Malakofauna přírodní památky Babinské louky v CHKO České středohoří [Mollusc fauna of the Babinské louky Nature Monument in the České středohoří Protected Landscape Area]

Mollusc fauna of the Babinské louky Nature Monument in the České středohoří Protected Lanscape Area in North Bohemia has been supplemented and summarized. During the recent monitoring in 2021, 36 land snails and four aquatic species were recorded. This reserve mainly protects the famous orchid meadows, however, it also includes a number of other habitats, including forests. The local malacofauna is therefore relatively rich. There are strictly forest species (Isognomostoma isognomostomos, Merdigera obscura), species of open habitats (Vertigo pygmaea), hygrophilous species (Succinella oblonga) or boreomontane species (Vertigo substriata) living side by side.

Aquatic tardigrades in Poland – a review

The diversity, distribution and ecology of aquatic Tardigrada in Poland remain poorly known. We reviewed the literature focused on tardigrades in Poland and recognized only 15 aquatic taxa which were reported from various freshwater and marine habitats. Among them, 12 are freshwater and three are marine taxa. Hypsibius dujardini is Poland’s most widely-distributed hygrophilous species, but it re presents rather a complex of cryptic species and their diagnosis requires integrative approaches. Most reports of aquatic tardigrades in Poland are accidental findings mostly from water bodies in Tatra Mountains or from lakes in Masurian Lake District. Some species were also reported from small ponds or wastewater treatment plants in other regions like Małopolska or Wielkopolska Provinces.

The distribution of the surface-active beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae) in the agricultural landscapes of Northwestern Russia

This paper demonstrates that the species composition of the surface-active beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Staphylinidae, Elateridae) in the landscape site is determined by its local crop. The hygrophilous species are most common in areas with dense vegetation. Assemblages of the epigeic beetles in fields of different crops and adjacent habitats (field margins overgrown with shrubs and forbs) are separated from each other. Beetles associated with a leaf litter layer dominate on the field margins, while rarely occurring in the fields. The populations of the surface-active beetles in perennial grass fields and field margins have the highest species richness.

Communities with Ambrosia artemisiifolia L. in the Kursk Region

The purpose of this study is to characterize plant communities with Ambrosia artemisiifolia in the Kursk Region. The work is based on 32 relevés made by the author in the city of Kursk and few district centers­ of the Kursk Region in 2009–2018. Some information about natural conditions of the Kursk Region is given in Table 1. Classification is carried out according to Braun-Blanquet approach. The data were treated by IBIS 7.2 software package (Zverev, 2007). The names of the higher syntaxa follow to «Vegetation of Europe…» (Mucina et al., 2016). Synoptic tables include only species with a constancy above I. Ecological conditions (soil moisture, richness in mineral nitrogen, light) were assessed with the use of average values by H. Ellenberg et al. (1992) ecological scales while hemerobiality with use of average values by N. G. Ilminskikh (1993) ecological scale and processed by IBIS software (Zverev, 2007). 4 associations of 3 classes of vegetation were revealed. Communities with Ambrosia artemisiifolia and hygrophilous species are described in Serbia (Jarić et al., 2011) wh ere subass. Chenopodio–Ambrosietum artemisiifoliae bidentetosum Jarić et al. 2011 was recorded in abandoned fields. It is differentiated by biennials and perennials from classes Artemisietea vulgaris and Molinio-Arrhenatheretea and others (Table 10). The features of communities with Ambrosia artemisiifolia identified in this work are important for the development strategies to combat this dangerous plant.

Invasion increasing risk of Al Jawahir Wadi lentic habitats by 'Pistia stratiotes' L. (North-Central Morocco)

Draining of wetlands and their inadequate planning contribute greatly to the decline of hygrophilous vegetation. The arrival of invasive hygrophilous species, as noted recently for Pistia stratiotes L. in Al Jawahir Wadi (North Central Morocco) could also aggravate this situation. Surveys carried out in the watershed of this river show that P. stratiotes form spontaneous communities over a river-length of 10 km, twice of that reported in 2012, in spite of measures taken to limit its spread. Plants description on the basis of vegetative and reproductive criteria ascertains the permanent presence of this species upstream of the wadi, and reveals a succession of factors causing its intermittent suffocation downstream, including hydrological and planning hazards, and water pollution. The decontamination endeavors of Al Jawahir River and the exceptional propagating power of this species would represent a real threat to local water bodies for long.

