки) складають 35,1 % флори. Більшість з них є синантропними видами, переважно бур’яни з оточуючих полів. Загалом на курганах виявлено 113 видів адвентивних рослин. Археофіти та кенофіти складають 23,5 % флори курганів. В цілому на досліджених курганах було зафіксовано 19 синтаксонів вищого рангу. Види, що асоційовані з степовими синтаксонами: Festuco-Brometea, Festucetea vaginatae, Polygono-Artemisietea та Galietalia veri є найчисельнішими і складають 49,9 % флори курганів. Як і у флорі курганів злакових та пустельних степів домінують види класів Festuco-Brometea та Stellarietea mediae, що підкреслює напівприродний характер флори курганів. Виявлено низку раритетних видів рослин: Adonis vernalis, Amygdalus nana, Anemone sylvestris, Astragalus dasyanthus, Crocus reticulatus, Elytrigia stipifolia, Galium volhynicum, Goniolimon tataricum, Hesperis tristis, Iris halophila, Limonium platyphyllum, Linaria biebersteinii, Ornithogalum kochii, Phlomis hybrida, Stipa capillata, S. lessingiana. Кургани зони різнотравнота багаторізнотравно-злакових степів, як і інших зон виступають рефугіумами степової флори. Вони досить рівномірно розташовані в степовій зоні і відіграють важливу роль в локальному відновлені природної рослинності, тому повинні охоронятися не лише як археологічні, а і як природні пам’ятки.