Vascular plants occurrences in Dokdo Islands, Korea, based on herbarium collections and legacy botanical literature

The vascular flora of the Dokdo Islands has been reported, based on primary collections made in 2012 and 2013 and legacy botanical literature. The Dokdo Islands are the remotest islands of Korea, located in the East Sea approximately 87 km from Ulleungdo Islands. They comprise two main volcanic islands, Dongdo (east islands) and Seodo (west islands) and minor islets surrounding the two main islands. This research was conducted to document vascular plant species inhabiting Korea's most inaccessible islands. We present a georeferenced dataset of vascular plant species collected during field studies on the Dokdo Islands over the past seven decades. In the present inventory of the flora of Dokdo, there are listed 108 species belonging to 78 genera and 39 families, including 93 native species and 15 newly human-induced naturalised species for these Islands' flora. The Poaceae and Asteraceae families are the most diverse, with 22 and 15 taxa, respectively. Some of the previously-listed taxa were not found on Dokdo probably because they are rare and the limited time did not allow collectors to find rare species. The spread of introduced species, especially the invasive grass Bromus catharticus Vahl., affects several native species of Dokdo flora.

The Sugar Transporter MST1 Is Involved in Colonization of Rhizosphere and Rhizoplane by Metarhizium robertsii

Over 90% of all vascular plant species develop an intimate symbiosis with fungi, which has an enormous impact on terrestrial ecosystems. It is widely recognized that plant-symbiotic fungi are supported by photosynthates, but little is known about the mechanisms for fungi to utilize plant-derived carbon sources.

Vascular plant occurrences in grasslands of Central Forest Nature Reserve (Russia): a dataset

Here we present the sampling event dataset that contributes to studying the flora of grasslands in Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve (part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves), Tver Oblast, Russia. The Reserve is located in the SW part of the Valdai Upland within the main Caspian-Baltic watershed of the Russian plain (Latitude: 56° 26' – 56° 39' N, Longitude: 32° 29' – 33° 01' E). The territory of Central Forest Reserve belongs to the subzone of subtaiga. The dataset includes the occurrences of vascular plant species in four types of grasslands from 209 vegetation plots (8,506 associated occurrences), collected in 2013-2014. The dataset described in this paper has never been published before. As the grasslands in Central Forest State Nature Biosphere Reserve are relatively unstudied, we are providing a new comprehensive dataset on the vascular plant species occurrences in the grasslands of the Reserve. The dataset contains representative information on floristic composition of plant communities in localities with assigned GPS coordinates. As the vegetation of the Reserve is typical of the subtaiga subzone, the results of analysing this dataset can be useful for grassland management in the whole subtaiga subzone. During this study, we found one vascular plant species included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, three species from the Red Data Book of Tver Oblast, as well as 10 alien vascular plant species for the Reserve. These data, especially, the occurrences of protected and alien species, contribute to our knowledge of species composition of the grasslands of the Reserve.

Comparison of methods for revegetation of vehicle tracks in High Arctic tundra on Svalbard

Natural regeneration after anthropogenic disturbance is slow in the tundra biome, but assisted regeneration can help speed up the process. A tracked off-road vehicle damaged a High Arctic dwarf shrub heath in Svalbard in May 2009, drastically reducing vegetation cover, soil seed bank and incoming seed rain. We assisted regeneration the following year using six different revegetation treatments, and monitored their effects one month-, and one- and eight years after their application. By 2018, all treatments still had a lower vegetation cover and limited species composition than the undamaged reference vegetation. The fertiliser treatment was the most effective in restoring vegetation cover (71 % vegetation cover, of which 62 % were bryophytes and 38 % vascular plant species). Compared to the reference plots (98 % vegetation cover, of which 32 % were bryophytes and 66 % were vascular plant species), the composition of the disturbed vegetation was still far from regenerated to its original state nine years after the tracks were made. The slow regrowth demonstrated in this study underlines the importance of avoiding disturbance of fragile tundra, and of implementing and upholding regulations restricting or banning such disturbance.

Current vegetation data from the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve

Here we present the sampling event dataset that contributes to the knowledge of current vegetation of the Prioksko-Terrasnyi Biosphere Reserve (part of the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves), Moscow Region, Russia. The Reserve is situated on the terraces of the Oka River in the zone of mixed coniferous forests. The dataset provides 269 relevés (9174 associated occurrences) of renewed vegetation collected in 2019-2020. It is aimed at sampling vegetation data from the Reserve area with particular interest to sites with invasive species and sites with recent deadfall in the spruce stands caused by the bark beetle-typographer. The dataset contains representative information on plant communities in localities with assigned GPS coordinates, sampled using the standard relevé method with the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale. During this study, we found two vascular plant species included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation, 25 species from the Red Data Book of Moscow Region, as well as 19 alien vascular plant species for the Reserve. These data contribute to our knowledge of species composition and structure of a renewed vegetation of the Reserve, protected and alien species distribution.

Distribution and abundance of the land snail Pollicaria elephas (Gastropoda: Pupinidae) in limestone habitats in Perak, Malaysia

This study aimed to reveal the habitat variables that determine the distribution and abundance of the land snail Pollicaria elephas in limestone habitats in Perak, Malaysia. Seventeen plots were selected on a limestone hill to determine the effect of environmental variables on the abundance of this land snail. The environmental variables we considered included habitat (canopy cover and leaf litter thickness), topography (elevation, aspect, ruggedness, and slope), microclimate (soil temperature, air temperature, and humidity), and vegetation (abundance of respective vascular plant species). The correlation analyses suggested that the snails’ abundance was positively correlated with the abundance of the four vascular plant species: Diospyros toposia var. toposoides, Croton cascarilloides, Kibatalia laurifolia, and Mallotus peltatus. Plots with lower soil temperatures had more snails than plots with higher soil temperatures. Our results show that plots in the southern part of the limestone hill, in which P. elephas were absent, were similar in habitat, topography, microclimate, and vegetation to the plots in the northern part of the limestone hill, where specimens were mostly present. The absence of this species in suitable habitats may be due to their low dispersal ability rather than adverse environmental conditions.

A forty-seven year comparison of the vascular flora at three abandoned rice fields, Georgetown, South Carolina, U.S.A.

The vascular flora identified in 1968–1969 in three rice fields of the Winyah Bay Estuary at the Bell W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, Georgetown County, South Carolina, abandoned in 1915, was compared with the vascular flora present in 1987–1991 and 2013–2015. Twenty vascular plant species were identified in 1968–1969 and 22 in 2013–2015 at the most saline marsh, Thousand Acre Rice Field. Forty-seven taxa were reported at Airport Marsh in 1968–1969 and 27 in 2013–2015. Fifty-six taxa were reported at Alderly in 1968–1969 with 41 identified there in 2013–2015. A parsimony algorithm was used to evaluate the distribution and co-occurrence of vascular brackish marsh species in these fields sampled at the three intervals. There was a reduction in flora at the two least saline sites, Alderly and Airport Marsh, from 1968–69 to 1987–91 and 2013–2015. Three factors—rising sea level, an increase in water salinity, and invasion by Phragmites australis—may explain this shift. There was also a shift in the flora at Thousand Acre Rice Field from 1967–1969 to 1987–1991 and 2013–2015 after the marsh was savaged by Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Invasion by non-native Phragmites australis at all sites and increase in water salinity at all sites best explain the reduction in vascular plant species at Airport Marsh and Alderly over the 47-year collection period.