Coastal Flora Research Articles

Análisis de la flora de dunas costeras del litoral atlántico de México

En este trabajo se presenta un análisis de la flora vascular de las dunas costeras del litoral mexicano del Golfo de México y del Mar Caribe, obtenido a través del muestreo de 44 sitios, de la revisión de ejemplares de herbario y de la bibliografía. Con la información se elaboró una base de datos que integra 655 especies pertenecientes a 91 familias. Se determinó el número de especies y géneros por familia, así como la cantidad de especies y de familias presentes en cada sitio de colecta, al igual que las formas de crecimiento. Se enlistan las especies colectadas y su presencia a lo largo de las playas muestreadas del Golfo y Caribe. Se indican los taxa endémicos para México.

Monitoring groundwater dynamics in the littoral zone at seasonal, storm, tide and swash frequencies

Monitoring groundwater fluctuations and flow at the coast is of both practical and research interest to a range of coastal engineering applications. These include the operation of water supply and sewage waste disposal facilities in coastal dunes, foundation design for coastal structures, coastal flora and fauna impact studies, the investigation of sediment transport mechanisms at the foreshore, and coastline stability. An overview of instrumentation and deployment requirements is provided, making specific reference to techniques that have proven successful in coastal investigations. Groundwater monitoring is not a new science, but the application of these techniques to the littoral zone is enabling new measurements to be made. To assist coastal engineers and scientists in the planning and implementation of groundwater monitoring projects, five successful field deployments are described, and the data obtained illustrated.

Mound springs in the Dawson River Valley, Queensland. Vegetation-environment relations and consequences of a proposed impoundment on botanical values

Boggomosses are perennial mound springs in the Dawson River Valley, Queensland, an area subject to seasonal and often more prolonged drought. The results of a vegetation survey of the boggomosses are presented and assessed in relation to an impoundment proposed for the area. A classification of site-species data defined four boggomoss communities having distinct associations with soil texture and fertility, landscape position and possibly the age of springs. A measure of biogeographic significance was assigned to the plant species on the basis of rarity, isolation, affinity with the coastal flora and latitudinal limits. An impoundment at the maximum proposed height of 185 m would: a) inundate about 58% of the total number of springs; b) inundate 62% of significant community 1 springs that have high conservation significance; c) inundate all boggomoss populations of 26% of native plant species; d) inundate 30% of the boggomoss populations of the species that currently have two or more boggomoss populations to a level of one or less boggomoss populations; e) inundate all boggomoss populations of two out of 25 biogeographically significant species; f) inundate six out of 12 boggomoss populations of the vulnerable species Arthraxon hispidus; g) not inundate the single population of the vulnerable species Thelypteris confluens although the population would be within 1 m altitude of the maximum water height; h) not inundate the two populations of the endangered species Eriocaulon carsonii and Myriophyllum sp. (Aramac B. Wilson 110). Substantial lessening of impact on community 1 sites are achieved at dam water levels down to 177 m altitude and this trend is reftected in a progessive increase in the security of individual species. For example at the latter level, 88% of species would remain intact in more than one population and all known populations of Arthraxonwould remain intact.

Conclusion: An action plan for coastal plain wetland conservation. Toward a continental conservation strategy

Coastal plain wetlands support some of the greatest concentrations of rare plants in eastern North America, and yet the rate of habitat destruction resulting from ,drainage, damming, filling, and water quality degradation appears to be out-pacing current protection efforts. To reverse this trend, advances need to be made on several t¥onts: (1) intensify inventories of rare species and exemplary natural communities to determine rangewide status and distribution; (2) use status and location information to establish site protection priorities; (3) protect critical sites from existing threats; (4) increase public awareness of coastal plain resources; and (5) conduct ecological research and monitoring to guide successful management. Fhe goal of this broad-based integrated effort is to protect a full measure of the biological and ecological .diversity represented in coastal plain wetlands. Before we address each conservation action in greater detail, a working definition of the term 'coastal plain wetlands' is needed. Our definition is rather restrictive, connoting natural freshwater oligotrophic wetlands which contain, at least, a modest complement of plants confined to, or characteristic of, the Atlantic coastal plain physiographic region (Canadian Maritime Provinces to the Gulf Coast of Texas). Coastal plain wetlands usually have both strongly acidic soils and pronounced water level fluctuations to which the coastal plain flora and fauna have become adapted. Seasonal ponds, lake shores, peatlands, wet flatwoods, and some river shores support coastal plain wetland vegetation. Wetlands in Ontario, Michigan, and elsewhere can be characterized as coastal plain wetlands if they support disjunct populations of plants typically found on the coastal plain. Excluded by this working definition are eutrophic to mesotrophic wetland communities such as tidal marshes and bottomland hardwood forests.

