Sofia University

About: Sofia University is a education organization based out in Sofia, Bulgaria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Large Hadron Collider & Laser. The organization has 8533 authors who have published 15730 publications receiving 306320 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Sofia & BFUS.

Vegetation classification and biogeography of European floodplain forests and alder carrs

Abstract: Aim: Formalized classifications synthesizing vegetation data at the continental scale are being attempted only now, although they are of key importance for nature conservation planning. Therefore, we aim to provide a vegetation classification and to describe the main biogeographical patterns of floodplain forests and alder carrs in Europe. Location: Europe. Methods: A database of more than 40 000 vegetation plots of floodplain forests and alder carrs across Europe was compiled. After geographic stratification, 16 392 plots were available for classification, which was performed using the supervised method Cocktail. We also searched for new associations using semi-supervised K-means classification. The main biogeographic patterns and climate-related gradients in species composition were determined using detrended correspondence analysis and cluster analysis. Results: Thirty associations of floodplain forests and alder carrs were distinguished, which belong to five alliances. The Alnion incanae includes riparian, seepage and hardwood floodplain forests in the nemoral and hemiboreal zones (dominated by Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior) and in the boreal zone (dominated by A. incana). The Osmundo-Alnion represents oceanic vegetation dominated by Alnus glutinosa, Fraxinus angustifolia and F. excelsior distributed mostly on the Iberian Peninsula and composed of species with Atlantic distribution and Iberian endemics. The Populion albae comprises floodplain forests frequently dominated by Fraxinus angustifolia, Populus alba and P. nigra that are widespread in floodplains of large rivers under summer-dry climates in the Mediterranean region. The Platanion orientalis represents eastern Mediterranean floodplain forests dominated by Platanus orientalis. The Alnion glutinosae includes forest swamps dominated by Alnus glutinosa distributed mostly in the nemoral and hemiboreal zones. The main biogeographic patterns within European floodplain forests and alder carrs reflect the climatic contrasts between the Mediterranean, nemoral, boreal and mountain regions. Oceanic floodplain forests differ from those in the rest of Europe. The hydrological regime appears to be the most important factor influencing species composition within regions. Conclusions: This study is the first applying a formalized classification at the association level for a broad vegetation type at the continental scale. The proposed classification provides the scientific basis for the necessary improvement of the habitat classification systems used in European nature conservation.

Modelling the Danube-influenced North-western Continental Shelf of the Black Sea. II: Ecosystem Response to Changes in Nutrient Delivery by the Danube River after its Damming in 1972

Abstract: The ecological model BIOGEN, describing the carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus and silicon cycling throughout aggregated chemical and biological compartments of the planktonic and benthic marine systems, has been implemented in the north-western Black Sea to assess the response of this coastal ecosystem to eutrophication by the Danube River. The trophic resolution of BIOGEN was chosen to simulate the major ecological changes reported in this coastal area since the 1960s. Particular attention was paid to establishing the link between quantitative and qualitative changes in nutrients, phytoplankton composition and food-web structures. The BIOGEN numerical code structure includes 34 state variables assembled in five interactive modules describing the dynamics of (1) phytoplankton composed of three distinct groups, each with a different trophic fate (diatoms, nanophytoflagellates, non-silicified opportunistic species); (2) meso- and microzooplankton; (3) trophic dead-end gelatinous organisms composed of three distinct groups (the omnivorous Noctiluca and the carnivores Aurelia and the alienMnemiopsis ), and organic matter degradation and associated nutrient regeneration processes by (4) planktonic and (5) benthic bacteria. The capability of the BIOGEN model to simulate the recent ecosystem changes reported for the Black Sea was demonstrated by running the model for the period 1985–1995. The BIOGEN code was implemented in an aggregated and simplified representation of the north-western Black Sea hydrodynamics. The numerical frame consisted of coupling a 0-D BIOGEN box model subjected to the Danube with a 1-D BIOGEN representing the open-sea boundary conditions. Model results clearly showed that the eutrophication-related problems of the north-western Black Sea were not only driven by the quantity of nutrients discharged by the Danube, but that the balance between them was also important. BIOGEN simulations clearly demonstrated that phosphate, rather than silicate, was the limiting nutrient driving the structure of the phytoplankton community and the planktonic food-web. In particular, it showed that a well-balanced N:P:Si nutrient enrichment, such as that observed in 1991, had a positive effect on the linear, diatom–copepod food-chain, while the regenerated-based microbial food-chain remained at its background level. When present, the gelatinous carnivores also benefited from this enrichment throughout their feeding on copepods. A synergetic effect of fishing pressure and cultural eutrophication was further indirectly suggested by modifying the mortality coefficient of copepods. However, BIOGEN scenarios with unbalanced nutrient inputs, such as nitrogen or phosphate deficiency recorded in 1985 and 1995, predicted the dominance of an active microbial food-web in which bacteria and microzooplankton played a key role; the former as nutrient regenerator, the latter as a trophic path to the copepods and hence to the carnivorous. In such conditions, however, a significant biomass reduction of all gelatinous organisms was simulated, in perfect agreement with recent observations. From these model scenarios it is suggested that the observed positive signs of Black Sea ecosystem recovery might well be related to the reduction of nutrient loads in particular phosphate, by the Danube.