Poa Alpina Research Articles

New species and new record of the genus Poa L. (Poaceae, Pooideae, Poeae) from India

Poa sachensis, a new species from the Sach Pass, Western Himalaya, is described and illustrated. It is a member of P. subg. Ochlopoa sect. Alpinae, and closely allied to P. alpina, but differs from the latter by its lower glume one‐nerved, callus scantly hairy, lemma (3.87–) 4.18–4.54 (–4.65) mm long, purplish, surface between nerves glabrous, palea proliferate and keels ciliate 1/2nd to 1/3rd part, and two stamens in fertile floret with anther (2.42–) 2.67–3.08 (–3.21) mm long. Further, we have added P. diaphora var. alpina for the first time to the flora of India based on specimens collected from the semiarid habitats of Spiti Valley. Information on the distribution, habitat, flowering, and fruiting cycles is provided along with a distribution map for each taxon.Keywords: alpine grasses, Poa alpina, P. subg. Pseudopoa, P. subg. Ochlopoa, Western Himalaya

Tracking free-ranging sheep to evaluate interrelations between selective grazing, movement patterns and the botanical composition of alpine summer pastures in northern Italy

Extensive sheep pasturing in alpine regions has a long tradition and fulfils numerous sociological, economic and ecological functions. The effects of sheep grazing on the floristic composition and vice versa depend on various factors. Knowledge of potential interrelations is crucial to developing adequate management systems to maintain pasture productivity and its unique biodiversity. The aim of the present study was to discuss the potential interrelations between movement and selective grazing behaviour of free-ranging unherded sheep and the botanical composition of high-altitude mountain pastures in northern Italy. General movement patterns were determined by using GPS tracking. The floristic composition of areas roamed by the sheep was analysed by collecting physical data during the summer of 2022. The energy content of ingested herbage biomass was determined based on faecal samples. Ranging between 2296 and 3015 m above sea level (a.s.l.), the average altitude used by the sheep was 2654 m a.s.l. Correlation analyses showed that the sheep used significantly higher altitudes with increasing temperature and sunshine duration and with decreasing air humidity and rainfall. A clear selective grazing behaviour was revealed, namely a preference for species with better nutritional attributes. Poa alpina was the most preferred species, while areas dominated by Nardus stricta were avoided. Furthermore, the sheep showed an uphill migration over the season, possibly caused by the delayed start of grassland growth at higher altitudes. Analyses of faecal samples revealed sufficient energy contents, presumably as a result of the targeted selection of nutritious plant species. Future studies should evaluate the feeding value of herbage on offer in order to validate the current results. The study highlights the opportunity of animal tracking in remote areas and provides indications for selective grazing of sheep under conditions of free choice.

Resampling alpine herbarium records reveals changes in plant traits over space and time

Abstract Climate warming causes upward shifts in plant species distributions, resulting in an influx of species from lower elevations into alpine plant communities. Plant functional trait changes along elevation gradients and over time may reflect these changing conditions. Intraspecific trait variation measured from herbarium records offers a way to observe such changes in trait values over time. We selected four species: Poa alpina and Polygonum viviparum found in alpine grasslands, and Cardamine resedifolia and Ranunculus glacialis found in high‐alpine to subnival scree habitats. We measured several functional traits from (i) herbarium records collected between 1880 and 1950 and from (ii) individuals resampled in 2014 along an elevation gradient covering >1500 m within the same study region in the Swiss Alps. By comparing (i) against (ii) for each species separately, we analysed temporal changes in the distribution of traits along the studied elevation gradient. After a century of climate warming, the change in the relationship linking plant functional traits with elevation was species dependent. Size‐related and reproductive functional trait values for P. viviparum increased over time, increasing at lower, but not higher elevations. Poa alpina's size‐related traits increased consistently with time along the elevation gradient. Most of C. resedifolia's size‐related and flowering traits decreased over time at lower elevations and converged at higher elevations. Finally, R. glacialis traits did not respond to time alone—reproductive traits decreased over time at lower, and increased at higher elevations, reversing their historical trait distributions. The negative trend for vegetative trait values with elevation did not change over time, however. In 2014, at lower elevations, all species mainly occurred on their typical microhabitat types, but occurrence on other microhabitats increased with elevation for all species. Synthesis: Contrasting temporal changes in the distribution of growth and reproductive trait values between alpine grassland and alpine‐subnival scree species, especially at lower elevations, suggest that climate warming effects vary among species. Additionally, species' physiological constraints and availability of suitable microhabitats may further impact species' distribution changes. Further warming may confine the distribution of high‐alpine plant species to even higher elevations, or microclimates currently difficult to colonise by lower‐alpine species.

