196 ACTA BOT. CROAT. 76 (2), 2017 Acta Bot. Croat. 76 (2), 196–199, 2017 CODEN: ABCRA 25 DOI: 10.1515/botcro-2017-0002 ISSN 0365-0588 eISSN 1847-8476 Short communication Two moss species from Mt Durmitor new to the bryophyte flora of Montenegro Anja Vulević1, Snežana Dragićević2, Danka Petrović1 1 Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Montenegro, Džordža Vašingtona bb, 81 000 Podgorica, Montenegro 2 Natural History Museum of Montenegro, Trg Vojvode Bećir-bega Osmanagića 16, 81 000 Podgorica, Montenegro Abstract The present paper reports the first records of two moss species, Orthotrichum obtusifolium Brid. and Dicranoweisia cirrata (Hedw.) Lindb., in the flora of Montenegro. The mosses were found in the Tepački kraj area on Mt Durmitor. Some morphological features, the ecological characteristics and the distribution of the species are given, along with photographs of diagnostic details and their threat status in the countries of SE Europe. Keywords: Bryophyta, Dicranoweisia cirrata, Orthotrichum obtusifolium, SE Europe * Corresponding author, e-mail: sneza.dragicevic@t-com.me Introduction Knowledge on the diversity and distribution of mosses in Montenegro has increased significantly in the last de- cade. And yet the bryophyte flora of a number of regions remains unexplored. The area of Durmitor is one of the bryologically richest and best explored areas in Montenegro (Dragićević and Ve- ljić 2006 and references therein, Papp and Erzberger 2010, 2011). Of the 694 bryophyte species (545 mosses and 149 hepatics) registered for Montenegro, 360 taxa have been re- corded for the National Park of Durmitor alone, which thus accounts for almost the half of the known number of bryo- phytes in Montenegro (Papp and Erzberger 2010). Never- theless, there are many zones in the area of Durmitor that remain underexplored. Bryological studies of a section of Tepačke Forest, which included two management units (Podgora and Tmora) re- vealed that this area has a rich bryoflora. In total, 37 bryo- phyte species were recorded, of which 34 are mosses and 3 belong to liverwort species (Vulević 2012). Another study included 34 management units of Tepačke Forest and re- ported 132 bryophytes, with 104 mosses and 28 liverwort species (Vulević 2015). According to Hill et al. (2006), the genus Orthotrichum Hedw. in Montenegro comprises 15 species and 2 varieties, whereas the genus Dicranoweisia Milde is represented by a single species, Dicranoweisia crispula (Hedw.) Milde, with a single record (Dragićević and Veljić 2006). Material and methods Study area Durmitor is a high mountainous massif in the northwest of Montenegro, spreading over an area that is about 55 km long and 18–21 km wide (Lješević and Stijepović 1996). It belongs to one of the most attractive natural areas in Mon- tenegro, with rocky vertical peaks, numerous valleys be- tween the peaks, and mountain lakes and unique landscapes (Cerović 1986). Limestone is the dominant substrate, and therefore, the hydrographic network is poorly developed. Limestone and dolomite dark soil on carbonate substrates and various types of brown soils are present in this area (Fuštić and Đuretić 2000). The climate is alpine (long, cold winters and short summers), modified by continental and maritime influence, as the mountain range of Durmitor, acting as a barrier, ham- pers the flow of warm air from the southern regions to the north and the stream of continental air from the north to the south. Sub-zero temperatures are frequent – the town of Žabljak has on average 164 frosty days per year-and they are not uncommon even in June and September. This terri- tory has the greatest cloud cover in Montenegro, and only July, August and September have average monthly cloud cover below 50%. The climate is humid, with the average yearly rainfall between 1100 and 1700 mm. Most of the rainfall occurs during the autumn, and July and August are the driest months, although there is no clear period of drought (Ivezić 1984). TWO NEW MOSSES FOR THE BRYOFLORA OF MONTENEGRO ACTA BOT. CROAT. 76 (2), 2017 197 A part of Durmitor was declared a national park in 1978 and a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site in 1980 (Mi- nje vić 1996). The rich and diverse flora of Durmitor includes 1771 taxa, a large number of which belong to the ancient tertiary flora (Ludajić 2000). In line with the geographical position, altitude, and the significantly desegregated terrain and com- plex historical processes, the vegetation of the Durmitor re- gion is also very complex and diverse. Tepačke Forest belongs to the Durmitor mountain range and covers a plateau northwest from the town of Žabljak (Fig. 1). The area is dominated by forest vegetation. The collection site for the two moss species described in this paper is located in the zone of coniferous forests from the association Piceo abietis–Pinetum sylvestris Stefanović 1960. The floristic composition of the community is charac- terized by the following: edificators in the tree layer (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. and Pinus sylvestris L.) are equally rep- resented, but other species are very rare. In the shrub layer, beside the edificators, dominant species are: Lonicera xylo- steum L., Rosa pendulina L., Rhamnus fallax Boiss. and Ru bus idaeus L. The forest floor is well developed and do- minated by Brachypodium sylvaticum (Huds.) P. Beauv., Euphorbia amygdaloides L., Carex humilis Leyss. and Vac- cinium myrtillus L. During bryological field studies, material was collected from many different natural and anthropogenic