scholarly journals The global loss of floristic uniqueness

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang Yang ◽  
Patrick Weigelt ◽  
Trevor S. Fristoe ◽  
Zhijie Zhang ◽  
Holger Kreft ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Floristic Similarity ◽  
Climate Matching ◽  
The World ◽  
Naturalized Plant

AbstractRegional species assemblages have been shaped by colonization, speciation and extinction over millions of years. Humans have altered biogeography by introducing species to new ranges. However, an analysis of how strongly naturalized plant species (i.e. alien plants that have established self-sustaining populations) affect the taxonomic and phylogenetic uniqueness of regional floras globally is still missing. Here, we present such an analysis with data from native and naturalized alien floras in 658 regions around the world. We find strong taxonomic and phylogenetic floristic homogenization overall, and that the natural decline in floristic similarity with increasing geographic distance is weakened by naturalized species. Floristic homogenization increases with climatic similarity, which emphasizes the importance of climate matching in plant naturalization. Moreover, floristic homogenization is greater between regions with current or past administrative relationships, indicating that being part of the same country as well as historical colonial ties facilitate floristic exchange, most likely due to more intensive trade and transport between such regions. Our findings show that naturalization of alien plants threatens taxonomic and phylogenetic uniqueness of regional floras globally. Unless more effective biosecurity measures are implemented, it is likely that with ongoing globalization, even the most distant regions will lose their floristic uniqueness.

Does the invasion of Northern Red Oak Quercus rubra in parkland influence the diversity of birds?

Biologia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emilia Grzędzicka ◽  
Katarzyna Kowalik ◽  
Barbara Bacler-Żbikowska
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Coal Industry ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Forest Birds ◽  
Bird Diversity ◽  
Red Oak ◽  
Northern Red Oak ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant

AbstractInvasive plants are non-native, but in most cases naturalised, species that have successfully spread outside of their native range. Aliens invaded all habitats, are competing with native plants, thus, after the direct destruction of habitats, invasions are recognised as the second largest danger for biodiversity. Northern Red Oak is one of the most common invasive tree species dispersed primarily by birds, but new studies have shown that it is also spread continuously in a forest stand. The main aim of our research was to check how strong is the invasion of Northern Red Oak in Silesia Park, where it was introduced together with other alien plant species, and how this invasion interacts with bird diversity. Silesia Park was created 65 years ago on the surface largely ravaged by coal industry. Because many studies indicate birds as vectors of alien plants invasion, we examined the bird fauna in a described area, looking for species that can contribute to spreading oaks. Research showed the diversity of 50 bird species. Surface with a presence of Northern Red Oak was characterised by greater participation of alien plant species than the patch of natural forest, which existed there long before the park creation. The greatest bird diversity was found in the most natural part of Silesia Park, and the lowest in the area of invasion, especially in the case of species classified as “forest birds”. The presence of alien plants increased number of “non-forest” birds, mostly synanthropic species. We also found that Northern Red Oak spreads by spontaneous seed dispersal.

scholarly journals Big hitting collectors make massive and disproportionate contribution to the discovery of plant species

2012 ◽  
Vol 279 (1736) ◽  
pp. 2269-2274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Bebber ◽  
Mark A. Carine ◽  
Gerrit Davidse ◽  
David J. Harris ◽  
Elspeth M. Haston ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Type Specimens ◽  
Fundamental Goal ◽  
The World ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
The Right ◽  
Geographical Locations

Discovering biological diversity is a fundamental goal—made urgent by the alarmingly high rate of extinction. We have compiled information from more than 100 000 type specimens to quantify the role of collectors in the discovery of plant diversity. Our results show that more than half of all type specimens were collected by less than 2 per cent of collectors. This highly skewed pattern has persisted through time. We demonstrate that a number of attributes are associated with prolific plant collectors: a long career with increasing productivity and experience in several countries and plant families. These results imply that funding a small number of expert plant collectors in the right geographical locations should be an important element in any effective strategy to find undiscovered plant species and complete the inventory of the world flora.

