A complete list of all alien taxa ever recorded in the flora of
the Czech Republic is presented as an update of the original
checklist published in 2002. New data accumulated in the last
decade are incorporated and the listing and status of some taxa
are reassessed based on improved knowledge. Alien flora of the
Czech Republic consists of 1454 taxa listed with information on
their taxonomic position, life history, geographic origin (or
mode of origin, distinguishing anecophyte and hybrid), invasive
status (casual; naturalized but not invasive; invasive),
residence time status (archaeophyte vs neophyte), mode of
introduction into the country (accidental, deliberate), and
date of the first record. Additional information on species
performance that was not part of the previous catalogue, i.e.
on the width of species’ habitat niches, their dominance in
invaded communities, and impact, is provided. The Czech alien
flora consists of 350 (24.1%) archaeophytes and 1104 (75.9%)
neophytes. The increase in the total number of taxa compared to
the previous catalogue (1378) is due to addition of 151 taxa
and removal of 75 (39 archaeophytes and 36 neophytes),
important part of the latter being the reclassification of 41
taxa as native, mostly based on archaeobotanical evidence. The
additions represent taxa newly recorded since 2002 and reported
in the national literature; taxa resulting from investigation
of sources omitted while preparing the previous catalogue;
redetermination of previously reported taxa; reassessment of
some taxa traditionally considered native for which the
evidence suggests the opposite; and inclusion of intraspecific
taxa previously not recognized in the flora. There are 44 taxa
on the list that are reported in the present study for the
first time as aliens introduced to the Czech Republic or
escaped from cultivation.

Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic (2nd edition): checklist update, taxonomic diversity and invasion patterns

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Catalogue of alien plants of the Czech Republic (3rd edition)

DNA phylogenetic comparisons have shown that morphology-based species recognition often underestimates fungal diversity. Therefore, the need for accurate DNA sequence data, tied to both correct taxonomic names and clearly annotated specimen data, has never been greater. Furthermore, the growing number of molecular ecology and microbiome projects using high-throughput sequencing require fast and effective methods for en masse species assignments. In this article, we focus on selecting and re-annotating a set of marker reference sequences that represent each currently accepted order of Fungi. The particular focus is on sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region in the nuclear ribosomal cistron, derived from type specimens and/or ex-type cultures. Re-annotated and verified sequences were deposited in a curated public database at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), namely the RefSeq Targeted Loci (RTL) database, and will be visible during routine sequence similarity searches with NR_prefixed accession numbers. A set of standards and protocols is proposed to improve the data quality of new sequences, and we suggest how type and other reference sequences can be used to improve identification of Fungi.

/pdf/finding-needles-in-haystacks-linking-scientific-names-3ndw2jipoj.pdf

Finding needles in haystacks: Linking scientific names, reference specimens and molecular data for Fungi

Silvera-Simon, C., Mena-Portales, J., Gene, J., Cano, J. & Guarro, J. 2009. Repetophragma calongeii sp. nov. and other interesting dematiaceous hyphomycetes from the North of Spain. Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 66S1: 33-39. Repetophragma calongeii sp. nov., a dematiaceous hypho mycete found on unidentified dead wood collected in the Pagoeta Natural Park, Spain, is described and illustrated. The fungus is recognized by numerous percurrent proliferations in the conidiophores and its 12-27 euseptate, subcylindrical or subfusiform conidia. A key to species of Repetophragma without rostrate conidia is given and 18 additional dematiaceous hyphomycetes are firtly reported for Spain.

/pdf/consejo-superior-de-investigaciones-cientificas-175muqkwt5.pdf

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas

Plants are a hyperdiverse clade that plays a key role in maintaining ecological and evolutionary processes as well as human livelihoods. Biases, gaps and uncertainties in plant occurrence information remain a central problem in ecology and conservation, but these limitations remain largely unassessed globally. In this synthesis, we propose a conceptual framework for analysing gaps in information coverage, information uncertainties and biases in these metrics along taxonomic, geographical and temporal dimensions, and apply it to all c. 370 000 species of land plants. To this end, we integrated 120 million point-occurrence records with independent databases on plant taxonomy, distributions and conservation status. We find that different data limitations are prevalent in each dimension. Different metrics of information coverage and uncertainty are largely uncorrelated, and reducing taxonomic, spatial or temporal uncertainty by filtering out records would usually come at great costs to coverage. In light of these multidimensional data limitations, we discuss prospects for global plant ecological and biogeographical research, monitoring and conservation and outline critical next steps towards more effective information usage and mobilisation. Our study provides an empirical baseline for evaluating and improving global floristic knowledge, along with a conceptual framework that can be applied to study other hyperdiverse clades.

N. H. Holmgren

Papers

Index Herbariorum: A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff