Geobotany Studies – serie

This book presents studies on current vegetation topics, from polar to tropical regions. Section 3 has nine chapters focusing on vegetation history, regional vegetation, and how these have influenced current species organizations and distributions.

Thanks to the range of new findings, the content presented here will benefit experts in related fields such as geographers, ecologists and botanists, but also teachers, nature guides, those involved in the management of forest or conservation areas, and policymakers.

Thanks to the range of new findings, the content presented here will benefit experts in related fields such as geographers, ecologists and botanists, but also teachers, nature guides, those involved in the management of forest or conservation areas, and policymakers.

This book discusses the remarkable plant diversity of the Maltese Archipelago.Despite its relatively small area and long-term human exploitation, many different plant communities occur in this territory. The book presents phytosociological investigations, together with taxonomical studies, which have been conducted over more than forty years, highlighting the unique features of this central Mediterranean insular ecosystem. It also describes the phytosociological role played by several narrow endemic or phytogeographically relevant taxa and introduces many phytocoenoses exclusively growing in the archipelago. The study integrates the palaeogeographic issues linked to the ancient and intriguing history of the different civilizations that succeeded on the islands for thousands of years. The book also focuses on the N2000 habitats.

This book discusses the remarkable plant diversity of the Maltese Archipelago. Despite its relatively small area and long-term human exploitation, many different plant communities occur in this territory.

Since the 1970s and particularly the works of Tüxen (1978) and Géhu & Rivas-Martínez (1981), dynamico-catenal phytosociology has facilitated the integration of vegetation dynamics by more precisely describing the trajectories of vegetation series. A national habitat mapping program (CarHAB), launched by France’s Ministry of Ecology, aims to map the vegetation and vegetation series of metropolitan France at a scale of 1: 25,000 by 2025. In this context, Corsica has been selected as a pilot region, due to its unique characteristics regarding Mediterranean and alticole vegetation.This book describes in detail the vegetation series and geoseries (ecology, structure, dynamic trajectories, effects of anthropogenic factors on vegetation dynamics, catenal positioning in the landscape) of two Corsican sectors: Cap Corse and Biguglia pond. These two study sites were selected using two methods:•             For Cap Corse, the typology and mapping are based on an inductive approach, which seeks to understand the dynamics of vegetation by drawing on the mature, substitutional, pioneering and anthropogenic associations likely to exist within a tessellar envelope. These various dynamic stages characterize “the vegetation series” (sigmetum or synassociation), the fundamental unit of symphytosociology (Géhu 2006; Biondi 2011). The aim of symphytosociology is, therefore, to define the vegetation series; in other words, it seeks to identify the repetitive combinations of syntaxa under homogeneous ecological conditions.•             For Biguglia pond, the typology and mapping are based on a deductive approach, which combines (under SIG) the ecological descriptor maps with the vegetation mapping, in order to reveal the tesselas and the natural potential vegetation that underlies them. Thanks to the improvement of GIS techniques, this approach has been frequently used to characterize plant landscapes from vegetation to vegetation geoseries since the 2000s, with applications to the conservation management of natural and semi-natural environments.

Since the 1970s and particularly the works of Tüxen (1978) and Géhu & Rivas-Martínez (1981), dynamico-catenal phytosociology has facilitated the integration of vegetation dynamics by more precisely describing the trajectories of vegetation series.

The 2826km-long Danube has a watershed measuring 801,093 km2 that is now shared between 19 countries, from its source in the Black Forest to the Black Sea, into which it pumps an average of 827 km3 of water a year.This book describes and explains key landscape values interactions (geographical, cultural and natural heritage).

The 2826km-long Danube has a watershed measuring 801,093 km2 that is now shared between 19 countries, from its source in the Black Forest to the Black Sea, into which it pumps an average of 827 km3 of water a year.This book describes and explains key landscape values interactions (geographical, cultural and natural heritage).

No detailed checklists of the vascular flora of the nature reserve have been compiled since then. This book contains a critical updated checklist of the vascular flora in the Bosco della Mesola Nature Reserve.

No detailed checklists of the vascular flora of the nature reserve have been compiled since then. This book contains a critical updated checklist of the vascular flora in the Bosco della Mesola Nature Reserve.