A New Species, Pogonophora letouzeyi (Euphorbiaceae), from Gabon

A species from the Crystal Mountains in Gabon, whose name was previously invalidly published, here named Pogonophora letouzeyi to honor Rene Letouzey. As recently pointed out by Molloy et al. (1992), the description of Pogonophora africana by Letouzey (1969) was published with the mention of two holotypes, one from a female plant (N. Halle 645), the other one from a male plant (N. Halle & J. F. Villiers 4648). This in contradiction with the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Greuter et al., 1988: Art. 9.1), which states that the holotype of a specific taxon is a single specimen or illustration. These collections could only be considered as syntypes. The ICBN (Art. 37.1) reads: Publication on or after 1 Jan. 1958 of the name of a new taxon of the rank of genus or below valid only when the holotype of the name indicated. Therefore, P. africana Letouzey invalid, and the two specimens cited by Letouzey are not types of any kind. A holotype could be selected to validate the name. It would change the authorship of the species and, in my opinion, it would be regrettable to take away from my late colleague Rene Letouzey the recognition now attached to the name of this species. To avoid this, I here name the species in honor of Letouzey as a tribute to his vast knowledge of the African flora and vegetation. He had a special interest in Cameroon, and in the affinities between the flora of tropical America and the coastal flora of the Guinea Gulf in Africa. Pogonophora Miers ex Bentham, with one or two species in Amazonian South America and one in Gabon, a good example of what he called, in the neighboring western Cameroon, the vestiges d'une 'foret archa'ique a affinites sud-americaines' (Letouzey, 1968: 148). Pogonophora letouzeyi Feuillet, sp. nov. TYPE: Gabon. Estuaire: bordure des monts de Cristal, chutes de Kinguele, bord de riviere sur plage sableuse, 100 m, Jan. 1968 (pist. fl), N. Halle & J. F. Villiers 4648 (holotype, P). Pogonophora africana Letouzey, nom. inval., Adansonia, ser. 2, 9(2): 275. 15 July 1969. For the description in Latin and in French, and the illustration, see Letouzey (1969). Distribution. In open vegetation, river sandy beach and scrubby vegetation, northeast of Libreville, Gabon, western limit of the Crystal Mountains range, at elevations around 100 m. The female plant kept at P selected as the holotype, because, according to Letouzey, the characters it shows were more critical than those of the previous collection in identifying the generic affinities of the species. Paratype. GABON. ESTUAIRE: brousse secondaire pres de Nkoulounga, 55 km NE Libreville, June 1959 (stam. fl), N. Halle 645 (P). Acknowledgments. My special thanks to Lynn Gillespie who reassured me about the placement of this taxon in Pogonophora and to Dan Nicolson who checked that all the Code's requirements were satisfied.

DAMMING JAMES BAY: I. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON COASTAL CLIMATE AND THE WATER BALANCE

The proposed grand Canal project calls for the damming of James Bay and the diversion of its water southward. This first part of a two‐part study models some potential impacts on the climate, water balance, and growth patterns in the James Bay coastal zone. Use is made of a linear relationship of Bowen ratio and temperature, developed from studies of coastal wetlands in southern and northwestern James Bay and central Hudson Bay. It is hypothesized that changing James Bay into a fresh‐water lake and disrupting its coastal currents would result in a delayed Bay ice melt of unknown length in the spring. Allowing a delay to vary between 0 and 30 days results in the prediction of lesser evaporation and greater water surplus. These differences in magnitude increase with the length of delayed melt, but in all cases are most strongly evident during the peak of the growing season. Colder and wetter conditions would have a strong ecological impact on all coastal areas of western and southern James Bay. In the northwest this could change the species composition of coastal flora, cause forests to retreat from the coast, and result in the growth of permafrost there.

Palynological investigation of Arthungal bore-hole, Alleppey District, Kerala

Palynological assemblage from the Arthungal bore-hole (Alleppey District, Kerala) consists of 49 genera and 65 species of pteridophytic spores and angiospermous pollen. Dinoflagellate Cysts and fungal remains have also been reported. Liliacidites keralaensis and Jacobipollenites arthungalensis have been established as new species. The palynological succession has been divided into three cenozones, viz., Triangulorites bellus Cenozone, Crassoretitriletes vanraadshooveni Cenozone and Malvacearumpollis bakonyensis Cenozone. Palynological data depict a warm and humid tropical climate with plenty of rainfall during the time of deposition. Palynofossils belonging to lowland, freshwater swamp and water edge, back mangrove and coastal floras have been identified. Palynological succession ranges from Eocene-Early Miocene in age.

