The effect of harsh abiotic conditions on the diversity of serpentine plant communities on Lesbos, an eastern Mediterranean island

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
George C. Adamidis ◽  
Elena Kazakou ◽  
Alan J.M. Baker ◽  
Roger D. Reeves ◽  
Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Abiotic Conditions ◽  
Mediterranean Island

scholarly journals Whole plant community transplants across climates reveal structural community stability due to large shifts in species assemblage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Tomiolo ◽  
Mark C. Bilton ◽  
Katja Tielbörger
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Plant Density ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Rainfall Variability ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Community Stability ◽  
Species Abundances ◽  
Mediterranean Regions

Summary(1) Climate change will decrease precipitation and increase rainfall variability in Eastern Mediterranean regions, with responses of plant communities largely uncertain. Here, we tested short-term responses of dryland plant communities to contrasting rainfall regimes using a novel experimental approach.(2) We exposed three annual plant communities to sharp changes in climatic conditions using whole community reciprocal transplants of soil and seed banks. We tested for the role of climate vs. community origin on community response and resistance. In parallel, we asked whether origin-specific climatic adaptations predict compositional shifts across climates.(3) For both community origins, the most dry-adapted species in each community increased in dry climate and the wet-adapted species increased in wet climate. Dry community origins showed large compositional shifts while maintaining stable plant density, biomass and species richness across climates. Conversely, wet communities showed smaller compositional shifts, but larger variation in biomass and richness.(4) Asynchrony in species abundances in response to rainfall variability could maintain structural community stability. This, in combination with seed dormancy, has the ability to delay extinction in response to climate change. However, increasing occurrence of extreme droughts may, in the long-term, lead to loss of wet-adapted species.

scholarly journals The Cypriot Indigenous Grapevine Germplasm Is a Multi-Clonal Varietal Mixture

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1034 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apostolis Grigoriou ◽  
Georgios Tsaniklidis ◽  
Marianna Hagidimitriou ◽  
Nikolaos Nikoloudakis
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Stress Tolerance ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Microsatellite Primer ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
Sexual Propagation ◽  
High Level ◽  
Additional Value ◽  
Vitis Spp

Cypriot vineyards are considered as one among the earliest niches of viticulture and a pivotal hub for the domestication and dissemination of grapevine. The millennial presence of Vitis spp. in this Eastern Mediterranean island has given rise to a plethora of biotypes that have not been adequately characterized, despite their unique attributes and stress tolerance. This ancient germplasm also has an additional value since it survived the phylloxera outbreak; hence, it possesses a large amount of genetic diversity that has been unnoticed. In order to provide useful insights to the lineage of Cypriot vineyards, a two-year-spanning collection of centennial grapevine cultivars mostly regarded to belong to four indigenous variety clusters (“Mavro”, “Xynisteri”, “Maratheftiko”, and “Veriko”) was initiated. There were 164 accessions across the broader Commandaria wine zone sampled and characterized using a universal microsatellite primer set. Genetic analysis indicated that considered indigenous Cypriot germplasm has a polyclonal structure with a high level of heterozygosity. Moreover, several lineages or unexplored varieties may exist, since a larger than considered number of discrete genotypes was discovered. Furthermore, it was established that grapevine lineages in Cyprus were shaped across eras via clonal, as well as, sexual propagation. The special attributes of the Cypriot landscape are discussed.

Tall Shrubs Mediate Abiotic Conditions and Plant Communities at the Taiga–Tundra Ecotone

Ecosystems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 828-841
Author(s):  
Cory A. Wallace ◽  
Jennifer L. Baltzer
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Abiotic Conditions

scholarly journals Bioaerosols and atmospheric ice nuclei in a Mediterranean dryland: community changes related to rainfall

2022 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-91
Author(s):  
Kai Tang ◽  
Beatriz Sánchez-Parra ◽  
Petya Yordanova ◽  
Jörn Wehking ◽  
Anna T. Backes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dna Analysis ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Metagenomic Sequencing ◽  
Biological Origin ◽  
Ice Nuclei ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
Community Changes ◽  
Dust Events ◽  
Actual Contribution

Abstract. Certain biological particles are highly efficient ice nuclei (IN), but the actual contribution of bioparticles to the pool of atmospheric IN and their relation to precipitation are not well characterized. We investigated the composition of bioaerosols, ice nucleation activity, and the effect of rainfall by metagenomic sequencing and freezing experiments of aerosol samples collected during the INUIT 2016 campaign in a rural dryland on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Taxonomic analysis showed community changes related to rainfall. For the rain-affected samples, we found higher read proportions of fungi, particularly of Agaricomycetes, which are a class of fungi that actively discharge their spores into the atmosphere in response to humidity changes. In contrast, the read proportions of bacteria were reduced, indicating an effective removal of bacteria by precipitation. Freezing experiments showed that the IN population in the investigated samples was influenced by both rainfall and dust events. For example, filtration and heat treatment of the samples collected during and immediately after rainfall yielded enhanced fractions of heat-sensitive IN in the size ranges larger than 5 µm and smaller than 0.1 µm, which were likely of biological origin (entire bioparticles and soluble macromolecular bio-IN). In contrast, samples collected in periods with dust events were dominated by heat-resistant IN active at lower temperatures, most likely mineral dust. The DNA analysis revealed low numbers of reads related to microorganisms that are known to be IN-active. This may reflect unknown sources of atmospheric bio-IN as well as the presence of cell-free IN macromolecules that do not contain DNA, in particular for sizes < 0.1 µm. The observed effects of rainfall on the composition of atmospheric bioaerosols and IN may influence the hydrological cycle (bioprecipitation cycle) as well as the health effects of air particulate matter (pathogens, allergens).

Peace journalism in times of ‘war risks’: Coverage of the hydrocarbons conflict in Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot newspapers

2020 ◽  
pp. 174804852091566
Author(s):  
Vasvi Ciftcioglu ◽  
Ibrahim Seaga Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Front Page ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Greek Cypriot ◽  
Mediterranean Island ◽  
Peace Journalism ◽  
Turkish Cypriot ◽  
Journalism Research ◽  
Hydrocarbon Reserves

The Mediterranean island of Cyprus, the last divided country in Europe, faced a grave risk of plunging into war in September 2011. The reason behind this danger was represented as the confrontation over the excavation of hydrocarbon reserves found in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The main goal of this article is to explore the extent to which peace journalism was practiced, or not, by analysing the front-page stories of the prominent Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot newspapers about this conflict. A review of peace journalism research reveals that researchers have mainly focused on war reporting. In order to address this deficit in peace journalism research, this article focuses on a case study where there was a risk for military confrontation. The combined sample drawn from six newspapers in the respective communities indicates a strong preference towards war journalism. As the analysis further shows, the newspapers from both sides failed to discuss peaceful solutions to the hydrocarbons conflict and they also failed to discuss the negative repercussions of a possible war related to the hydrocarbons conflict.

scholarly journals Scale‐dependent shifts in functional and phylogenetic structure of Mediterranean island plant communities over two centuries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhui Zhang ◽  
Marc W. Cadotte ◽  
Alessandro Chiarucci ◽  
Michel Loreau ◽  
Charles G. Willis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Phylogenetic Structure ◽  
Mediterranean Island
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