Belén Albertos

The epiphytic bryoflora of the Jbel Bouhalla (Rif, Morocco), including a new variety of moss, Orthotrichum speciosum var. brevisetum

Abstract The epiphytic bryoflora of Jbel Bouhalla, a mountain sited in the Rif range (northern Morocco), is catalogued, resulting in a list of 48 taxa (45 mosses and 3 liverworts). One new variety, Orthotrichum speciosum var. brevisetum, is described, and some new records are reported: Orthotrichum shawii and O. pallens are new to northern Africa, while Habrodon perpusillus and O. speciosum var. speciosum are new to Morocco.

New national and regional bryophyte records, 40

1. Aneura pseudopinguis (Herzog) PocsContributor: K. HylanderEthiopia: Kaffa, Bonga, Gimbo, Meligawa, Barta forest, 3 km ENE of Bonga, moist Afromontane forest, among other bryophytes on dead wood,...

New national and regional bryophyte records, 36

ub lis he d by M an ey P ub lis hi ng ( c) B rit is h B ry ol og ic al S oc ie ty Bryological Notes New national and regional bryophyte records, 36 L T Ellis, V A Bakalin, E Baisheva, H Bednarek-Ochyra, R Ochyra, E A Borovichev, S S Choi, B-Y Sun, P Erzberger, V E Fedosov, R Garilleti, B Albertos, P Gorski, P Hajkova, N G Hodgetts, M Ignatov, A Koczur, L E Kurbatova, M Lebouvier, A Mežaka, J Miravet, P Pawlikowski, R D Porley, J A Rossello, M S Sabovljevic, J Pantovic, A Sabovljevic, W Schroder, S Ştefănuţ, G M Suarez, M Schiavone, O T Yayintas, J Vaňa The Natural History Museum, London, UK, Botanical Garden-Institute, Vladivostok, Russia, Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Vladivostok, Russia, Institute of Biology of Ufa, Scientific Centre of Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa, Russia, Institute of Botany, Poland, Polar-Alpine Botanical Garden-Institute, Kirovsk, Russia, Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Korea, Berlin, Germany, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russia, Universidad de Valencia, Burjassot, Spain, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic, Institute of Botany, Brno, Czech Republic, Earlish, Isle of Skye, UK, Main Botanical Garden, Moscow, Russia, Institute of Nature Conservation, Krakow, Poland, Komarov Botanical Institute, Russia, Universite de Rennes 1, France, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia, Marimurtra Botanical Garden, Catalonia, Spain, University of Warsaw, Poland, Cerca dos Pomares, Portugal, Universidad de Valencia, Spain, University of Belgrade, Serbia, Ludwigsstadt, Germany, Institute of Biology of Romanian Academy, Bucharest, Romania, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e I.M.L., Tucuman, Argentina, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Biga, Canakkale, Turkey, Charles University, Praha, Czech Republic

Epiphytic bryophytes in harsh environments: the Juniperus thurifera forests

Abstract The forests of Juniperus thurifera are peculiar ecosystems that typically grow on mountains and highplateaux of the western Mediterranean basin with dry and continental climates. Some previous surveys suggested that these forests house a rather distinctive epiphytic bryophyte flora. Epiphytic bryophyte communities were systematically sampled in 19 representative juniper forests, for the first time spanning all the distribution area of this conifer. The flora consists of 44 species (32 acrocarpous mosses, 10 pleurocarpous mosses and 2 liverworts). Orthotrichum species are the most frequent and abundant in most of the sampled localities, including some uncommon taxa such as Orthotrichum vittii which shows a clear association with J. thurifera. Epiphytic bryophyte communities on this species were highly homogeneous, although they can be arranged into different groups in response to environmental conditions. Typically, the epiphytic communities of the Mediterranean juniper forests comprise a distinct combination of xerophytic taxa that enhances the interest of these ecosystems and provides new fields for their research and conservation.

Reevaluation of Orthotrichum rhytiore (Orthotrichaceae)

Abstract Examination of the holotype of Orthotrichum rhytiore B. H. Allen reveals gametophytic characters which support the placement of the species in Ulota. The species is peculiar within the genus due to its unusual sporophyte morphology, and the occurrence of these sporophytic characters in Ulota is discussed. Ulota rhytiore (B. H. Allen) F. Lara, Garilleti, Albertos & Mazimpaka comb. nov. is the first known species of the genus in tropical America.

Assessing environmental conditions of Antarctic footpaths to support management decisions.