Effect of weather conditions, substrate pH, biochar amendment and plant species on two plant growth-promoting microbes on vegetated roofs and facades

BackgroundVegetated building envelopes (VBEs), such as vegetated roofs and facades, are becoming more frequent in urban planning nowadays. However, harsh growing conditions restrain the application of VBEs. Plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPMs) might help ease the stresses, but first, it is necessary to investigate how to ensure their survival and growth under VBE conditions. MethodsWe conducted three experiments to test the impact of various factors on the microbial populations of inoculated PGPMs in VBEs, a mycorrhizal fungus Rhizophagus irregularis and a bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The first experiment was conducted by inoculating the two PGPMs separately in Sedum roof plots, and the microbial populations associated with Poa alpina was monitored for two consecutive years under local weather conditions. The second experiment was conducted in a laboratory testing the effect of substrate pH (substrates collected from balcony gardens) on R. irregularis population associated with Trifolium repens and Viola tricolor. The third experiment was conducted on a meadow roof testing the effect of biochar amendment on R. irregularis population associated with Thymus serpyllum and Fragaria vesca. ResultsIn the first experiment, Bacillus was found to associate with P. alpina, but Rhizophagus wasn't. Yet, the fungus induced high Bacillus population density in the Rhizophagus treated plots in the first year. In the second experiment, Rhizophagus abundance in T. repens was higher in the neutral substrate (6–6.5), while V. tricolor was more colonized in acidic substrate (5–5.5), suggesting an important interactive effect of substrate pH and plant species on Rhizophagus abundance. The third experiment suggested a negligible impact of biochar amendment on Rhizophagus abundance for both host plants. ConclusionThree experiments demonstrate that PGPM inoculation on VBEs is feasible, and various factors and interactions affect the PGPM populations. This paper provides reference and inspiration for other VBE research involving substrate microbial manipulation.

Poa alpina

This datasheet on Poa alpina covers Identity, Distribution, Uses.

Seed production of perennial grasses in the Far North

The results of research on improving disturbed lands by sowing them with perennial grasses are presented. The methods of seed production of perennial cereal grasses, the genotype of which allows to go through all development phases during a short warm period and resume their growth the next year, were studied. The study was carried out in the forest-tundra zone of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug on an oldarable (30-year development) surface-podzolic eluvial-gleyic soil in 2016-2018. It was established that sowing perennial grasses for seeds using a wide-row method is more effective than conventional row planting. On average in 2 years, the yield of seeds of red fescue grass was 0.36 t/ha, which is 0.08 t/ha or 28.6%, higher with a wide-row sowing method than with the conventional row planting. It was established that a decrease in the seeding rate by half ensures an increase in the yield of seeds compared to the previously recommended rates. The yield of seeds of red fescue grass with a reduced seeding rate and a wide-row sowing method on average in 2 years was 0.39 t/ha, alpine bluegrass – 0.6 t/ha, which was 0.02–0.06 t/ha higher than with full seeding rates, respectively. Sowing of cereal grasses in the middle of September (before winter) proved to be promising. The seed yield of Bering meadow grass sown in early-winter was noted to be higher (by 83%) than in the spring period; the yield of red fescue grass was practically the same in both studied variants. The maximum seed yield is formed by local species of perennial grasses.

