Microsoft Word - 0101_Randjelovic_et_al BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 1 Original Article ! Phytogeographical and phytocoenological analysis of the threatened plant taxa in the flora of the Vlasina plateau (SE Serbia) Vladimir Ranđelović1*, Bojan Zlatković1, Danijela Dimitrijević1, Tijana Vlahović2 1 University of Niš, Faculty of Sciences and Mathematics, Department of Biology and Ecology, Višegradska 33, 18000 Niš, Serbia 2 National Library of Serbia, Belgrade, Serbia * E-mail: vladar@pmf.ni.ac.rs Abstract: Ranđelović, V., Zlatković, B., Dimitrijević, D., Vlahović, T.: Phytogeographical and phytocoenological analysis of the threatened plant taxa in the flora of the Vlasina plateau (SE Serbia). Biologica Nyssana, 1 (1-2), December 2010: 1-7. In analysing the flora of the Vlasina plateau, it was determined that this area contains 956 species, 23 subspecies, 32 varieties and 28 forms of vascular plants. The data shows the exceptional floristic riches of this territory. Among these species, there are 91 species (9.52%) which may be categorized as under threat in the flora of Serbia. Critically endangered taxa (Cr) are especially interesting because their sanctuary in Serbia is only in the Vlasina plateau. This group includes the following species: Betula pubescens, Elatine triandra, Utricularia minor, Cirsium helenioides and Carex limosa. All these species have the Boreal type of distribution and live in wetlands. Key words: flora, Serbia, threatened plant taxa, Vlasina plateau Introduction ! The Vlasina plateau is situated in southeastern Serbia between Vardenik, Čemernik, Plana and Bukova Glava mountains (Fig. 1). Geologically, the greater part of Vlasina plateau is uniform area and it is made of metamorphic rocks, the most frequent of them being schists, rarely gneisses, andesites and dacites (P e t k o v i ć et al., 1977, D r a g i š i ć , 1997). Vlasina plateau is in the zone of brown forest land (dystric cambisol), but characteristic soil is peat, which is differentiated in four types: Phragmitetum-type, Caricetum-type, Equisetetum- type and mossy peat (R a n đ e l o v i ć 1994). The climate of this plateau is a typical continental one (Đ u k a n o v i ć , 1967, R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć , 2010). Floristically and phytocoenologicaly, Vlasina plateau is relatively well documented in the monograph "Flora and Vegetation of the Vlasina plateau" (R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć , 2010). Also, in this monograph threatened plant taxa are processed. However, phytogeographical and phytocoenological analysis of Vlasina plateau is not made. Material and methods List of flora of the Vlasina plateau from R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć (2010) was used for the analysis. The nomenclature follows Med- Checklist (G r e u t e r et al., 1984-1989) and Flora Europaea (T u t i n et al., eds. 1964-1980). All taxa that occur in the area of the Vlasina are assessed according to IUCN version 3.1 (IUCN, 2001) methods for determining vulnerability at the local level and in Serbia. IUCN Red List criteria were used to classify species according to one of the 10th SFSES • 17-20 June 2010, Vlasina lake1 (1-2) • December 2010: 1-7 BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 2 five categories of threat: Extinct in Serbia (EW), Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU) and Near Threatened (NT). If there was