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Actes del XII Col·loqui Internacional de Botànica Pirenaica ‐ Cantàbrica
Abstract and Figures
Aquest llibre conté els articles i resums derivats de les comunicacions i pòsters presentats al XII Col·loqui Internacional de Botànica Pirenaica‐Cantàbrica celebrat a Girona del 3 al 5 de juliol de 2019. L’ordre seguit en els articles, és el de presentació durant el congres. També s’han afegit la conferencia inaugural del Dr. Pèlachs, titulada “El papel de la geografía histórica ambiental en la conservación del paisaje de alta montaña” i el guió de la sortida que es va realitzar als Pirineus orientals.
https://www.udg.edu/ca/viu/Serveis-Universitaris/Llibres-i-revistes-UdG/cataleg/detall?ID=2227
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The sessile oak forests found on the northeast of the Iberian Peninsula are ascribed to the Lathyro-Quercetum
petraeae association and play a key role in understanding the ecology of this habitat, as this region represents its xeric limit. For this reason, we analysed the biodiversity patterns and current conservation status of the sessile oak forests in the region. To do so, we collected Braun-Blanquet inventories of 34 plots randomly distributed throughout the sessile oak forests. The results showed a relationship between the climatic conditions and the biodiversity variables. While the richness of the community increased with decreasing temperatures, the characteristic species found within the community decreased at these same temperatures. This result was due to the presence of most companion species in the cool zones at high elevations.
Sessile oaks are found close to other communities, such as silver birches and Scot pine forests.
On the other hand, in the warm areas at low elevations, the sessile oak community was more established, with plants typical of this type of forest. These slightly warmer zones with sessile oaks are very important in terms of conservation and more vulnerable to climate change and the thermophilization of the community, as has been studied. As such, protecting and managing these forests is key to conserving this community. Nevertheless, as current protection measures do not safeguard most of these forests, it is essential to define a conservation strategy to preserve them. Using the conservation status, we have established criteria to improve the conservation strategy for sessile oak forest on the NE Iberian Peninsula.
THE HAY MEADOWS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION OF CATALONIA. GEOBOTANICAL CHARACTERISATION, AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, AND STUDY OF THE PHYTOSOCIOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HAY MEADOWS IN WESTERN EUROPE. VOLUME 2: FLORA.
In the third chapter we present the floral catalogue of the hay meadows in the Catalan Mediterranean region and adjacent areas; this involves 809 taxa. The reference work used here was the “Flora Manual dels Països Catalans” (Guide to the Flora of the Catalan Countries). However, in several cases we used other more up-to-date works from other regions of Western Europe, including “Flora iberica”, “Flora gallica”, and “Flora d’Italia”. For each taxon we indicate its distribution, frequency, ecology and phytosociology in the study area, as well as its forage and floristic values. Additionally, in specific cases, we also comment on nomenclatural or taxonomic aspects that, where necessary, we illustrate with images and dichotomous keys.
Floral richness
Of the 809 taxa catalogued, 10 (1.2%) are exclusively cultivated for agricultural purposes, 372 (46.0%) are considered accidental in the meadow communities studied, and 49 (6.1%) were not found again. We also excluded two taxa (Bromus hordeaceus subsp. molliformis and Elymus hispidus), as we consider these to be absent in the study area. The floral richness of the physiographic areas varies considerably and correlates with the surface area inventoried, the sampling intensity, and the diversity of meadow habitats. In decreasing order of richness are: the Alt Empordà Plain (370 taxa, 48.7% of the total); the Rosselló Plain (340; 44.7%); the La Selva Plain (332; 43.7%); the Montseny Massif (310; 40.8%); the Albera Massif (292; 38.4%); Alt Vallespir (218; 28.7%); the Olositanic territory (215; 28.3%); the Les Salines Massif (191, 25.1%); the Queragut-Millars Massif (169; 22.2%); Alta Garrotxa (166; 21.8%); the lower course of the Tordera (130, 17.1%); the Baix Empordà Plain (122; 16.1%); Conflent (105; 13.8%); the Corredor-Montnegre massifs (42; 5.5%); and the Mogent Valley (31; 4.1%). The low values found in the latter 5 areas are a consequence of a low sampling intensity (Conflent) and a lack of actively mown hay meadows.