This book contains the papers presented at the conferences of the International Association Vegetation Science of Pirenopolis (2016) on Applied Mapping for Conservation and Management: from Plant and of Palermo (2017) on Vegetation Patterns in relation to multi-scale levels of ecological complexity: from associations to geoseries.

This book contains the papers presented at the conferences of the International Association Vegetation Science of Pirenopolis (2016) on Applied Mapping for Conservation and Management: from Plant and of Palermo (2017) on Vegetation Patterns in relation to multi-scale levels of ecological complexity: from associations to geoseries.

The book contains detailed descriptions of the unique desert environment with particular emphasis on vegetation and survival strategies of plants.

The book contains detailed descriptions of the unique desert environment with particular emphasis on vegetation and survival strategies of plants.

The floristic studies carried out during the 19th and 20th centuries in the Retezat Massif identified 1,152 plant species and 104 subspecies within the Cormobionta sub-regnum. For the protection of some rare plant species and vulnerable plant associations, two natural reserves are proposed to be created within the “Limestone Retezat” area.

The floristic studies carried out during the 19th and 20th centuries in the Retezat Massif identified 1,152 plant species and 104 subspecies within the Cormobionta sub-regnum. For the protection of some rare plant species and vulnerable plant associations, two natural reserves are proposed to be created within the “Limestone Retezat” area.

Warm-temperate deciduous forests are "southern", mainly oak-dominated deciduous forests, as found over the warmer southern parts of the temperate deciduous forest regions of East Asia, Europe and eastern North America.

This book explores the degree to which landscapes have been enriched with palms by human activities and the importance of palms for the lives of people in the region today and historically. Palms are a prominent feature of many landscapes in Amazonia, and they are important culturally, economically, and for a variety of ecological roles they play.

This book provides an updated list of the vascular flora of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, incorporating the latest nomenclatural and floristic findings.The list of plants was extrapolated from a geographic database including all data from floristic or vegetational references and herbarium specimens concerning the Park area.This data storage tool was obtained from the database of Abruzzo vascular flora (Conti et al. 2010) and adapted to the study area by adding those areas of the Park falling in the regions of Lazio and Molise and their accompanying floristic and vegetational data. Analysis of the data has allowed gaps in the floristic knowledge of the Park, such as comparatively or completely unexplored areas, to be identified, together with those species records that still require confirmation and/or further study. On the basis of these deductions, fieldwork aimed at the collection of new floristic data was carried out. Verification of the correct identification of herbarium specimens collected in the past, as well as a systematic study of critical genera, were also important priorities.

This commemorative volume of invited papers in vegetation science covers a full range of topics, objectives, methods and applications, including conservation and management tasks.

Warm-temperate deciduous forests are "southern", mainly oak-dominated deciduous forests, as found over the warmer southern parts of the temperate deciduous forest regions of East Asia, Europe and eastern North America.

This book explores the degree to which landscapes have been enriched with palms by human activities and the importance of palms for the lives of people in the region today and historically. Palms are a prominent feature of many landscapes in Amazonia, and they are important culturally, economically, and for a variety of ecological roles they play.

This book provides an updated list of the vascular flora of the National Park of Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise, incorporating the latest nomenclatural and floristic findings.The list of plants was extrapolated from a geographic database including all data from floristic or vegetational references and herbarium specimens concerning the Park area.This data storage tool was obtained from the database of Abruzzo vascular flora (Conti et al. 2010) and adapted to the study area by adding those areas of the Park falling in the regions of Lazio and Molise and their accompanying floristic and vegetational data. Analysis of the data has allowed gaps in the floristic knowledge of the Park, such as comparatively or completely unexplored areas, to be identified, together with those species records that still require confirmation and/or further study. On the basis of these deductions, fieldwork aimed at the collection of new floristic data was carried out. Verification of the correct identification of herbarium specimens collected in the past, as well as a systematic study of critical genera, were also important priorities.