Thousands of tourists visit certain Antarctic sites each year, generating a wide variety of environmental impacts. Scientific knowledge of human activities and their impacts can help in the effective design of management measures and impact mitigation. We present a case study from Barrientos Island in which a management measure was originally put in place with the goal of minimizing environmental impacts but resulted in new undesired impacts. Two alternative footpaths used by tourist groups were compared. Both affected extensive moss carpets that cover the middle part of the island and that are very vulnerable to trampling. The first path has been used by tourists and scientists since over a decade and is a marked route that is clearly visible. The second one was created more recently. Several physical and biological indicators were measured in order to assess the environmental conditions for both paths. Some physical variables related to human impact were lower for the first path (e.g. soil penetration resistance and secondary treads), while other biochemical and microbiological variables were higher for the second path (e.g. β-glucosidase and phosphatase activities, soil respiration). Moss communities located along the new path were also more diverse and sensitive to trampling. Soil biota (Collembola) was also more abundant and richer. These data indicate that the decision to adopt the second path did not lead to the reduction of environmental impacts as this path runs over a more vulnerable area with more outstanding biological features (e.g. microbiota activity, flora and soil fauna diversity). In addition, the adoption of a new route effectively doubles the human footprint on the island. We propose using only the original path that is less vulnerable to the impacts of trampling. Finally from this process, we identify several key issues that may be taken into account when carrying out impact assessment and environmental management decision-making in the Antarctic area.

Peristomal ornamentation, a precise character for discrimination of Ulota bruchii and U. crispa (Bryopsida, Orthotrichaceae)

Abstract A comparative study of structure and ornamentation of Ulota bruchii and U. crispa peristomes is reported. New peristomial characters and those previously suggested are recorded and discussed, and characters enabling an accurate discrimination of the taxa are proposed. Among them, the endostome structure and ornamentation are the characters that afford the most accurate discrimination.

View on Bryophyte Conservation in Peninsular and Balearic Spain: Analysis of Red Lists and Legal Protection

Abstract Current knowledge on the bryophyte flora of Peninsular and Balearic Spain has been highly improved in the past decades, yielding to a still evolving list of 1143 taxa (862 mosses, 5 hornworts, 276 liverworts). Despite its low endemicity (a scarce 0.5% of the bryophyte flora), the Spanish enrolment, both by researchers and by administration, is key in bryophyte conservation science and protection, since it hosts over 40 species that are exclusive or extremely rare both at a European scale and worldwide. The state of bryophyte conservation in Peninsular and Balearic Spain is discussed through comparison of the three national Red Lists already published (1994, 1996, 2014) with the legal protection lists at different scales (European, national and regional). There are 271 threatened species according the current Peninsular and Balearic Spanish Red List. They represent the 24% of the Bryophyte flora, while in the first Red List published in 1994 they were only the 10%. Only 79 taxa are listed in all existing national and regional catalogues. In other words, only 29% of all 271 threatened bryophyte taxa are under certain level of protection in Balearic and Peninsular Spain.

Collembola of Barrientos Island, Antarctica: first census and assessment of environmental factors determining springtail distribution

Barrientos Island is a small islet in the South Shetland archipelago frequently visited by Antarctic tourists. Collembola were recently used in another study developed in this site to assess the environmental conditions of two paths used by visitors, showing the importance of this soil faunal community. This motivated the realization of the first comprehensive census of Collembola from Barrientos Island. Fifty-six samples were recorded over three seasons, 2011–2013, from eight different substrate types. During the last campaign, 39 soil samples were also taken to analyze different physical, chemical, biological, microbiological, and biochemical variables in order to put into relation all these environmental conditions with abundance and richness of Collembola species. A total of ten species were recorded, all of them previously cited from Antarctica. The native species Cryptopygus antarcticus antarcticus Willem (Collembola: Isotomidae) is the most abundant in the island. Two cosmopolitan species—Hypogastrura viatica (Tullberg) (Hypogastruridae) and Mesaphorura macrochaeta Rusek (Tullbergiidae)—were also identified. Many of the species on this island can be considered as eurytopic, appearing in most of the analyzed substrate types. Collembola distribution was found to be influenced by elevation and, to a lesser extent, by phosphorous content and slope. Other variables that are usually cited in the specialized literature did not significantly influence the Collembola distribution in this island. Our results show that the distribution and abundance of Collembola in Antarctic locations is not directly dependent on a single factor. The environmental characteristics of each studied site will determine what factors are driving the composition and structure of this soil community.