micro-loca- tions including tree bark and the decaying wood of a cot- tage. The results were compared with the bryophyte check- lists of Montenegro (Dragićević and Veljić 2006, Sabov lje- vić et al. 2008, Ros et al. 2013). Voucher specimens are de- posited in the Natural History Museum of Montenegro in Podgorica (Montenegro). The nomenclature followed that of Hill et al. (2006). Results and discussion During field studies conducted in the area of Tepačke Forest in 2014, we registered two moss species, Orthotri- chum obtusifolium and Dicranoweisia cirrata. This is the first record of these species in the bryophyte flora of Monte- negro. Orthotrichum obtusifolium Brid. (Orthotrichaceae) (= Nyholmiella obtusifolia (Brid.) Holmen & Warncke, Stroemia obtusifolia (Brid.) I. Hagen) O. obtusifolium is a circumpolar, tropical/montane-arc- tic subcontinental-suboceanic species, basiphyte, moderate xerophyte, photophyte (growing in well-lit sites or under full sun), preferably moderate thermophyte, nitrophyte (medium nitrogen content), a pioneer on exposed roots, trunks, and twigs of trees and shrubs (preferably on Fraxi- nus, Alnus, and Populus), occasionally found on old fence rails, and in alpine and arctic areas on calcareous rocks and cliffs (Dierβen 2001). Site: Mt Durmitor, Žabljak, Podgora village, Omar Božo- vića, 43°12’ 07.51’ N, 19°08’ 39.86’ E, 1417 m a.s.l. O. obtusifolium was collected on the bark of an elm tree. The population was solitary, of about 30 small tufts, up to 0.5 cm high, and concentrated on a small part of the tree (Fig. 2 A). On the same micro-location (tree bark and ex- posed roots) we found the mosses Antitrichia curtipendula (Hedw.) Brid., Leucodon sciuroides (Hedw.) Schwchw., Pterigynandrum filiforme Hedw., Pseudoleskea incurvata (Hedw.) Loeske and Syntrichia ruralis (Hedw.) F.Weber & D.Mohr, the liverworts Frullania dilatata (L.) Dumort. and Radula complanata (L.) Dumort., as well as lichens of the genus Cladonia. Morphological characteristics of the collected speci- mens of O. obtusifolium fit the description of this moss spe- cies: leaves rounded with numerous green clavate gemmae, leaf margin flat, costa ending below the apex (Fig. 2 B). This small population of O. obtusifolium was collected from a solitary elm tree growing in a wide meadow. It is not threatened by cutting, but future studies will confirm whether this species should be protected. The region of Mt Durmitor is abundant in environments with no industry, heavy traffic, and rapid urbanization. Therefore, O. obtusifolium, which is susceptible to atmo- spheric pollution (Smith 2004), is expected to be present in pristine areas. This record contributes to our knowledge of the distri- bution of O. obtusifolium in southeastern Europe. The spe- cies is registered in all countries of southeastern Europe, except European Turkey (Sabovljević et al. 2008). In Ser- bia, it has the status of vulnerable species (Sabovljević et al. 2004) and in Hungary and Great Britain the status of near threatened species (Hodgetts 2015). Fig. 1. Location of the investigated area in Montenegro and its position in SE Europe. Country abbreviations: AT – Austria; AL – Albania; BA – Bosnia- Herzegovina; BG – Bulgaria; HR – Croatia; GR – Greece; HU – Hungary; IT – Italy; KO – Kosovo; MK – Republic of Macedonia; ME – Montenegro; RO – Romania; RS – Serbia; TR – Turkey. VULEVIĆ A., DRAGIĆEVIĆ S., PETROVIĆ D. 198 ACTA BOT. CROAT. 76 (2), 2017 Dicranoweisia cirrata (Hedw.) Lindb. (Rhabdoweisiaceae) (= Mnium cirratum L, Barbula cirrata Brid., Grimmia cir- rata Schrad., Tortula cirrata Clairv., Blindia cirrata C.M., Weissia cirrata Hedw.) According to Dierβen (2001) Dicranoweisia cirrata is: a cosmopolitan, austral-tropical/montane-hemiboreal. sub- continental–suboceanic species, acidophyte (-subneutro- phyte), mesophyte–xerophyte (moderately dry), photophyte (growing in well-lit sites or under full sun), mesotherm, ni- trophyte (medium nitrogen content), usually on tree trunks or wood in early stages of decomposition, on rocks and rooftops and stone or concrete walls. Site: Mt Durmitor, Žabljak, Podgora village, Omar Božo- vića, 43°12’ 04.66’ N, 19°09’ 43.37’ E, 1441 m a.s.l. The moss Dicranoweisia cirrata was found only at one micro-location, on the decaying roof of a cottage. The cot- tage is situated near the elm tree that was the collection site of O. obtusifolium, on the edge of the Piceo abietis–Pine- tum sylvestris forest. On the same substrate, we found the mosses Dicranum tauricum Sapjegin, Herzogiella seligeri (Brid.) Z.Iwats., Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw., the liver- worts Blepharostoma trichophyllum (L.) Dumort., Lophozia incisa (Schrad.) Dumort., and Ptilidium ciliare (L.) Hampe, lichens from the genus Cladonia. This population of Dicranoweisia cirrata was small, com posed of a few green tufts or cushions, up to 1 cm high. Some individuals had sporophytes (Fig. 3 A).The leaves were crisped and incurved when dry, recurved at the middle, with costa ending below the apex. In addition, the leaves had dark, cylindrical gemmae up to 150 μm long (Fig. 3 B). Dicranoweisia cirrata is a southeastern European spe- cies and in Slovenia and Bulgaria has been reported as a data deficient species (DD), whereas in Romania, where it was recently recorded, it is listed as endangered (Hodgetts 2015). In other European countries in which the species has been confirmed, it is placed on the endangered list only in Latvia as data deficient but recently recorded (DD*) (Hodgetts 2015). 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