Fig 1 - uploaded by Marcin Kiedrzyński
Content may be subject to copyright.
The occurrence of Actaea europaea (Schipcz.) J. Compton in central Poland; studied populations: MP – Miejskie Pola, GK – Góra Krzemyk.
Source publication
The distribution of A. europaea indicates the relict character of its localities related to the Pleistocene
and the Holocene evolution of vegetation. In 2011, a large population of A. europaea was discovered in
central Poland. The measured plants are taller than those previously recorded in Poland and Europe, and
also were the tallest of all the As...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... population in Miejskie Pola (MP; 4.5 km southeast of the city of Przedbórz; Fig. 1) occurs at 245 m a.s.l. on a rather fl at surface and comprises 350 plants, including more than 200 individuals with generative shoots. It inhabits thermophilous oak forest (Potentillo albae-Quercetum), with the density of a tree layer and understory of 50-60%. In central Poland the oak forests also harbour other relict plants, e.g. ...
Context 2
... 2013 and 2014 the height of the mature plants in the two above-described populations (Fig. 1) were measured. In the case of A. europaea, height of plant corresponds to the length of the longest orthotropic generative shoot. Statistical analyses associated with the height profi le of the populations were performed using the Statistica 10 package [8]. The conservative Shapiro-Wilk test assessing the compliance of data ...
Context 3
... the discovered population in Miejskie Pola is probably the population with the tallest known individuals of the whole Actaea genus. The mean height of plants in Góra Krzemyk was in 2013 and 2014 signifi cantly lower than those taken from the Miejskie Pola population (Table 1, Fig. 2). However, the standard deviations (SD) were similar in both populations (Table 1). ...
Context 4
... both studied populations, the means of plant height were higher in comparison year to year, but these differ- ences were not statistically signifi cant (Fig. 2, Table 1). However, in the Miejskie Pola population, exceptionally tall individuals grew in both studied seasons. The above result show that the height of the Actaea europaea indi- viduals may depend on environmental (climatic, habitat) ...
Context 5
... the population in Góra Krzemyk, which occurs under the beech trees, is located on the hill slope and near the edge of the forest, where the light is also well available (at least for some individuals in population). Moreover, the additional plant height measurements done in the region showed that the maximum growth of A. europaea in the oak forest in the Korzecko locality (more than 40 km away from studied populations) did not exceed 220 cm (Kiedrzyński 2014, unpublished data). Furthermore, observations of A. europaea in the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection at the University of Lodz, where they were planted in 1985 and have grown in full light conditions, indicated that the tallest shoots did not exceed 235 cm (Kiedrzyński 2013-15, unpublished data). ...
Context 6
... the additional plant height measurements done in the region showed that the maximum growth of A. europaea in the oak forest in the Korzecko locality (more than 40 km away from studied populations) did not exceed 220 cm (Kiedrzyński 2014, unpublished data). Furthermore, observations of A. europaea in the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection at the University of Lodz, where they were planted in 1985 and have grown in full light conditions, indicated that the tallest shoots did not exceed 235 cm (Kiedrzyński 2013-15, unpublished data). Hence, the analysis of only the light factor does not explain the enormous height of the A. europaea population in Miejskie Pola. ...
Similar publications
Mimerbukta is a small bay in the northern part of Billefjorden, Central Spitsbergen. Uplifted marine terraces (up to 65 m a.s.l.) formed by relics of Pleistocene to Holocene glacigenic, marine, deltaic and glaciofluvial sediments are located in Mimerdalen near the Mimerbukta shore. We studied several sedimentary sections in Mimerdalen. Herewith we...
Citations
Identifying potential refugial habitats in the face of rapid environmental change is a challenge faced by scientists and nature conservation managers. Relict populations and refugial habitats are the model objects in those studies. Based on the example of Actaea europaea from Central Poland, we analyse the habitat factors influencing relict populations of continental, light-demanding species in lowland forests and examine which habitats of studied species corresponding most closely to ancient vegetation. Our results indicate that the current refugial habitats of Actaea europaea include not only communities which are very similar to ancient open forest but also forests with a closed canopy. Although the populations are influenced by nitrogen and light availability, the co-occurrence of these two factors in forest communities is limited by dense canopy formation by hornbeam and beech trees on fertile soils and in more humid conditions. Our findings indicate that the future survival of relict, light-demanding communities in lowland forests requires low-intensity disturbances to be performed in tree-stands, according to techniques, which imitate traditional forests management.