The effect of Pleistocene glacial morphogenesis on the genetic structure of the humid- and cold-tolerant root vole Microtus oeconomus (Rodentia, Cricetidae) in Poland, central Europe

During the Pleistocene in the northern part of Europe and Asia, the presence of ice sheets not only limited the range of species but also influenced landscape and thus the contemporary habitat system that determines the pattern of biodiversity. The aim of the research was to find out whether and how a lowland landscape, which formed as a result of subsequent Pleistocene glaciations (five) that in Eurasia covered various and generally successively smaller areas, affected the genetic differentiation of a species. The research was carried out in eastern Poland on the root vole Microtus oeconomus (Arvicolinae, Rodentia), a model boreal and hygrophilous species. Samples were collected from 549 vole individuals at 33 locations. Based on the analysis of 12 microsatellite loci and the 908 bp of cytochrome b sequences (mitochondrial DNA), the genetic structure of M. oeconomus in the landscape zones of the Polish Lowlands was determined. The results show that the latitudinal variability of the relief in eastern Poland (resulting from different ranges of Pleistocene ice sheets) and the related specific configuration of hydrogenic habitats are reflected in the genetic differentiation of the root vole. Therefore, it may be concluded that the history of landscape development affects the genetic structure of hydrophilic species.

Lathyro asphodeloidis-Klaseetum lycopifoliae, a new plant association in the alliance Cynosurion cristati Tüxen, 1947 in Central Apennines

This study presents a new plant association discovered in the Central Apennines and named Lathyroasphodeloidis-Klaseetumlycopifoliae. It consists of a semi-natural meadow characterized by the co-dominance of two rare taxa, Klasealycopifolia and Lathyruspannonicussubsp.asphodeloides, occurring in Italy in only a few localities in the Central and Northen Apennines. The association was discovered on the Altopiano delle Rocche high plateau in the province of L’Aquila (Abruzzo region, Italy). Multivariate analysis of the relevés shows two floristic and ecological aspects, corresponding to two different subassociations: festucetosum circummediterraneae, with elements from the Festuco-Brometea class, growing in the outer portions of the plateau, and narcissetosum poëtici, corresponding to the most typical aspect and occupying the central part of the plateau, differentiated by meso-hygrophilous species of the Molinietalia and Trifolio-Hordeetalia orders. The plant association has great natural value, due to the presence of several rare plant species, and cultural importance in association with the traditional “Narcissus Fest” held each year in May.

Occurrence and differentiation of Arnoserido-Scleranthetum (Chouard 1925) in the Południowopodlaska Lowland

<p>The paper presents <em>Arnoserido-Scleranthetum</em> phytocoenoses at the eastern and north-eastern peripheries of their occurrence range and the results of a field study conducted in the Południowopolska Lowland in 1990–2010. The investigations were based on phytosociological relevés made by the Braun-Blanquet method.</p><p>The greatest numbers of localities of the analyzed association were found in the mesoregions located in the south-western part of the Południowopolska Lowland, i.e. the Kałuszyn Upland, Węgrów Lowering, Żelechów Upland, the south-western part of the Łuków Plain, and the southern part of the Siedlce Upland. Fewer patches of this association were reported from the eastern and north-eastern part of the Południowopolska Lowland, in particular from the Podlasie Gorge of Bug. With the exception of the latter one, in all the mesoregions the patches of the analyzed association exhibited internal variability reflecting the diversity of habitat moisture conditions, which was manifested by the occurrence of hygrophilous species in the analyzed phytocoenoses. They comprised patches of <em>Arnoserido-Scleranthetum</em> with <em>Illecebrum verticillatum</em>, which are regarded as threatened with extinction in Poland and Europe. The phytocoenoses of <em>Arnoserido-Scleranthetum</em> with the dominance of <em>Anthoxanthum aristatum</em> are particularly noteworthy as a reflection of degenerative changes caused by the mass occurrence of this expansive species.</p>