Dariusz Kamiński

New localities and habitat preferences of common milkweed Asclepias syriaca L. in Toruń (Central Poland)

The paper presents the location and general description of habitats and plant communities with common milkweed occurring within the city limits of Torun. The data set comprised new localities of this species as well as those where Asclepias syriaca has been observed for several years but the sites have not been described in the ecological literature. Releves made at these sites were compared with those described by Puchalka et al. (2013) from three sites of Asclepias syriaca in Torun. A larger set of new sites included in the analysis allows for a more accurate description of the impact exerted by some ecological factors, e.g. afforestation, on the growth of the studied species. As evidenced by the new sites of Asclepias syriaca found recently in Torun and the surrounding area, it is necessary to monitor the dynamics of the population and to undertake the research on the impact of common milkweed on plant communities.

Changes in the plant cover of the dune hill in Folusz near Szubin (NW Poland) between 1959 and 2012: the problem of preservation of xerothermic grasslands in the agricultural landscape

The dune hill in Folusz is one of the most interesting sites with xerothermic vegetation in the Polish lowland. It is different from other sites by the fact that xerothermic vegetation covers a single dune located amidst large areas of Molinia meadows rather than slopes of river valleys. Vegetation occurring on the hill represents a cold Stipa steppe with rare species of floodplain meadows and has long aroused the interest of botanists. In the 19th century and in the early 20th century, observations in this area were carried out by German botanists (L. Kuhling, F. Spribille, H. Miller, W. Bock). In the 1930s, the investigation was continued by botanists from the University in Poznan. After World War II, it was one of the main research sites for botanists and ecologists from the University in Torun, and recently also from the universities in Bydgoszcz. Floristic lists were compiled by all the aforementioned researchers, which describe the state of flora in the subsequent periods, and when collated in tables, they help to determine the directions of changes occurring in the area over a hundred years. Not all the materials obtained in the past were published. A lot of interesting data were preserved in the Torun centre in the form of actual vegetation maps and releves. This paper presents the comparison of vegetation from 1959, plotted on the unpublished vegetation map by J. Wilkon-Michalska, with the vegetation in 2013. Changes in the land cover were also analysed through a series of aerial photographs from 1961, 1975, 1986 and 2005. The GIS and GPS technology was used in the spatial analysis. Furthermore, the analysis of flora changes was performed, including the comparison of data presented in ecological literature with unpublished data collected by J. Wilkon-Michalska in 1956-1964. In addition, numerical analysis of releves from both these periods and from 2012 was performed. The objective of all the analyses was to determine how the changes were affected by spontaneous development of oak trees on the dune and destructive human activity related to exploitation of the sand, afforestation of the dune with pine, birch and oak, and planting of common lilac. An effort was also made to assess the importance of including the Folusz dune hill within the Natura 2000 site − PLH040027 „Molinia meadows in Folusz” − for preventing further degradation of xerothermic vegetation.

Application of GIS technology in the analysis of wolf Canis lupus L. behaviour and migration routes in the landscape

The paper presents the results of tracking a pack of wolves carried out between January and February 2013 in the Forest Division of Solec Kujawski in Bydgoszcz Forest, which surrounds three cities – Bydgoszcz, Torun and Solec Kujawski, and locally encroaches on their administrative areas. The behaviour of wolves and their migration routes were determined based on tracks left on snow. The location of tracks was recorded with a GPS receiver. Visualization and data analysis were performed with the software QuantumGIS. The pack consists of seven wolves and one, most likely rejected male following the close group. A total of 10.22 km of trails, including characteristic ground scratching, faeces and a prey killed by the wolf pack, were found on the snow over an area of ca. 100 km2. Forest roads are preferred landscape elements of the monitored pack, used for movement. Data analysis with GIS tools helps to determine the migration routes and behaviour of the wolf pack living in the study area.

An isolated site of calciphilous lichens in the Kujawy region

The paper presents a list of lichen species occurring in three quarries and on mine dumps located within the dust emission impact zone of the cement plant “Kujawy”. The species occur in the lowlands far from their natural localities on limestone rocks in southern Poland. The study area is therefore a valuable habitat island for epilithic and epigeic species of calciphilous lichens in central Poland. Particularly noteworthy are taxa characteristic of natural limestone rocks found in mountain areas of Poland: Verrucaria calciseda, Verrucaria nigroumbrina V. obfuscans and V. polysticta, as well as nine species from the Polish Red List of Lichens: Bacidia rubella, Caloplaca cf. cerina, Enchylium coccophorum, Endocarpon pusillum, Heppia adglutinata, Lempholema chalazanum, Goidanichia ambrosiana, Thelidium incavatum and Th. papulare.

The importance of habitat islands in the preservation of relict xerothermic and calcicolous epigeic lichens based on the example of the “Ostnicowe Parowy Gruczna” nature reserve (N Poland)

The objective of this paper is to discuss the role of environmental islands isolated in the agricultural landscape in the pres- ervation of xerothermic and calcicolous epigeic lichens. The site of lichens associated with relict steppe vegetation, rare in northern Poland, has been preserved in the reserve “Ostnicowe Parowy Gruczna”. The list of lichen taxa identified in the study area comprises 16 species that are very rare in lowland, e.g. Gyalolechia fulgens, Heppia adglutinata, Squamarina lentigera, Endocarpon pusillum, Gyalolechia bracteata, Placidium squamulosum and Toninia sedifolia. In many places, the lichens associated with dry grasslands become extinct despite the optimum light conditions. These lichen species are sensitive to the impact of agriculture. Preservation of epigeic lichens’ localities is possible in specific habitat conditions when they are isolated from surface runoff of fertile farm water.

Meadow species in the early stages of succession on the ash settler of power plant EDF Toruń SA in Toruń, Poland

The paper is to present the trends of typical species of meadow habitats to colonize the frontier habitats. The area of research is the fly-ash landfills in the power plant EDF Torun SA in Torun. Several times, during the year mix of fly-ashes and slug, resulting from the combustion of coal, is transported by pipeline and this is mixed with water. Floristic research was conducted twice: in 2013 and 2015 year. Within an area of about 7 hectares 84 species of vascular plants (43 species in 2013 and 61 in 2015) were inventoried including 14 characteristic species of meadows. The presence of these species disturbed strong evidence of a wide ecological range and adaptations to survive adverse conditions of habitats. The results demonstrate that meadow species as Festuca arundinacea , Festuca rubra , Lolium perenne , Poa annua, Rumex acetosa and Taraxacum officinale, Poa trivialis and Viccia cracca can be helpful in restoration of fly-ash landfills.