insufficient information to make an assessment, the category Data Deficient (DD) was assigned, especially in cases of taxonomic uncertainty. Area-types, area-groups and life forms are taken from R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć (2010). Phytocoenological relevance of taxa is determined by R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć (2010), H o r v a t et al. (1974) and A p o s t o l o v a & S l a v o v a (1997). Results and discussion Flora of Vlasina plateau contains 956 species, 23 subspecies, 32 varieties and 28 forms of vascular plants. The data shows the exceptional floristic riches of this territory. Among these species, there are 90 species (9.41%) which may be categorized as under threat in the flora of Serbia (Tab. 1) (R a n đ e l o v i ć & Z l a t k o v i ć , 2010). The high degree of presence of endangered species that make flora of the Vlasina plateau and the fact that every eleventh species in some way is endangered and that sooner or later it is in danger of disappearing from the territory of Serbia, shows the biodiversity importance of this area. Among other things, it was one of the reasons for classifying the Vlasina plateau in botanical significant areas of Europe(IPA) (R a n đ e l o v i ć in S t e v a n o v i ć , ed. in R a d f o r d , O d é , eds. 2009). The Red data list of flora of Serbia ( S t e v a n o v i ć , ed. 1997) states 53 taxa from the Vlasina plateau. The first volume of the Red data book of flora of Serbia (S t e v a n o v i ć , ed. 1999), which contains extinct and critically endangered taxa, lists 11 taxa from the Vlasina plateau. As extinct species from the flora of Serbia, the following species are processed: Polemonium coeruleum (R a n đ e l o v i ć , 1999a), Dracocephalum ruyschiana (D i k - l i ć , 1999), Caldesia parnassifolia (V u k o j i č i ć , J a n k o v i ć , 1999) and Juncus capitatus (R a n đ e - l o v i ć , 1999). However, later investigations showed that species Juncus capitatus (T o m o v i ć et al, 2009) and Dracocephalum ruyshiana (L a z a r e v i ć et al., 2009) are not extinct, because they were found on the other localities in Serbia. The species Ranunculus lingua (S t o j š i ć , P a n j k o v i ć , 1999), Betula pubescens (J o v a n o - v i ć , 1999), Elatine triandra (B l a ž e n č i ć , B l a ž e n č i ć , 1999), Utricularia minor (B l a ž e n - č i ć , B l a ž e n č i ć , 1999a), Cirsium helenioides (R a n đ e l o v i ć , 1999c), Carex limosa (R a n đ e l o v i ć , 1999b) and Sparganium natans (B l a ž e n č i ć , B l a ž e n č i ć , 1999b) are classified as critically endangered. Phytogeographical analysis According to phytogeographical analysis (Fig. 2), highest proportions of threatened taxa have Boreal (21 taxa) or Euroasian Mountain (27) type of distribution. Within Euroasian Mountain area-type, Middle-South-European Mountain area-group (19) stands out with the number of taxa, which includes most of the Balkan endemic species (11). Phytocoenological analysis The highest proportion of threatened taxa is characteristic of peat vegetation (21), and another 39 for other types of wet vegetation. High presence of threatened taxa (11) is found in the forest vegetation. (Fig. 3). Analysis of life forms According to analysis of life forms (Fig. 4) the dominance of hemicryptophytes (33 taxa) is established. Fig 1. Geographical position of investigated area BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 3 0 5 