CLUSTER COMPOSITION OF POLLEN PARTICLES OF ANEMOPHILIC PLANTS ENTERING ATMOSPHERE

A study is made on pollen emission into atmosphere of 21 species of anemophilous plants ( Betula divaricata Ledeb., Betula costata Trautv., Betula davurica Pall., Betula fruticosa Pall., Ulmus japonica (Rehd.)Sarg., Salix acutifolia Willd., Salix cinerea L., Salix purpurea L., Salix rosmarinifolia L., Alnus glutinosa (L.) Gaertn., Poa alpina L., Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) J. Presl & C. Presl, Briza maxima L., Deschampsia cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv., Urtica urens L., Carex altaica (Gorodkov) V.I. Krecz., Carex pallescens L., Carex flacca Schreb., Carex vesicaria L., Carex diluta M. Bieb., Plantago lanceolata L.), exposed by the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, SB RAS. These plants are widely spread over the territory of the Russian Federation and produce great amounts of allergenic pollen. The proportion of clusters of two or more pollen grains from the total number of pollen particles entering the atmosphere during the flowering periods of these plant species is estimated. It was shown that such clusters in significant quantities were formed in all series of experiments. At the same time, the proportion of pollen grains in their composition could reach 95% of the total number of pollen grains entering the atmosphere.

The response of culturally important plants to experimental warming and clipping in Pakistan Himalayas.

The relative effects of climate warming with grazing on medicinally important plants are not fully understood in Hindukush-Himalaya (HKH) region. Therefore, we combined the indigenous knowledge about culturally important therapeutic plants and climate change with experimental warming (open-top chambers) and manual clipping (simulated grazing effect) and compared the relative difference on aboveground biomass and percent cover of plant species at five alpine meadow sites on an elevation gradient (4696 m-3346 m) from 2016-2018. Experimental warming increased biomass and percent cover throughout the experiment. However, the interactive treatment effect (warming x clipping) was significant on biomass but not on percent cover. These responses were taxa specific. Warming induced an increase of 1 ± 0.6% in Bistorta officinalis percent cover while for Poa alpina it was 18.7 ± 4.9%. Contrastingly, clipping had a marginally significant effect in reducing the biomass and cover of all plant species. Clipping treatment reduced vegetation cover & biomass by 2.3% and 6.26%, respectively, but that was not significant due to the high variability among taxa response at different sites. It was found that clipping decreased the effects of warming in interactive plots. Thus, warming may increase the availability of therapeutic plants for indigenous people while overgrazing would have deteriorating effects locally. The findings of this research illustrate that vegetation sensitivity to warming and overgrazing is likely to affect man-environment relationships, and traditional knowledge on a regional scale.

Describing the vertical root distribution of alpine plants with simple climate, soil, and plant attributes

The vertical root distribution (VRD) in the soil remains unknown for most plant species, as studying root systems in different pedo-climatic settings is time-consuming and methodologically challenging. Yet, information on the VRD of different vegetation types is essential to understand better the biogeochemical processes occurring at the soil–plant-atmosphere continuum. The aim of this study was to describe the (VRD) of three dominant alpine, herbaceous plants (i.e. Euphrasia minima Jacq., Leucanthemopsis alpina L., and Poa alpina L.) on the basis of simple and easy-to-measure climate, soil, and plant attributes in order to test the validity of existing descriptive protocols and parametric ecohydrological models. The results showed that the VRD decreased with soil depth for the three plants and that it can be effectively described with a negative exponential equation. Key VRD parameters, such as the mean rooting depth, cross-sectional area at the root collar, and root biomass, were both site and species-specific but they were chiefly influenced by the attributes regulating the soil’s water mass balance. The existing parametric ecohydrological models were not able to portray successfully the VRD of the studied alpine plants but we found a strong correlation between empirical and parametric VRD models that establish a clear direction for future research. Future work should address the influence of the snowpack characteristics and the length of the snow-free and frozen ground periods on the soil’s ecohydrology and VRD in alpine ecosystems.