Thematic Spectra
Of the 809 taxa counted, only seven (0.9%) were pteridophytes while the rest were angiosperms, 569 (70.3%) of which were dicotyledons and 233 (28.8%) monocotyledons. These taxa pertain to 71 families and 315 different genera. The taxonomic spectrum reflects the meadow character of the associations studied, since the best-represented families are grasses (118 taxa; 14.6%), asters (114; 14.1%) and legumes (91; 11.2%); while the best-represented genera are Trifolium (27; 3.3%), Carex (23; 2.8%), Vicia (19; 2.3%), Juncus (16, 2.0%), Bromus (15; 1.9%), and Centaurea (14; 1.7%).
The general chorological spectrum of the study area is fairly evenly distributed between 3 main groups of elements: pluriregional (37.0%); Euro-Siberian (34.9%); and Mediterranean (21.9%). The others are relatively insignificant. However, this spectrum varies greatly depending on the physiographic areas under study, which can be divided into three different groups:
• The Mediterranean basal plains closest to the sea (the Mogent Valley; the Empordà, Rosselló, and La Selva plains; and the lower course of the Tordera). 0-100 m in altitude, with high percentages of pluriregional (49-71%) and Mediterranean (13-29%) taxa.
• The low Mediterranean massifs (the Albera Range; the Corredor-Montnegre massifs; and the Queragut-Millars Massif). 100-500 m in altitude, with high percentages of pluriregional (44-49%) and Euro-Siberian (31-38%) taxa.
• The massifs located partially or totally in the Central European region (Montseny, the Guilleries, and the Pyrenees Range). (100)400-1,200 m in altitude, and clearly dominated by the Euro-Siberian element (43-57%) with respect to pluriregional (33-40%) and Mediterranean (5-12%) taxa.
The general biological spectrum of the study area is clearly dominated by hemicryptophytes (48.1%), which again reflects the meadow physiognomy of the associations studied. In order of frequency, the other groups are: therophytes (30.7%), geophytes (12.9%), chamaephytes (4.7%), hydrophytes (2.3%) and phanerophytes (1.4%). However, the percentage of each spectrum varies considerably according to the physiographic area. In this case, we can divide the studied regions into two main groups:
• The basal plains and low massifs of the Mediterranean region (the Mogent Valley, coastal and pre-littoral plains, the Albera Range, and the Queragut-Millars Massif). 0 to 500 m in altitude, dominated by hemicryptophytes (45-55%), but also involving a high percentage of therophytes (26-52%). These are areas dominated by communities from the Trifolio-Hordeetalia, Juncetalia maritimi and Deschampsietalia cespitosae orders.
• The cool mountainous areas found in the Central European region (the Pre-littoral Range and the Pyrenees). (100)300-1200 m in altitude, clearly dominated by hemicryptophytes (55-74%) and where therophytes are much less significant (14-24%). These regions are dominated by communities of the order Arrhenatheretalia elatioris.