10 15 20 25 Cs m Ho l Ph ol- ptr op AA Bo r EA Mt MS EM t SE Mt EA s EA sW Me m Me mp MS M Me Me d N um be r of ta xa Fig. 2. Phytogeographical analysis of the threatened plant taxa (Balkan endemic taxa (B) are marked in black). Area types and area groups: Csm – Cosmopolitan, Hol – Holarctic, Phol-ptrop – Palaeoholarctic- palaeotropic, AA - Arcto-Alpian, Bor - Boreal, EAMt - Euroasian Mountain, MSEMt - Middle-South- European Mountain, SEMt - South-European mountain, EAs - Euroasian, EAsW - European - West Asian, Mem - Middle European-Mediterranean, Memp - Middle European-Mediterranean-Pontic, MSM - Merridional-Submerridional, Me - Middle-European, Medp - Mediterranean Pontian, Med - Mediterranean 0 5 10 15 20 25 Ch ar Le mn Po ta Ph ra Iso e Mo li Mu lg Mo nt Sc he Fe st Ca ll Ju nc As pl Va cc Qu er Ru de N um be r of ta xa Fig. 3. Phytocoenological analysis of the threatened plant taxa (Balkan endemic taxa are marked in black). Vegetation classis: Char - Charetea, Lemn - Lemnetea, Pota - Potametea, Phra - Phragmitetea, Isoe - Isoeto-Nanojuncetea, Moli - Molinio-Arrhenatheretea, Mont - Montio-Cardaminetea, Mulg - Mulgedio- Aconitetea, Sche - Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae, Fest - Festuco-Brometea, Call - Calluno-Ulicetea, Junc - Juncetea trifidi, Aspl – Asplenietea trichomanis, Vacc - Vaccinio-Piceetea, Quer - Querco-Fagetea, Rude - Ruderalis BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 4 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 P Ch Hs Hc Hr p Hr o Hs r Hs G Hr oG Gb G r Gt Hy dG Hy dT T TH N um be r of ta xa Fig. 4. Life forms of the threatened plant taxa (Balkan endemic taxa are marked in black): P - Phanerophyta, Ch - Chamaephyta, Hs - Hemicryptophyta scaposa, Hc - Hemicryptophyta caespitosa, Hrp - Hemycryptophyta reptosa, Hro - Hemycryptophyta rosulata, Hsr - Hemycryptophyta semirosulata, HsG - Hemycryptophyta scaposa/Geophyta, HroG - Hemicryptophyta rosulata/Geophyta, Gb - Geophyta tuberosa, Gb - Geophyta bulbosa, Gr - Geophyta rhyzomatosa, HydG - Hydrogeophyta, HydT - Hydrotherophyta, T - Therophyta (Including: Tc - Therophyta caespitosa, Ts - Therophyta scaposa, Tsb - Therophyta scaposa biennis), TH - Therophyta/Hemicryptophyta scaposa Table 1. Contribution of threatened taxa in the flora of Vlasina plateau with categories of endangered (CE) in the flora of Serbia, area-type (AT), area-group (AG), life form (LF) and phytocoenological relevance of taxa (P) (abbreviations are shown in the legends of appropriate figures) Name of taxon CE AT AG LF P Caldesia parnassifolia EW Csm Csm HydG Pota Polemonium coeruleum EW Bor BorEA Hs Mulg Trisetum sibiricum EW Bor BorH Hc Sche Betula pubescens CR Bor BorEA P Sche Cirsium helenioides CR Bor BorEA Hs Mulg Eleocharis mammillata CR Bor BorEA HydG Isoe Sparganium natans CR Bor BorH HydG Pota Utricularia minor CR Bor BorH HydT Pota Carex limosa CR Bor BorH Gr Sche Elatine triandra CR Bor BorH Tsb Isoe Hypericum humifusum CR Csm Csm Hrp Isoe Ranunculus lingua CR EAMt EAMt HydG Phra Ranunculus auricomus var. biformis CR EAs Eas Hrp Sche Dracocephalum ruyschiana CR EAs Eas Hs Fest Gentiana pneumonanthe CR EAs Memp Hs Moli Sisyrinchium montanum CR Hol Hol Gt Moli Juncus capitatus CR Hol Phol-ptrop Tc Isoe Campanula hemschinica CR Me MeB Tsb Fest Sagina saginoides EN AA AA Hc Mont Pirola chlorantha EN Bor BorH Hsr Quer Lycopodium clavatum EN Bor BorH Ch Mont Cardamine raphanifolia ssp. acris EN EAMt MSEMt Hro Mont