The vegetation of the proposed coastal National Botanic Garden, East London

The vegetation of the proposed National Botanic Garden in East London was sampled in 79 100-m2 quadrats and classified using TWINSPAN. Seven plant communities were identified, namely Acacia savanna, riverine forest, riverine thicket, coastal forest, coast scrub, dune margin scrub and a xerophytic community associated with the rocky promontories. DECORANA was used to determine the relationship between these communities and identified a gradient from the rocky promotories through dune margin scrub and coastal scrub to forest on the first axis and a gradient from Acacia savanna to forest on the second axis. Studies of aerial photographs and an old painting of the beach front showed that in this windy coastal environment the vegetation has remained stable for some time. Of the 71 families recorded, Poaceae and Asteraceae dominate the area in terms of genera and species numbers, although woody plants total more than 45% of the species. The trees and shrubs are distributed among the many families of the Tongoland – Pondoland floristic region, thus the area is floristically more subtropical than Cape. Alien vegetation covers a small area and with sound management can easily be eradicated. Recommendations are made for the conservation of the region, the construction of parking facilities, tea-rooms, picnic spots and carefully designed paths and boardwalks for the public to visit and learn more about the indigeous coastal flora.

The Lichen Flora of Gwynedd

AbstractThe lichen flora of the county of Gwynedd, north-west Wales, is described. The flora includes 851 species and 19 subspecies and varieties. The work comprises sections on: climate; geology; land use and vegetation; history of lichenology, 1680–1985; corticolous flora, with classification and description of the important woodland sites; inland saxicolous flora, dealing with acid, intermediate and basic rock, the effects of altitude and aspect, the flora of seepages, streams and lakes; heath and moorland flora; coastal flora classified into the recognized zones of the marine littoral, mesic, submesic and xeric supralittoral; aspects of conservation, pollution; and the lichen flora itself. The latter includes a brief description of the ecology and distribution of each species and all of the currently known 10-km2 records for the species in the county.

Effect of two Gulf Stream warm-core rings on distribution patterns of the diatom genus Nitzschia

Two Gulf Stream warm-core rings (WCR) of different ages, 81-D and 82-H, were studied in early autumn of sequential years for the composition and distribution of the pennate diatom genus Nitzschia. The results indicate that species of this genus were dynamic and abundant elements of the diatom flora of the two WCR's, ranging from 33 to 82% of all diatoms in net samples and from 22 to 49% of all diatoms in cell numbers integrated throughout the water column from discrete water bottle samples. A new species, N. lodicula Kaczmarska, was present in both rings and is described. There were 29 species of Nitzschia in the net samples, with a mean of 16 and range of 8–22 in any one net haul. Two different types of assemblages characterized the two rings of different maturity. The first type was dominated by N. bicapitata Cleve and the second by N. bifurcata Kaczmarska & Licea. Nitzschia bifurcata was more abundant in the just-forming WCR 82-H, similar to the Gulf Stream sample collected the previous month before ring formation. N bicapitata was more abundant in the 3-month-old WCR 81-D, which may indicate influence of the water masses by coastal flora. Diverse assemblages, including representatives of the section Pseudonitzschia were found in the Sargasso Sea and in the Slope Water, but they differed markedly from each other. The assemblages of Nitzschia indicate that the Gulf Stream was probably a primary source of these WCR water masses. The changes in abundance in relation to other phytoplankton indicate that the genus is not opportunistic in taking advantage of overturns in the water column. Rather it survives well in stressful situations such as the High Velocity Region or during periods of ring overwash by Slope Wate, when other cell numbers are low. This study supports the concept of WCR as a flattening bowl or disc-shaped body that responds within hours to internal overturns and incorporation of Slope Water streamers.

Middle Triassic deltaic deposits in Long Gully, near Otematata, north Otago, New Zealand

Abstract The Corbies Creek Group is additional evidence of shallow marine and terrestrial deposition of some Torlesse rocks during the Middle Triassic. The upper portion of the Corbies Creek Group exposed in Long Gully, 5 km southwest ofOtematata, is here interpreted as the remains of a large marine delta, similar to that of the modern Mississippi River. At the base of the deltaic sequence offshore marine siltstones are overlain gradationally by sandstones of barrier bars, probably formed by marine erosion of older delta lobes. These sandstones in turn are overlain by intertidal and lagoonal siltstone and shale and then by a unit of sandstone, siltstone and shale which includes several subunits probably deposited in various subenvironments of a digitate delta. Marine regression effected by the local progradation of the delta lobe finally resulted in the accumulation of coal, shale, siltstone and sandstone on a freshwater delta plain. These terrestrial sediments at the top of the exposed sequence contain megafossil plants similar to other Middle Triassic coastal floras of New Zealand. The lithostratigraphy of the Corbies Creek Group is discussed in an appendix, and several new names are proposed.