Floristic value
Mediterranean hay meadows represent some of the most biologically interesting habitats in Catalonia, as they are home to several taxa unique to this part of the Mediterranean region. If we consider the plant index (Pi, ranging from 1-7) that we have proposed for each taxon, the study area has an average value (xPi) of 3.8. However, this value oscillates markedly according to the physiographic area studied. The regions with the greatest number of rare plants in relation to the total are the Queragut-Millars Massif (xPi = 4.0), the Albera Range (xPi = 3.8), the Rosselló Plain (xPi = 3.7), Alt Vallespir (xPi= 3.5), and the La Selva and Alt Empordà plains (xPi= 3.5). This is due to the presence of rare habitats, such as humid meadows rich in organic matter, which are home to several unique hygrophytes with a Pi of > 6 (Bellevalia romana, Bromus racemosus, Cardamine parviflora, Centaurea dracunculifolia, Gratiola officinalis, Hordeum secalinum, Jucus striatus, J. heterophyllus, Kickxia commutata, Melitous siculus, Orchis palustris, Silaum silaus, Taraxacum aginnense, T. ciliare, Triglochin bulbosum subsp. barrelieri, and Teucrium scordium, etc.), and, also, in the case of Alt Vallespir, Albera and Queragut-Millars, Central-European plants (Carum verticillatum, Colchicum autumnale, Crepis biennis, Rhinanthus alectorolophus, and Scorzonera humilis, etc.), which are rare in the eastern Catalan Pyrenees. In contrast, in the other regions, the Mogent Valley (xPi = 3.0), the Corredor-Montnegre massifs (xPi = 3.2), Montseny (xPi = 3.3), the Guilleries (xPi = 3.3), the Olositanic territory (xPi = 3.4), Alta Garrotxa (xPi = 3.4) and Conflent (xPi = 3.4), the average plant index value is lower, as these areas have more mesophilic meadows, where fewer rare plants occur.
Unique flora
Based on the plant index (Pi), we detected 70 taxa with a Pi > 6 (cf. taxa in the previous section), of which nine are considered accidental in the communities in the study area. We should also highlight 56 further taxa that, although not extremely rare in the Catalan Countries, are quite unusual in northeastern Catalonia: Agrostis canina, Alopecurus aequalis, A. bulbosus, Baldellia ranunculoides, Carex umbrosa, Narcissus poeticus, Oenanthe lachenalii, Rorippa aspera subsp. aspera, R. aspera subsp. praeterita, and Thalictrum flavum, among other species.
On the other hand, we also collected seven species that are introduced or cultivated in the study area (Achillea cf. roseoalba, Alopecurus pratensis subsp. arundinaceus, Iris orientalis, Trifolium alexandrinum, Trifolium resupinatum subsp. suaveolens, Trifolium vesiculosum and Vicia villosa subsp. villosa), which, today, are rare in Catalonia. Finally, on the plains of the study area, two endemic taxa were observed: Dianthus seguieri subsp. requienii and Centaurea ×decipiens nothosubsp. emporitana.
New citations for Catalonia and for the study area
We have detected 17 new taxa (or very little cited) for the flora of Catalonia (Bromus hordeaceus subsp. longipedicellatus, B. hordeaceus subsp. cf. ×pseudothominei, Centaurea ×decipiens subsp. ruscinonensis var. cf. duboisii, C. nigra subsp. debeauxii, Iris orientalis, Oenanthe pimpinelloides var. chaerophylloides , Orchis ×lloydiana, Puccinellia festuciformis subsp. festuciformis, Rhinanthus alectorolophus, Taraxacum aginnense, T. alienum, T. gr. mediterraneum, T. obtusilobum, T. raii, T. santandricum, Trifolium resupinatum subsp. suaveolens, Vicia cordata ) and 2 more for the study area (Achillea cf. roseoalba and Alopecurus aequalis).
New nomenclatural combinations
We have proposed 4 new provisional nomenclatural combinations: Centaurea ×decipiens Thuill. nothosubsp. emporitana (Vayr. ex Sennen et Pau) Mercadal comb. nova nothovar. cadevallii (Font Quer ex O. Bolòs et Vigo) Mercadal comb. nova; Centaurea ×decipiens Thuill. nothosubsp. emporitana (Vayr. ex Sennen et Pau) Mercadal comb. nova nothovar. emporitana comb. nova; Centaurea ×decipiens Thuill. nothosubsp. ruscinonensis (Boiss.) Dostál nothovar. duboisii (Boreau) Mercadal comb. nova; Centaurea ×decipiens Thuill. nothosubsp. ruscinonensis (Boiss.) Dostál nothovar. grandiflora (Gaudin ex Schübl. et G. Martens) Mercadal comb. nova.