This book outlines the transitions between cultured and natural land cover/vegetation types and their implications in the search for alternatives to reverse the trend of anthropogenic environmental degradation. It also elaborates on the proposed “standardized hierarchical Mexican vegetation classification system” and geobotanical mapping, a critical transversal environmental issue. The first chapter consists of an historical review of the common approaches to the study of vegetation both in Mexico and in other regions of the world. The second chapter concisely analyzes the existing schools of thought that have led to the development of vegetation classification systems based on physiognomic, structural and floristic approaches. The focal point of the book is the “standardized hierarchical Mexican vegetation classification system” (SECLAVEMEX – “Sistema jerárquico estandarizado para la clasificación de la vegetación de México”). Chapter 3 describes the system’s organizational levels along with the criteria defining them and the nomenclatural basis for the denomination of each type of vegetation. It also includes a series of tables explaining and precisely defining the meaning of each concept, criterion, character and element used to help readers successfully identify the type of vegetation in a determined area. The fourth chapter highlights SECLAVEMEX's inclusive character as evidenced through its compatibility with other systems currently used around the globe. Three concepts are critically reviewed: land cover, land use and vegetation. These are often the study subject of the contrasting disciplines geography, agronomy and ecology, which all rely upon plant species assemblages. As such, the final chapter focuses on a critical transversal environmental issue – geobotanical mapping. Geobotanical mapping offers a baseline for land cover/use planning and provides critical information on ecological, economic and cultural attributes, which can be used as a basis for environmental-policy decisions. The proposed SECLAVEMEX was applied to Mexico as an example of land cover, land use and vegetation patterns intermingling as the result of a long human influence. SECLAVEMEX, however, can be adapted and hopefully adopted globally as a baseline for consistently comparing geobotanical patterns and their transitions.

Richly illustrated and featuring extensive quantitative data on species abundance, the book offers a unique guide to the plant species diversity of this prominent mountain range, and a valuable resource for comparative ecology and biodiversity assessments of warm temperate mountain systems.

It uses original field sampling and advanced numerical data analysis to examine three major types of forest – Albany Coastal Forests, Pondoland Coastal Scarp and Eastern Scarp – all of which are of high conservation value.

This volume gathers case studies on plant diversity from selected, representative mountain systems of Italy (Mediterranean and temperate zones), while also addressing the biodiversity of avian fauna. For the Alps, Wilhalm and Prosser examine the species biodiversity (also with the help of highly detailed location maps) of the sector of the central Alps that corresponds to the basin of the Adige, including some nearby valleys, between the watershed to the north and the Prealps to the south (Alto Adige and Trentino). In turn, Pedrotti investigates the vegetation series of the same territory in relation to the three climatic sectors identified: prealpine, alpine and endoalpine. Aleffi then explores the relationships between the distribution of a number of species of bryophytes and the main mesoclimatic gradients along a transect through the Valle dell’ Adige between 46°40'N and 45°42'N. Lastly, Siniscalco studies the ways in which alien species are now invading the western Alps, whichto date have remained largely unaffected by this phenomenon, unlike the plains and hills.For the Apennines, Ferrari studies the tree line and the biodiversity of the vegetation of the northern Apennines; for the mountains of Sicily, Bazan conducts a diachronic analysis of the beech forests of the Monti Nebrodi.The contribution by Venanzoni interprets the chorology of associations of the Magnocaricetalia order throughout Italy, relating it to the climatic and geographic gradients. He describes a total of 55 associations, reporting on the distribution in the temperate zone (differentiating between the alpine and continental) and the Mediterranean zone for each of them.Cianfaglione presents the Signal Project Italian site. This project investigates the effects of extreme weather events on secondary grassland and the role of selected alien species, mowing, biodiversity, productivity and functional traits, in Italy and along a European gradient.Forthe Marches Region, Forconi describes the biodiversity of the avian fauna in relation to the altitudinal gradient and the potential vegetation.

This book presents studies on current vegetation topics, from polar to tropical regions. It is a festschrift to mark the 70th birthday of Prof. Elgene O. Box, who has studied vegetation all over the world, both through fieldwork and modeling. It reflects a number of his interests, including basic ecological plant forms (cf ‘plant functional types’), temperate-zone forests, and evergreen versus seasonal patterns. Section 1 discusses the concept of vegetation series, while Section 2 has two global-scale chapters on plant functional traits and whether they are related more to climate or phylogeny. Section 3 has nine chapters focusing on vegetation history, regional vegetation, and how these have influenced current species organizations and distributions. Regions treated include Russia, China, the USA, Mexico and Mediterranean areas. Lastly, Section 4 addresses aspects of vegetation change and plant ecology. Every chapter in this unique book offers original ideas on the topic of vegetation, as the authors are assembled from a world-wide population of leading vegetational ecologists, whose interests range from local communities to global theoretical questions.