Throughout the Mediterranean region, vegetation dynamics are affected by human activities which are either ‘stresses’ or ‘disturbances’, depending on their frequency, intensity and spatial distribution. To minimize or reduce anthropogenic degradation caused by land use and other disturbances, it is necessary to understand and predict the various responses of plant communities to disturbances. In particular, detailed but integrative approaches are required to assimilate large databases on vegetation and to make them directly useful for managers and restorers. We describe two case studies undertaken to evaluate the effects of logging or overgrazing on plant species diversity in pine forests of southern France and steppe ecosystems of southern Tunisia. Both studies employed the same methodology to identify plant functional traits (morphological, life history and regeneration traits) associated with community response to disturbance. The results of these analyses allowed us to develop state and trans...

https://bioone.org/journals/Applied-Vegetation-Science/volume-6/issue-2/1402-2001(2003)006[0223:PFTAPT]2.0.CO;2/Plant-functional-types--a-promising-tool-for-management-and/10.1658/1402-2001(2003)006[0223:PFTAPT]2.0.CO;2.pdf

Plant functional types: a promising tool for management and restoration of degraded lands

Over many centuries, chestnut fruits had an important role as food, while chestnut wood was used for local purposes. Today sweet chestnut stands are very common around the western Mediterranean Basin, and it is necessary to analyze the dynamic of plant species diversity in different chestnut stand types (groves and coppices) to guide management strategies that will allow the conservation of biodiversity. Our objective was to analyze consequences on plant species diversity of various management strategies in chestnut stands of three Mediterranean areas, Salamanca (Spain), the Cevennes (France), and Etna volcano (Italy). We found that plant species diversity is different according to management types; it is higher in groves than in coppice stands. We also demonstrated that Castanea sativa cultivated groves were characterized by small heliophillous therophytes. C. sativa abandoned groves, mixed C. sativa-Quercus pyrenaica coppice stands, Q. pyrenaica coppice stands, and young C. sativa coppice stands were characterized by hemicryptophytes with anemochorous dispersal mode and chamaephytes. Medium and old C. sativa coppice stands (that differ by the shoot age) were characterized by phanerophytes with zoochorous dispersal mode. Human perturbations maintain a quite high level of species diversity. In contrast, the abandonment of chestnut stands leads to homogeneous vegetation with decreasing diversity. One solution could be to maintain a landscape mosaic constituted of diverse chestnut stands modified by human activities (groves, cultivated or abandoned, and coppice stands). This could enhance regional plant diversity.

Forest management and plant species diversity in chestnut stands of three Mediterranean areas

El articulo presente se refiere a otras 103 plantas vasculares del noroeste de Espana _ cuyo indice, de indiscutible utilidad para los usuarios, figura en las pags69-75_ Tanto las bases como el sistema de nuestras aportaciones corologicas, tras las ya hechas, no pide aclaraciones algunas Como indicativo relevante de lo que todavia la Cordillera Cantabrica promete, puede valernos esa Gentiana acaulis L, del macizo del Valnera, que nos autoriza hoy a publicar aqui el Dr Gustavo Renobales, de la Facultad de Farmacia de Vitoria (Gasteiz) Otro muy llamativo hallazgo es el del Crocus carpetanus Boiss & Reuter en el norte de Palencia

/pdf/contribuciones-al-conocimiento-de-la-flora-cantabrica-iv-qy2i028y8p.pdf

Contribuciones al conocimiento de la flora cantábrica, IV.

A taxonomic revision of the Italian species of Aristolochia L. has been carried out. Evidence and information were drawn from the study of living plants and herbarium exsiccata, including type material. The attention was focused on the flower morphological characters, frequently disregarded, and on the chromosome numbers. This resulted in the systematic, nomenclatural and chorological rearrangement of the genus with special regard to Italy. Ten taxa were recognized to grow in Italy against the seven or eight entities listed in recent Floras: A. altissima Desf. (Sicily); A. clematitis L. (continental Italy, Sicily); A, rotunda L. (mainland Italy, Tuscan Archipelago, Ischia, Sicily); A. insularis Nardi et Arrigoni (Sardinia); A. clusii Lojacono (S-Italy, Sicily); A. navicularis Nardi, sp. nov. (Sardinia, Egadi Is.); A. pallida Willd. (continental Italy); A. lutea Desf. (mainland Italy, Tuscan Archipelago, Sicily); A. tyrrhena Nardi et Arrigoni (Sardinia); A. sicula Tineo (Sicily). A. pistobchia L. ...

The genus «Aristolochia» L. (Aristolochiaceae) in Italy

Context: For its variety of biological activities, Tamarix aucheriana (Decne.) Baum. (Tamaricaceae) has an extensive history as a traditional Arab medicine.Objectives: Antimitogenic and chemo-sensitizing activities of syringic acid (SA) were studied against human colorectal cancer.Materials and methods: Chromatographic and spectral data were used for the isolation and identification of SA. MTT, flow cytometry, in vitro invasion and angiogenesis assays, fluoremetry, ELISA and Real Time qPCR were used to test antimitogenic and chemo-sensitizing activities of SA, cell cycle, apoptosis, proteasome and NFκB-DNA-binding activities, cancer cell invasion and angiogenesis, and expression of cell cycle/apoptosis-related genes.Results: SA showed a time- and dose-dependent (IC50 = 0.95–1.2 mg mL−1) antimitogenic effect against cancer cells with little cytotoxicity on normal fibroblasts (≤20%). SA-altered cell cycle (S/G2-M or G1/G2-M phases) in a time-dependent manner, induced apoptosis, inhibited DNA-binding...

Robert Douin

Papers

Flore complète illustrée en couleurs de France Suisse et Belgique

La grande flore en couleurs de Gaston Bonnier : France, Suisse, Belgique et pays voisins