Quantifying the Estimation and Abundance of Plant Diversity of Shigar Valley, Gilgit -Baltistan, Pakistan

The studies were carried out from July 2017 to March 2018 in Shigar valley different Union Councils. The area lies between 7444 feet to 11694 feet from Above sea level in the Alpine zone including, Niali Nallah, Laxar Nallah, Nallah, Markuja union, Marapi union, Chorkah union, Gulapur. The study sites were randomly selected based on (1) herbs or shrubs land on the field periphery, (2) open grassland and arable land associated with sparse vegetation on rocks, stones, (3) forest land and open lands associated with sparse tree vegetation catchment of river and (4) forest land and arable land associated with dunes and rocky terrain. The quadrate method was used to record of vegetation from the selected study sites. A total of 59 plants species both medicinally and economically important were recorded at four study sites of CKNP and revealed that 30 herbs followed by 14 trees, 11 kinds of grass, and 4 shrubs respectively the dominant tree species recorded from all habitat types were Juniper sexcelsa, Elaeagnus ambulate, Morus alba, Salix Wilhelmina and Populus nigra. The most common herbs recorded were Artimisa brevifolia, Tanacetum, Echinops echinatus, Capparis sponsia, Ephedra intermedia, Peganum harmala, Daucus carota, Medicago sativa, Typha lotifuliya and Astragalus rhizanthus. The dominant shrubs were Rosa webbina, Hippophae rhamnoides, Sophora Molis and Myricaria germanica. The grasses recorded in the study area were Poa Alpina, Setaria Viridis, Hetropogon contortus, Cynodon dactylon, Taraxacum oritinlis, Trifolium repens and Cascuta reflexa. These plants are also used by local communities for fuelwood and timber. This study will be beneficial for locals and governments for the protection and conservation of this indigenous flora as well as fauna in the future.

Distribution pattern and associated flora of Jurinea dolomiaea in the western Himalayan highlands of Kashmir: An indicator endemic plant of alpine phytodiversity

Jurinea dolomiaea is a prime indicator plant of the alpine regions endemic to the Himalayas which performs important ecosystem services critical to the existence of the associated endemic plants and habitat stability. Current study was designed with the specific objectives to investigate the distribution pattern and community structure of Jurinea dolomiaea and associated flora and analyze the species-environment relationship in the Western Himalayas region of Kashmir, Pakistan. It is hypothesized that distribution pattern of J. dolomiaea and associated community structure is strongly influenced by environment prevalent variables. The present study revealed a total of 60 plant species belonging to 50 genera and 25 families recorded in association with J. dolomiaea with Asteraceae, Poaceae and Rosaceae as the dominant plant families. J. dolomiaea was recorded with highest average IVI value of 31.01 accompanied by Co-dominant taxa including Sibbaldia cunneata, Carex nubigena, Poa alpina and Poa pratensis. Jurinea dolomiaea exhibited a distinct distribution pattern in open sunny slopes confined to the south facing aspect receiving maximum solar insolation enabling the plant to survive in extremely cold alpine habitat. The average values of Simpson’s and Shannon’s diversity for the recorded plant communities were 0.90 and 2.67 respectively, whereas Species evenness averaged as 0.68. Vegetation exhibited relatively higher (>50) value of maturity averaging as 62.57. Analysis of the endemism in the local flora revealed a total of 27 species endemic to the Western Himalayas in an altitude range of 3200–4400 m, making 45.00% of the total recorded species. J. dolomiaea was found to be an important part of plant based local ethnomedicinal healthcare system in the mountain communities. Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis identified the dominant taxa specific species assemblages in the local flora correlated with environmental variables. About 19 species having low (>2) IVI values associated were classified as rare. Current study validated the role of Jurinea dolomiaea as a strong ecological indicator of alpine habitats critically important for the associated valuable endemic alpine flora. An integrated approach is recommended for conservation management of Jurinea dolomiaea communities in the Western Himalayan alpines.