Alchemilla cinerea EN EAMt MSEMt HroG Fest Alchemilla connivens EN EAMt MSEMt HroG Sche BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 5 Table 1. Continued Alchemilla crinita EN EAMt MSEMt HroG Fest Alchemilla heterophylla EN EAMt MSEMtB HroG Fest Alchemilla viridiflora EN EAMt MSEMtB HroG Mulg Geum rivale x rhodopaeum EN EAMt MSEMtB Gr Mulg Pedicularis hoermaniana EN EAMt MSEMtB Hs Fest Gentiana acaulis EN EAMt SEMt Hro Call Pirola rotundifolia EN EAs EAs Hsr Quer Dactylorhiza sambucina EN EAs Mem Gt Quer Scleranthus neglectus EN EAs Mem Tc Aspl Eriophorum gracile EN Hol Hol Gr Sche Stellaria alsine EN Hol Hol Hc Mont Potentilla palustris EN Hol Hol HsG Sche Potamogeton obtusifolius EN Hol Hol HydT Pota Ranunculus fontanus EN Med Med THs Mont Ranunculus ophioglossifolius EN MSM MSM THs Isoe Pseudorchis albida VU AA AA Gt Sche Sagittaria sagittifolia VU Bor BorEA HydT Pota Arctostaphylos uva-ursi VU Bor BorH Ch Vacc Corallorhiza trifida VU Bor BorH Gr Quer Drosera rotundifolia VU Bor BorH Hro Sche Orthilia secunda VU Bor BorH Hsr Quer Zanichellia palustris VU Csm Csm HydT Pota Salix rosmarinifolia VU EAMt EAMt P Sche Dactylorhiza cordigera VU EAMt MSEMtB Gt Sche Pseudorchis friwaldii VU EAMt MSEMt Gt Sche Geum rhodopaeum VU EAMt MSEMtB Gr Mulg Alchemilla glabra VU EAMt MSEMt HroG Mulg Alchemilla reniformis VU EAMt MSEMt HroG Moli Silene asterias VU EAMt SEMtB Hs Sche Salix pentandra VU EAs EAs P Sche Cephalanthera longifolia VU EAs EAs Gt Quer Epipactis palustris VU EAs EAs Gt Sche Dianthus superbus VU EAs EAs Hs Sche Stellaria palustris VU EAs EAs Hs Sche Dactylorhiza incarnata VU EAs EAsW Gt Sche Trollius europaeus VU EAs EAs Hs Moli Callitriche verna VU Hol Hol HydT Lemn Menyanthes trifoliata VU Hol Hol Hrp Sche Ranunculus aquatilis VU Hol Hol HydG Pota Najas minor VU Hol Phol-ptrop HydT Char Saxifraga stellaris ssp. alpigena NT AA AA Hro Mont Schoenus ferrugineus NT Bor BorE Hc Phra Pirola media NT Bor BorEA Hsr Quer Pinguicula vulgaris NT Bor BorEN Hro Sche Pirola minor NT Bor BorH Hsr Quer Pedicularis palustris NT Bor BorH Tsb Sche Alchemilla acutiloba NT EAMt EAMt HroG Call Alchemilla gracilis NT EAMt EAMt HroG Mulg Allium melanantherum NT EAMt MSEMtB Gb Call Silene lerchenfeldiana NT EAMt MSEMtB Hc Aspl Peucedanum oligophyllum ssp. aequiradium NT EAMt MSEMtB Hs Junc Trifolium trichopterum NT EAMt MSEMtB Ts Fest BIOLOGICA NYSSANA 1 (1-2) December 2010: 1-7 Ranđelović, V. et al. Phytogeographical and phytocoenological… 6 Table 1. Continued Verbascum adamovicii NT EAMt MSEMtB Tsb Call Achillea lingulata NT EAMt SEMt Hro Call Butomus umbelatus NT EAs EAs HydG Phra Euphorbia villosa NT EAs EAs Hs Rude Ribes alpinum NT EAs EAsW P Quer Cardamine amara NT EAs EAsW Hs Mont Ranunculus flammula NT Hol Hol HydG Isoe Gratiola officinalis NT Hol Hol Hs Moli Lilium jankae DD EAMt MSEMt Gb Call Ranunculus serbicus DD EAMt SEMt HsG Mulg Silene viridiflora DD EAs Memp Hs Quer Anagalis minimus DD Me Me Ts Mont Malus praecox DD MSM MSM P Quer Conclusion Phytogeographical analysis showed that representatives of the boreal flora are the most endangered, which indicates that the Vlasina Plateau is one of the most important refuges of postglacial floristic elements characteristic for far north of Europe and Asia. In support of this statement is the fact that the largest number of threatened taxa (60) occurs in wet habitats, especially in the peat vegetation (21). 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