At-risk and protected plants
We detected 33 species that are at risk or are protected in some way in France, the Languedoc-Roussillon region, or by the Catalan Government. 17 taxa present some kind of protection; 4 4 are protected and are in critical danger (Leucojum aestivum subsp. aestivum, Ranunculus nodiflorus, Scorzonera humilis and Senecio aquaticus); 3 are in danger (Juncus heterophyllus, Orchis × lloydiana and Orchis palustris), and only O. palustris is protected; and a further three are vulnerable (Isoetes setacea, Silaum silaus and Thalictrum lucidum), although only I. setacea is not protected.
In addition, we catalogued 13 species that are near threatened (Aegopodium podagraria, Bellevalia romana, Cardamine parviflora, Carum verticillatum, Exaculum pusillum, Kickxia commutata subsp. commutata, Melilotus segetalis, M. siculus, Mentha cervina, Taraxacum ciliare, T. raii, Veronica anagallis-aquatica subsp. aquatica and V. scutellata). The IUCN status of these taxa is likely to worsen in the coming years as a result of climate change (mainly due to desiccation of wetlands) and habitat destruction (land development, wetland drainage, changes in land use and soil modification).
New dichotomous keys for critical or new taxonomic groups for the "Flora dels Països Catalans"
We have provided 12 keys for the following taxonomic groups, sometimes, with the help of external specialists: Alopecurus aequalis vs A. geniculatus, Bromus subgen. Bromus, Centaurea sect. Jacea, Elymus L., Festuca subgen. Schedonorus, Leucanthemum vulgare aggr., Orchis sect. Laxiflora, Ornithogalum subgen. Ornithogalum, Rhinanthus L., Taraxacum sect. Palustria, Tragopogon L. y Vicia gr. sativa.
MERCADAL, G. 2019. Els prats de dall del coll de Pera, Montagut i Oix (Alta Garrotxa, NE de Catalunya) [31TDG5881]. In: VILAR, J.; CARRERES, J.; MERCADAL, G. & VIÑAS, X. (coord.). XLII Embardissada. pàg. 12-14. Centre Excursionista d'Olot. Olot.
The lakes of the Pyrenees are among the symbols of the chain. Symbols of naturalness and purity, they are from all walks, all postcards, all kinds of the books, of all the leaflets that talk about the Pyrenees in the same way as the great peaks.
However, their naturalistic interest has remained largely secondary to their interest tourist, landscape or fishing. This is the case for the knowledge of flora aquatic life of these lakes, largely ignored by the work of botanists of the chain and among this flora, charophytes even more than other plants. Indeed, these multicellular algae have not been integrated into the work on Pyrenean algae carried out at the beginning of the 20th century (COMERE, 1924 & 1927, ALLORGE & MANGUIN, 1941, SAVOURE & VILLERET, 1965). These work, focused on unicellular algae, ignores the Characeae without these are nevertheless studied by classical botanists specialising in
vascular plants. Therefore, historical data on Characées des lacs de montagne1 are rare and our recent surveys have shown us thus make it possible to draw some new lines of knowledge the concerning.
The tundra is warming more rapidly than any other biome on Earth, and the potential ramifications are far-reaching because of global feedback effects between vegetation and climate. A better understanding of how environmental factors shape plant structure and function is crucial for predicting the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem functioning. Here we explore the biome-wide relationships between temperature, moisture and seven key plant functional traits both across space and over three decades of warming at 117 tundra locations. Spatial temperature-trait relationships were generally strong but soil moisture had a marked influence on the strength and direction of these relationships, highlighting the potentially important influence of changes in water availability on future trait shifts in tundra plant communities. Community height increased with warming across all sites over the past three decades, but other traits lagged far behind predicted rates of change. Our findings highlight the challenge of using space-for-time substitution to predict the functional consequences of future warming and suggest that functions that are tied closely to plant height will experience the most rapid change. They also reveal the strength with which environmental factors shape biotic communities at the coldest extremes of the planet and will help to improve projections of functional changes in tundra ecosystems with climate warming.