Discrimination of grass pollen of different species by FTIR spectroscopy of individual pollen grains

Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy enables the chemical characterization and identification of pollen samples, leading to a wide range of applications, such as paleoecology and allergology. This is of particular interest in the identification of grass (Poaceae) species since they have pollen grains of very similar morphology. Unfortunately, the correct identification of FTIR microspectroscopy spectra of single pollen grains is hindered by strong spectral contributions from Mie scattering. Embedding of pollen samples in paraffin helps to retrieve infrared spectra without scattering artifacts. In this study, pollen samples from 10 different populations of five grass species (Anthoxanthum odoratum, Bromus inermis, Hordeum bulbosum, Lolium perenne, and Poa alpina) were embedded in paraffin, and their single grain spectra were obtained by FTIR microspectroscopy. Spectra were subjected to different preprocessing in order to suppress paraffin influence on spectral classification. It is shown that decomposition by non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) and extended multiplicative signal correction (EMSC) that utilizes a paraffin constituent spectrum, respectively, leads to good success rates for the classification of spectra with respect to species by a partial least square discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) model in full cross-validation for several species. PLS-DA, artificial neural network, and random forest classifiers were applied on the EMSC-corrected spectra using an independent validation to assign spectra from unknown populations to the species. Variation within and between species, together with the differences in classification results, is in agreement with the systematics within the Poaceae family. The results illustrate the great potential of FTIR microspectroscopy for automated classification and identification of grass pollen, possibly together with other, complementary methods for single pollen chemical characterization.

Community Composition and Distribution Pattern of Herbaceous Flora in Holi Area of District Chamba in Himachal Pradesh

The present study was carried out in Holi Forest Range of district Chamba, which is the north-west district of Himachal Pradesh and is located between latitude 32o17’412’’ to 32o26’541’’N and longitude 76o31’504’’ to 76o35’385’’E. The territory is completely mountainous with altitude varying from about 2,000 feet (610 m) to about 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the mean sea level. The quantitative information of herbs was collected from different sites i.e., Deol, Kut, Dal, Lahaud Dhar. Frequency (%), Density (plants m-2), Basal Area (cm2), Importance Value Index (IVI) and A/F ratio of plant species at different sites were recorded. Poa alpina was found to have highest frequency (90%) closely followed by Jurinea dolomiaea (80%) and Biebersteinia odora has the lowest frequency of 10%. Poa alpina has the highest density (60.6 plants m-2) at Dal followed by Gentiana kurrooa (35.8 plants m-2). Moschela esculenta was found to have highest basal area (1.234 cm2) at Kut. Viola serpens was the dominant species with highest value of IVI (78.77) closely followed by Poa alpina (65.91), Gentiana kurrooa (65.37) and Jurinea dolomiaea (65.36). Most of the species were distributed randomly followed by contagious pattern of distribution and least species were reported for regular distribution pattern.

Combining Chemical Information From Grass Pollen in Multimodal Characterization.

The analysis of pollen chemical composition is important to many fields, including agriculture, plant physiology, ecology, allergology, and climate studies. Here, the potential of a combination of different spectroscopic and spectrometric methods regarding the characterization of small biochemical differences between pollen samples was evaluated using multivariate statistical approaches. Pollen samples, collected from three populations of the grass Poa alpina, were analyzed using Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The variation in the sample set can be described in a hierarchical framework comprising three populations of the same grass species and four different growth conditions of the parent plants for each of the populations. Therefore, the data set can work here as a model system to evaluate the classification and characterization ability of the different spectroscopic and spectrometric methods. ANOVA Simultaneous Component Analysis (ASCA) was applied to achieve a separation of different sources of variance in the complex sample set. Since the chosen methods and sample preparations probe different parts and/or molecular constituents of the pollen grains, complementary information about the chemical composition of the pollen can be obtained. By using consensus principal component analysis (CPCA), data from the different methods are linked together. This enables an investigation of the underlying global information, since complementary chemical data are combined. The molecular information from four spectroscopies was combined with phenotypical information gathered from the parent plants, thereby helping to potentially link pollen chemistry to other biotic and abiotic parameters.