Design and Application about System of Plant Science Popularization Based on the QR Code

2015 ◽  
Vol 738-739 ◽  
pp. 1303-1308
Author(s):  
Jing Hua Han ◽  
Ming Jia Li
Keyword(s):  
New Media ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
General Public ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Plant Science ◽  
Qr Code ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Plant Resources ◽  
Science Popularization ◽  
The World

Plant is not only closely related to human beings’ life, but also an integral part of raw materials in production. Protection of nature and plant resources is an increasingly urgent needs around the world. Cognition is a prerequisite for the protection of plant. But the way of plant science popularization is old, the knowledge of plant is too obscure to the general public. The system of plant science popularization based on the QR code spreads the knowledge of plant with illustrations interactively, to facilitate ordinary users to learn, understand and identify plant species. The article will detail all aspects of development of the system, allowing more scholars to understand the digitized plant science popularization under the new media.

scholarly journals Alteration of plant species assemblages can decrease the transmission potential of malaria mosquitoes

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 841-851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babak Ebrahimi ◽  
Bryan T. Jackson ◽  
Julie L. Guseman ◽  
Colin M. Przybylowicz ◽  
Christopher M. Stone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Species Assemblages ◽  
Transmission Potential ◽  
Malaria Mosquitoes

scholarly journals Major environmental factors and traits of invasive alien plants determine their spatial distribution: a case study in Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Minwoo Oh ◽  
Yoonjeong Heo ◽  
Eun Ju Lee ◽  
Hyohyemi Lee
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Alien Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Functional Traits ◽  
Invasive Plants ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Summer Temperature ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Cold Spots

Abstract Background As trade increases, the influx of various alien species and their spread to new regions are prevalent, making them a general problem globally. Anthropogenic activities and climate change have led to alien species becoming distributed beyond their native range. As a result, alien species can be easily found anywhere, with the density of individuals varying across locations. The prevalent distribution of alien species adversely affects invaded ecosystems; thus, strategic management plans must be established to control them effectively. To this end, this study evaluated hotspots and cold-spots in the degree of distribution of invasive alien plant species, and major environmental factors related to hot spots were identified. We analyzed 10,287 distribution points of 126 species of alien plant species collected through a national survey of alien species using the hierarchical model of species communities (HMSC) framework. Results The explanatory and fourfold cross-validation predictive power of the model were 0.91 and 0.75 as area under the curve (AUC) values, respectively. Hotspots of invasive plants were found in the Seoul metropolitan area, Daegu metropolitan city, Chungcheongbuk-do Province, southwest shore, and Jeju Island. Hotspots were generally found where the highest maximum summer temperature, winter precipitation, and road density were observed. In contrast, seasonality in temperature, annual temperature range, precipitation during summer, and distance to rivers and the sea were negatively correlated to hotspots. The model showed that functional traits accounted for 55% of the variance explained by environmental factors. Species with a higher specific leaf area were found where temperature seasonality was low. Taller species were associated with a larger annual temperature range. Heavier seed mass was associated with a maximum summer temperature > 29 °C. Conclusions This study showed that hotspots contained 2.1 times more alien plants on average than cold-spots. Hotspots of invasive plants tended to appear under less stressful climate conditions, such as low fluctuations in temperature and precipitation. In addition, disturbance by anthropogenic factors and water flow positively affected hotspots. These results were consistent with previous reports on the ruderal and competitive strategies of invasive plants, not the stress-tolerant strategy. Our results supported that the functional traits of alien plants are closely related to the ecological strategies of plants by shaping the response of species to various environmental filters. Therefore, to control alien plants effectively, the occurrence of disturbed sites where alien plants can grow in large quantities should be minimized, and the waterfront of rivers must be managed.

scholarly journals The World Flora Online 2020 project: will Cameroon come up to the expectation?

Rodriguésia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Michel Onana
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
West African ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Red Data Book ◽  
The World ◽  
Data Book ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
High Level

Abstract Biodiverse Cameroon has been highlighted as the top country in tropical Africa for plant species diversity per degree square, with a higher diversity than all other West African countries added together, and including two of the top documented centres of plant diversity in Tropical Africa. Despite its reduced taxonomic capacity, with only six active taxonomists a high level of botanical activity in the country has resulted in accomplishments such as the databasing of the YA Herbarium (over 60,000 records), which has an in-country collection coverage of almost 95% of the known plant species that are recorded for Cameroon. Other accomplishments are the Red Data Book of the Flowering Plants of Cameroon, several local checklists and published volumes of the Flore du Cameroun which covers 37% of the country's species. Currently the checklist of Cameroon records 7,850 taxa at species and infraspecific level. Resources are needed to support and heighten the profile of this small botanical community. Already thanks to strong collaboration between Cameroon and renowned botanical institutes of others countries, in particular France and United Kingdom, one hundred and thirteen plant families have been published and would help this country to complete the recording of its biodiversity towards contributing to the World Flora Online 2020 project.

scholarly journals Лексико-семантический анализ лексемы балтырған (с использованием материалов корпуса башкирского языка)

