Diverging growth performance of co-occurring trees (Picea abies) and shrubs (Pinus mugo) at the treeline ecotone of Central European mountain ranges

2021 ◽  
Vol 308-309 ◽  
pp. 108608
Author(s):  
Martin Šenfeldr ◽  
Ryszard Kaczka ◽  
Allan Buras ◽  
Alina Samusevich ◽  
Corinna Herrmann ◽  
...  
Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1331
Author(s):  
Joanna Sokołowska ◽  
Hanna Fuchs ◽  
Konrad Celiński

The Pinus mugo complex is a large group of closely related mountain pines, which are an important component of the ecosystems of the most important mountain ranges, such as the Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees. The phylogenetic relationships between taxa in this complex have been under discussion for many years. Despite the use of many different approaches, they still need to be clarified and supplemented with new data, especially those obtained with high-throughput methods. Therefore, in this study, the complete sequences of the chloroplast genomes of the three most recognized members of the Pinus mugo complex, i.e., Pinus mugo, Pinus rotundata and Pinus uncinata, were sequenced and analyzed to gain new insight into their phylogenetic relationships. Comparative analysis of their complete chloroplast genome sequences revealed several mutational hotspots potentially useful for the genetic identification of taxa from the Pinus mugo complex. Phylogenetic inference based on sixteen complete chloroplast genomes of different coniferous representatives showed that pines from the Pinus mugo complex form one distinct monophyletic group. The results obtained in this study provide new and valuable omics data for further research within the European mountain pine complex. They also indicate which regions may be useful in the search for diagnostic DNA markers for the members of Pinus mugo complex and set the baseline in the conservation of genetic resources of its endangered taxa.


2020 ◽  
pp. 5-59
Author(s):  
Katarína Kapustka ◽  
Jan Eigner ◽  
Marek Parkman ◽  
Milan Řezáč ◽  
Antonín Přichystal ◽  
...  

The main objective of the article is to present knowledge of newly discovered sites in the mountainous environment of Šumava (Bohemian Forest). The fieldwork in 2011–2019 identified a total of 30 new sites that can be dated to the Late Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. The research of prehistoric settlement of the mountainous regions of Bohemia remained a neglected topic for many years. The presence of hunters-gatherers in the mountains in the Mesolithic was documented by isolated finds from the Ore Mountains and a far greater number from Šumava in south Bohemia. This study presents the result of research conducted in three identified locations: in the floodplains of the Roklanský Stream, the Upper Vltava (Moldau) and the Křemelná Stream. The article documents that the network of sites in this space is relatively dense. Although remnants of intact situations are documented in rare cases, the dating of the majority of sites is based solely on lithic assemblages of varying size. Due to the fragmented condition of the obtained material, we discuss the extent to which it is possible to set the survey results in the broader context of central European Mesolithic settlement and present additional thoughts on the density, character and structure of the settlement of central European mountain ranges. Late Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, lithics, mountain settlement, subsistence strategy, Šumava (Bohemian Forest)


2014 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52
Author(s):  
Renata Piwowarczyk

Abstract Orobanche flava is a species of Central European mountain ranges, mainly the Alps and Carpathian Mts. The paper presents the current distribution of O. flava in Poland based on a critical revision of herbarium and literature data as well as results of field investigations conducted between 1999 and 2014. The distribution of species is centered in southern Poland, mainly in the Carpathian Mts., and, sporadically, in the Sudeten Mts. The distribution of O. flava in Poland is mapped. The taxonomy, biology, and ecology are also discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 ◽  
pp. 305-342
Author(s):  
Joanna A. Markiewicz

Despite the continuous increase of archaeological data coming from the Polish Western Carpathians, the colonisation process of the Beskidy Mountains in prehistory is still relatively poorly recognized. The subject of discussion is, in particular, the impact of environmental and cultural factors on the formation of settlement networks in individual periods. This paper considers these questions on the example of a part of the middle Dunajec River basin in the chronological framework from the Neolithic to the La Tène period. Based on the archaeological and paleoenvironmental record, an analysis of settlement dynamics in terms of preferences and economy in the subsequent periods was carried out. The observations made were then interpreted in the context of cultural phenomena. A comparison of the results with the situation observed in other Central European mountain ranges made it possible to formulate some universal tendencies in the settlement development in these zones. In particular, the impact of climate and environmental conditions on the economy was considered, as well as the role of natural resources and communication routes. It has been demonstrated that three main stages can be distinguished in the process of prehistoric mountain colonisation. This mechanism was correlated with the gradual adaptation of the economy and the “familiarising” of the mountain landscape, which offered both some limitations and strategic values determining the specific cultural function of these areas.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-23
Author(s):  
Stanislav Holubec

Abstract The article deals with Czech and German nationalist discourses and practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as they relate to tourism in the Krkonoše/Riesengebirge, the highest Central European mountain range between the Alps and Scandinavia. It will discuss the discourses developed in relation to mountain tourism and nationalism (metaphors of battlefields, wedges, walls, gates, and bastions), different symbolical cores of mountains, and practices of tourist and nationalist organizations (tourist trails and markings, excursions, the ownership of mountains huts, languages used, memorials, and the construction of roads). It will examine how these discourses and practices changed from the first Czech-German ethnic conflicts in the 1800s until the end of interwar Czechoslovakia. Finally, it will discuss the Czech culture of defeat in the shadow of the Munich Agreement, which meant the occupation of the Giant Mountains by Nazi Germany.


Forests ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Radim Löwe ◽  
Miroslav Sedlecký ◽  
Adam Sikora ◽  
Anna Prokůpková ◽  
Roman Modlinger ◽  
...  

Since 2014, forestry in the Czech Republic has been significantly affected by a bark beetle outbreak. The volume of infested trees has exceeded processing capacity and dead standing spruce (Picea abies) remain in the forest stands, even for several years. What should be done with this bark beetle wood? Is it necessary to harvest it in order to preserve the basic mechanical and physical properties? Is it possible to store it under standard conditions, or what happens to it when it is “stored” upright in the forest? These are issues that interested forest owners when wood prices were falling to a minimum (i.e., in 2018–2019) but also today, when the prices of quality wood in Central European conditions are rising sharply. To answer these questions, we found out how some of the mechanical properties of wood change in dead, bark beetle-infested trees. Five groups of spruce wood were harvested. Each of these groups was left upright in the forest for a specified period of time after bark beetle infestation, and one group was classified as a reference group (uninfested trees). Subsequently, we discovered what changes occurred in tensile and compressive strength depending on the time left in the stand and the distance from the center of the trunk. When selecting samples, we eliminated differences between individual trees using a CT scanning technique, which allowed us to separate samples, especially with different widths of annual rings and other variations that were not caused by bark beetle. The results showed the effect of log age and radial position in the trunk on tensile and compressive strength. The values for tensile strength in 3-year infested trees decreased compared to uninfested trees by 14% (from 93.815 MPa to 80.709 MPa); the values for compressive strength then decreased between the same samples by up to 25.6% (from 46.144 MPa to 34.318 MPa). A significant decrease in values for compressive strength was observed in the edges of the trunks, with 44.332 MPa measured in uninfested trees and only 29.750 MPa in 3-year infested trees (a decrease of 32.9%). The results suggest that the use of central timber from bark beetle-infested trees without the presence of moulds and fungi should not be problematic for construction purposes.


2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 646-657 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Menéndez ◽  
Adela González-Megías ◽  
Pierre Jay-Robert ◽  
Rocío Marquéz-Ferrando

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