Soil microbes that may accompany climate warming increase alpine plant production.

Climate change is causing species with non-overlapping ranges to come in contact, and a key challenge is to predict the consequences of such species re-shuffling. Experiments on plants have focused largely on novel competitive interactions; other species interactions, such as plant-microbe symbioses, while less studied, may also influence plant responses to climate change. In this greenhouse study, we evaluated interactions between soil microbes and alpine-restricted plant species, simulating a warming scenario in which low-elevation microbes migrate upslope into the distribution of alpine plants. We examined three alpine grasses from the Rocky Mountains, CO, USA (Poa alpina, Festuca brachyphylla, and Elymus scribneri). We used soil inocula from within (resident) or below (novel) the plants' current elevation range and examined responses in plant biomass, plant traits, and fungal colonization of roots. Resident soil inocula from the species' home range decreased biomass to a greater extent than novel soil inocula. The depressed growth in resident soils suggested that these soils harbor more carbon-demanding microbes, as plant biomass generally declined with greater fungal colonization of roots, especially in resident soil inocula. Although plant traits did not respond to the provenance of soil inocula, specific leaf area declined and root:shoot ratio increased when soil inocula were sterilized, indicating microbial mediation of plant trait expression. Contrary to current predictions, our findings suggest that if upwardly migrating microbes were to displace current soil microbes, alpine plants may benefit from this warming-induced microbial re-shuffling.

Effects on vegetative restoration of two treatments: erosion matting and supplemental rock cover in the alpine ecosystem

Unsanctioned travel routes through alpine ecosystems can influence water drainage patterns, cause sedimentation of streams, and erode soils. These disturbed areas can take decades to revegetate. In 2012, a volunteer‐driven project restored a 854‐m section of unsanctioned road along the Continental Divide in Colorado, United States. The restored area was seeded with three native grass species and then treated by installing erosion matting or adding supplemental rock cover. Four years later, results suggest that the seeding along with the use of erosion matting or supplemental rock can enhance revegetation. Matting appeared to accumulate litter, and this effect might have contributed to enhanced moisture retention. Treated areas contained 40% of the vegetation cover found on adjacent controls, which averaged 69% vascular plant absolute cover. Recovery on both treatments was markedly higher than published estimates of passive revegetation of disturbed areas measured elsewhere suggesting seeding with added cover or protection led to substantial vegetative cover after 4 years. Two of the 3 seeded grass species, Trisetum spicatum and Poa alpina, dominated the restored plots, composing 81.7% of relative vegetation cover on matting sites and 73.4% of relative cover on rock‐supplemented areas. Presumably due to its preference for moister sites, Deschampsia cespitosa had low establishment rates. Volunteer species, that is species that appeared on their own, contributed 6.3% to the absolute vegetation cover of matting and rock sites, and species such as Minuartia biflora, Minuartia obtusiloba, Poa glauca, and Festuca brachyphylla should be considered for use in future restorations.

Синтаксономия луговин тундрового пояса гор Мурманской области

Синтаксономия луговин тундрового пояса гор Мурманской области

Do soil biota influence the outcome of novel interactions between plant competitors?

