Teresa Nowak

Cytogenetic studies of three European species of Centaurea L. (Asteraceae)

Cytogenetic analysis of several populations of Centaurea jacea (2n = 4x = 44), C. oxylepis (2n = 4x = 44) and C. phrygia (2n = 2x = 22) was performed using flow cytometry, differential chromosome staining and FISH. In all species Arabidopsis-type telomeric repeats hybridized only to the terminal part of chromosomes. In C. phrygia three pairs and in C. oxylepis six pairs of chromosomes revealed the hybridization signals of 45S rDNA. Centaurea jacea showed polymorphism in the 45S rDNA loci number, five or six pairs of sites were observed. 5S rDNA loci were located in two pairs of chromosomes in C. phrygia. In C. jacea and C. oxylepis the number and position of 5S rDNA loci were the same: three pairs located interstitially and one terminally. The genome size of the diploid C. phrygia was established as 2.14 pg/2C. The genomes of tetraploid species were nearly two times larger and genome size polymorphism was observed among C. jacea populations.

Alien vascular plants in the Silesian Upland of Poland: distribution, patterns, impacts and threats

Alien vascular plants in the Silesian Upland of Poland: distribution, patterns, impacts and threats Symptoms of anthropogenic changes in the flora include processes of extinction in some species and spread in others. These tendencies have increased in magnitude in recent centuries, adversely affecting natural biodiversity on a regional, national and continental scale. The main idea behind the project presented here was to investigate the diversity of the alien vascular flora at the regional scale and to update the list of invasive alien species for the Silesian Upland. The aim of this study is also to provide a synthesis of the knowledge accumulated to date on the conditions for their occurrence, their distribution patterns and the possible threat they might pose. The distribution of particular species at the regional scale was investigated by mapping the species on a 2 km x 2 km grid. The study showed that the list of alien plant species for the Silesian Upland encompasses 338 species, including 125 archaeophytes, 195 kenophytes (=neophytes) and 18 species of an uncertain status in the Polish flora. A threat evaluation was performed for particular species on the basis of the number of localities, the diversity of preferred habitats recorded, and their current (over the last decade) tendency to colonise new localities. As a result, a final list of 101 invasive species has been selected. Among the alien plant species considered to be invasive in the area of the Silesian Upland, 20 species are identified as ‘weeds’ (13 archaeophytes and 7 kenophytes), another 25 (exclusively kenophytes), penetrating into natural habitats, are defined as ‘transformers’

Rare and endangered segetal weed species in the Silesian Upland (s Poland) recorded in the last twenty years

Rare and endangered segetal weed species in the Silesian Upland (s Poland) recorded in the last twenty years The paper presents a list of the rarest endangered segetal weeds recorded in the Silesian Upland during the previous two decades (1989-2009) with threat categories as well as their distribution concentration map. In the area researched, fifty red-listed taxa (i.e. species, subspecies, and forma) considered to be endangered on a regional and/or national scale were recorded. Thirty-five of them constitute the group of the rarest species (up to 20 localities in the studied area). Lythrum hyssopifolia (included in the Polish Red Data Book of Plants), Adonis aestivalis, Anagallis foemina, A. arvensis fo. azurea, Filago arvensis, Fumaria parviflora, F. rostellata, F. schleicheri, Kickxia elatine, Misopates orontium, Saxifraga tridacylites are among the most interesting segetal weed species noted in the study area. Archaeophytes are the most dominant; however, there is also a remarkable group of apophytes. One species, i.e. Portulaca oleracea is a kenophyte, while Fumaria parviflora has the status of an ephemerophyte in Polish flora. In the northern part of the Silesian Upland (mesoregions the Tarnowskie Góry Ridge and the Chełm) and in the north-eastern part (the Jaworzno Hills) the concentration of the analyzed species localities corresponds to the presence of calcium-rich rendzina soils as well as to the traditional agricultural methods still commonly applied in that area, a decrease in the number of stands of a vast majority of calcicolous weeds including the character species of the Caucalidion lappulae alliance was observed. Moreover, the analysis of relationship between some environmental factors and the endangered species by using CCA was tested.

Alien plants in Poland: research directions and putting the results into practice

Abstract The aim of this study was: (i) to complete and verify the prior review of research on alien plants conducted in Poland and the practical use of their results, and (ii) to attempt to assess the contribution of the research from the area of Poland to the research conducted on an international level. The analysis was performed based on the information gathered during a literature search which covered the last 200 years, using over 1400 publications out of the 3000 which were available in the pool. As a result, the main areas of biological sciences in the context of the research undertaken on alien plants in Poland (distribution, ecology and biology of the species), the most common thematic studies (new species, new localities, and lists of alien species), and the most often investigated species, as well as tendencies over time were indicated. Although studies on the migration and distribution of alien plants in Poland have over 100 years of tradition, and the part of the studies conducted by Polish researchers contributes to the international scale research, it is still necessary to further analyse many issues and answer numerous questions.