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 1406-1414
Author(s):  
Anita Sh. Ishmukhametova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Comparative Investigation ◽  
Medicinal Herb ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Plant Names ◽  
The World

Identification of names of plant curatives and substances in folk and fiction texts shows close interactions between man and the world, attitudes of people towards nature. Research in phytonyms and medicinal plant names proper is most essential for the understanding of a nation’s cultural heritage. The paper examines the lexeme балтырған in Bashkir discourse. Materials. The analyzed materials include linguistic dictionaries, folklore and fiction texts of the Machine Fund of the Bashkir Language, and etymological dictionaries of Altaic languages. Goals. The study aims at a comparative investigation of the lexeme балтырған ‘hogweed’. Results. The term proves a widespread phytonym in Bashkir discourse, which is attested by that it denotes a wide range of plant species in Bashkir and has parallels in other Turkic and Mongolic languages. The lexeme is included in academic, explanatory, dialectal, phrasal, and mythological dictionaries of the Bashkir language. The comparative analysis shows that baltyrγan ‘hogweed’ usually denotes a plant of the order Apiales, a medicinal herb. Baltyrγan~ baltirγana contains the initial bal / baltïr / baldïr with the meaning ‘green, young, fresh’.

scholarly journals Alien woody plants are more versatile than native, but both share similar therapeutic redundancy in South Africa

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0260390
Author(s):  
Kowiyou Yessoufou ◽  
Annie Estelle Ambani ◽  
Hosam O. Elansary ◽  
Orou G. Gaoue
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Native Plants ◽  
Invasion Biology ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Alien Plant Species ◽  
Secondary Chemistry ◽  
Alien Plant ◽  
Medicinal Flora

Understanding why alien plant species are incorporated into the medicinal flora in several local communities is central to invasion biology and ethnobiology. Theories suggest that alien plants are incorporated in local pharmacopoeias because they are more versatile or contribute unique secondary chemistry which make them less therapeutically redundant, or simply because they are locally more abundant than native species. However, a lack of a comprehensive test of these hypotheses limits our understanding of the dynamics of plants knowledge, use and potential implications for invasion. Here, we tested the predictions of several of these hypotheses using a unique dataset on the woody medicinal flora of southern Africa. We found that the size of a plant family predicts the number of medicinal plants in that family, a support for the non-random hypothesis of medicinal plant selection. However, we found no support for the diversification hypothesis: i) both alien and native plants were used in the treatment of similar diseases; ii) significantly more native species than alien contribute to disease treatments particularly of parasitic infections and obstetric-gynecological diseases, and iii) alien and native species share similar therapeutic redundancy. However, we found support for the versatility hypothesis, i.e., alien plants were more versatile than natives. These findings imply that, although alien plant species are not therapeutically unique, they do provide more uses than native plants (versatility), thus suggesting that they may not have been introduced primarily for therapeutic reasons. We call for similar studies to be carried out on alien herbaceous plants for a broader understanding of the integration of alien plants into the pharmacopoeias of the receiving communities.

Electronic Government and Integrated Library Systems

2011 ◽  
pp. 1229-1334
Author(s):  
Yukiko Inoue
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Technology Policy ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Internet Technology ◽  
The Internet ◽  
The World ◽  
Democratic Engagement ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The Republic

Twenty First Century Government is enabled by technology— policy is inspired by it, business change is delivered by it, customer and corporate services are dependent on it, and democratic engagement is exploring it. Technology alone does not transform government, but government cannot transform to meet modern citizens’ expectations without it (Cabinet Office, 2005, p. 3). According to the E-Government Readiness Ranking Report (United Nations, 2005), in 2005 the United States was the world leader followed by Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom; and in 2004 the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Estonia, Malta, and Chile were also among the top 25 “e-ready” countries. The Ranking Report further emphasizes that 55 countries, out of 179, which maintained a government Web site, encouraged citizens to participate in discussing key issues of importance, and that most developing country governments around the world are promoting citizen awareness about policies, programs, approaches, and strategies on their Web sites—thus making an effort to engage multi-stakeholders in participatory decision-making. Indeed, one of the significant innovations in information technology (IT) in the digital age has been the creation and ongoing development of the Internet—Internet technology has changed rules about how information is managed, collected, and disseminated in commercial, government, and private domains. Internet technology also increases communication flexibility while reducing cost by permitting the exchange of large amounts of data instantaneously regardless of geographic distance (McNeal, Tolbert, Mossberger, & Dotterweich, 2003). In Hirsch’s (2006) words, “The Internet has finally achieved the convergence dream of the 1970s and everything that can be canned in digital form is traveling the Net” (p.3).

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