On the basis of the digital edition of the “Atlas of the vascular flora of the Pyrenees” (www.florapyrenaea.
org), the alpine flora of this mountain range is delimited in order to know its diversity and the different patterns
of its spatial distribution, along with some other environmental characteristics. The Pyrenean alpine flora is
made up of 645 taxa (630 species and 15 subspecies). All the administrative regions harbour more than 60% of the
alpine plants, with Catalonia and Aragon reaching the highest values (around 90%). Along the altitudinal gradient,
the highest plant diversity is found between 2300 and 2600 m. a. s. l., although 25% of the total alpine flora goes
beyond 3000 m. On the other hand, a remarkable number of alpine plants live in the lowlands, and thus more than
300 alpine plants can be found below 1500 m. The average altitude range of the alpine plants is 1369 m, 300 m
wider than that observed for the whole Pyrenean flora. Life-forms, habitat distribution and habitat naturalness of alpine
plants are significantly different from those of the whole Pyrenean flora. Distribution of abundance categories
also shows values of rarity significantly lower among alpine plants than for the whole flora. More than half the Pyrenean
endemic plants are present in the alpine flora. High diversity and wide ecological amplitude of the alpine flora
must be taken into account either when considering vulnerability of alpine plants facing “global change” or when addressing conservation policies for the whole Pyrenees from a common perspective.
Scientific projects can greatly benefit from the participation of non-professionals in identifying environmental changes at a variety of spatial and temporal scales. In 2010, we launched a long-term project in Northeast Spain (MONITO) that has recruited more than 200 volunteers and rangers. Participants monitor regional-species distribution and local-population abundance for a wide variety of plant species: threatened, rare, and indicators of climatic change or habitats of interest. At the local abundance level (the novel “Adopt-a-plant” program), they carry out annual censuses of population abundance for 10 years at least, to eventually estimate standard trends and future vulnerability. In order to show the functional structure of the network and facilitate implementation elsewhere, we evaluate the key aspects of MONITO, which currently involves 183 single-species or multi-species monitoring sites. We use the participant database, an anonymous survey, and the analyses of time invested in fieldwork training, participant turnover, and scientific assessment of monitoring quality. No significant differences were found between volunteers and rangers regarding time invested per monitoring site, quality of data collected, or primary motivation (“participating in a real scientific experience”). Volunteers fit better the local abundance level and reach higher satisfaction and learning. Rangers contribute more to the distribution level and present a higher turnover throughout the monitoring period. MONITO represents a successful way of tracking real biodiversity changes and connecting scientific research to public outreach. Mentoring is a key element of this project, together with a socially integrative (participants with and without experience) and methodologically complementary approach.
The alpine vegetation is frequently characterized as landscape mosaics where contrasting plant
communities in terms of species composition and functional structure are set responding to abrupt changes through
rough physiography. In this paper, we analyse the vegetation of the alpine belt of the Catalan and Andorran
Pyrenees combining its phytosociological description with the assessment of functional plant traits. Our aim is to
build a comprehensive framework for analysing the relationship between plant cover and environment, and thus for
understanding plant diversity through the varying alpine landscapes. For this purpose we used 800 releves gathered
in a vegetation databank which have been classified into 46 community-types (associations). Then we have
characterized the associations assessing the most frequent plant species by means of a wide scope of traits,
summarized at the releve level, and then at the association level. Most of the community-types assessed reflect the
distinct stressing conditions found in alpine environments. In dense grassland types, however, better ecological
conditions (fair soils, gentle reliefs) are evidenced by higher competitive ability and above-ground turnover of the
dominant species. These community-types show moderate diversity in terms of plant functional types and particular
species. More stressing conditions give way to poorer community-types, because only a few specialized plants can
thrive in one or another distinct habitat. However, this vegetation includes more singular species in the
biogeographic aspect (i.e., endemics) and also as plant functional types (e.g., succulents, small cushions,
semelparous). A particular vegetation group, the alpine heaths, reflect the local fitness of a few woody species able
to drive the rest of plant community and the ecosystem functioning. There is still a lack of knowledge on the actual
effect of grazing on the relative role played in contemporary landscapes by alpine heaths and grasslands.