1. Species are shifting their ranges, for example to higher elevations, in response to climate change. Different plant species and soil microbiota will likely shift their ranges at different rates, giving rise to novel communities of plants and soil organisms. However, the ecological consequences of such novel plant-soil interactions are poorly understood. We experimentally simulated scenarios for novel interactions arising between high- and low elevation plants and soil biota following asynchronous climate change range shifts, asking to what extent the ability of plants to coexist depends on the origin of the soil biota. 2. In a greenhouse experiment, we grew pairs of low- (Poa trivialis and Plantago lanceolata) and high- (Poa alpina and Plantago alpina) elevation plant species alone and against a density gradient of con- or heterospecific neighbours. Plants grew on sterilized field soil that was inoculated with a soil community sampled from either low- or high elevation in the western Swiss Alps. We used the experiment to parameterize competition models, from which we predicted the population-level outcomes of competition in the presence of the different soil biota. 3. In the absence of neighbours, three of the four species produced more biomass with the low elevation soil biota. As a result of generally similar responses across plant species, soil biota tended not to affect plant interaction outcomes, with the low elevation species generally predicted to competitively exclude high elevation species irrespective of the soil biota origin. However, the low elevation grass Poa trivialis was only able to invade communities of Poa alpina in the presence of a low elevation soil biota. This suggests that, at least in some cases, the outcome of novel competitive interactions between plants following climate change will depend on whether shifts in the distribution of plant and soil organisms are asynchronous. 4. Synthesis. Our results indicate that the changing soil communities that plants encounter during range expansion can influence plant performance. However, this is only likely to alter expectations for the ability of plants to coexist following climate change if plant species respond differently to the change in the soil community.

DNA-content and chromosome number in populations of Poa alpina in the Alps reflect land use history

Poa alpina, a widespread alpine grass in the temperate and subarctic zone, is a polyploid complex including many cytotypes with a broad range of chromosome numbers. To assess the occurrence and frequency of cytotypes, and to test for effects of past and current land use on their distribution, we measured DNA content using flow cytometry in 543 individuals of Poa alpina from agriculturally used grassland parcels and from natural sites in 12 local communities from three cultural traditions in the Swiss Alps. We tested whether geography (local community), affiliation to three cultural traditions, current land use, fertilization, and elevation affected DNA-content of populations. DNA content among individuals was highly variable (2C values ranging 100–600 pg) indicating chromosome numbers between 14 and 69. Cultural tradition, geography (local community), and current land use significantly affected mean DNA-content of Poa alpina in populations from agriculturally used parcels. The range of DNA-content and cytotypes was larger in pastures than in meadows, and the distribution of cytotypes differed among cultural traditions. Plants with more chromosomes grew larger in a common garden suggesting higher vigour. Among reproducing plants, an almost equal share was either reproducing by seeds or by bulbils. Seed-producing individuals had a higher DNA-content. Results presented here suggest that human land use is reflected directly in the distribution of cytotypes of different ploidy level and chromosome number. The effect of different cultural traditions is an indication that the current distribution of cytotypes does not only reflect geographic variability and current land use, but also differences in land use in the past that are persisting to the present.

Impacts of roads and trails on floral diversity and structure of Ganga-Choti forest in Kashmir Himalayas

Roads and trails bring deteriorating changes in the structure and composition of forests. The present study investigated the impact of roads and trails on floral diversity and structure of Ganga Choti forest, Kashmir. Phytosociological attributes using systematic quadrate sampling were recorded and analyzed using multivariate ordination techniques including Principal Component Analysis and Cluster Analysis. The total number of species found in the area was 101 belonging to 47 plant families. The dominant family was Poaceae followed by Labiateae, Asteraceae and Rosaceae. The dominant species of the area included Pinus wallichiana, Abies pindrow, Viburnum grandiflorum, Sarcococca saligna, Poa alpina, Fragaria nubicola, Onychium japonicum and Poa pratensis. The dominant life form was Hemicryptophyte (31.68 %), whereas leaf spectra class was Microphyll (30.69 %). The average diversity value was 3.39 with a maximum of 3.71 at the control site and 3.08 at the disturbed site. Average tree density was 505/ha with a maximum of 680/ha at the control site and a minimum of 330/ha at the disturbed site. Intense deforestation was indicated by a stump density value of 330/ha. Results revealed that roads and trails have adversely affected the composition and structure of vegetation with high pressure on keystone tree species. Disturbed sites showed lower values of diversity indices, species richness and regeneration synchronized with high deforestation, overgrazing, erosion and increased frequency of invasive species. The study area needs immediate attention of the management for conservation of local forests by minimizing the impacts of roads and trails.