Factors Influencing the Distribution of Species of Californian Coastal Sage Scrub

The distributions of species and species groups of southern coastal sage scrub in Alta and Baja California are examined in relation to structural and environmental variables. Variables examined include vegetative structure, geographic and topographic position, soil physical characteristics and macronutrient levels, substrate, temperature, precipitation, and factors of disturbance (fire, light grazing, air pollution). Evapotranspirative stress during summer months seems to be a major factor influencing species distributions. Mean temperature of the warmest month appears to be a better predictor of this stress than seasonal or annual precipitation levels. Many of the dominant species also respond sensitively to differences in soil fertility and parent material, with 18 of the 21 dominant species examined showing significant preference for a single substrate among seven classes. Among soil nutrients, levels of organic and nitrate nitrogen appear as particularly useful predictors of species distributions. Of disturbance variables, regional levels of air pollutants are correlated most strongly with floristic differences. Multiple linear regression equations are presented permitting prediction of species' foliar cover levels from levels of environmental variables. Geographic segregation of floristic associations within the sage scrub flora is most marked along a northwest—southeast axis paralleling the Pacific coastline, although southern inland (Riversidian) associations show affinities with the northern coastal flora. Medium—scale patchiness (° 0.1 ha) in floristic composition occurs within the sage scrub due to local dominance by one or a small number of shrub species. The possible ecological significance of this is briefly discussed.

The pattern of Laminariales distribution in the northeast Pacific

The distribution of 40 species of Laminariales is described for the northeast Pacific coast from Santa Margarita Island, Baja California, Mexico to Attu Island, Alaska, U. S. A. In general this coast can be described as an area of gradual floristic change which can, however, be divided into seven broad transitional regions separated by regions of no floristic change. The relative distribution of Lessoniaceae, Alariaceae, and Laminariacea along the northeast pacific coast defines three distinct coastal floras: a southern segment from Santa Margarita Island to the Strait of Juan de Fuca; a northern segment from Hope Island, British Columbia, Canada, to Yakutat, Alaska; and a western segment from Kodiak Island, Alaska to Attu Island, Alaska.

A Synopsis of the North American Species of Cyphelium

In North America there are eleven species of Cyphelium of which six are endemic. The new species C. brunneum is described from southern California and adjacent Mexico, and C. caliciforme is reported for the first time from North America. Cyphelium notarisii is reduced to the rank of a subspecies of C. tigillare. The recent discovery of an undescribed species of Cyphelium in California and a previously unreported one from Alaska necessitated a review of the known North American species of the genus. This paper presents a key based on this work, with discussions of the species reported up to the present time (Hale & Culberson, 1966). A detailed review of geographic distribution is not attempted here although the general outlines of ranges are suggested in the key and annotated list. According to Zahlbruckner (1926), Cyphelium includes the members of the Cypheliaceae in which the phycobiont is not Trentepohlia and in which the spores are usually bito plurilocular and dark in color. Cypheliopsis, with unicellular spores, was included in Cyphelium as an exceptional species forming a section, but most recent treatments consider it a distinct, monotypic genus with the species C. bolanderi (Tuck.) Vain. Revisionary study on a wider scale is overdue, but at present it is possible to clarify the relationships of the North American species in the usual generic context. The North American Cyphelia include eleven species and one subspecies. Of these, five species C. lucidum, C. sessile, C. inquinans, C. caliciforme, and C. tigillare with its subspecies notarisii occur also in Europe, while the remainder are North American endemics. Cyphelium carolinianum is restricted to the southeastern coastal states from the Carolinas to Florida. Cyphelium brunneum, C. californicum, C. chloroconium, C. occidentale, and C. sancti-jacobi are endemics of coastal southern California and adjacent Baja California, Mexico. The species are well marked and present no difficulties in characterization. The mode of origin of the fruiting body, or mazaedium, exhibits a variation from species to species which I am inclined to regard as an evolutionary reduction series. According to this interpretation, species such as C. sessile and C. inquinans are primitive. Here the mazaedium arises as sessile on the thallus and the confining black parathecial (excipular) wall is persistent through maturity. In those species in which the mazaedium arises in the thallus and remains immersed or only slightly extruded, the wall material, at first well developed (C. brunneum), eventually is reduced to a vestigial subhypothalline cushion (C. californicum and C. occidentale). Future taxonomic studies may find this an interesting phylogenetic consideration. Most species of Cyphelium show a slight blistering of the episporium. In only one instance is this of such magnitude as to obscure the outlines of the spore loculi. In C. sancti-jacobi the blistering is highly developed, forming a pseudocellular net of 1 This research was supported by Grant GB-1538 from the National Science Foundation. 2 University of Colorado Museum, Boulder, Colorado 80304. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.183 on Thu, 26 May 2016 06:50:57 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 198 THE BRYOLOGIST [Volume 70 swollen and overlapping compartments, and the bilocular nature of the spores can only be observed in immature spores or by special clearing methods. However, because of the common occurrence of some blistering, I feel that N~dvornik's proposal of the genus Texosporium for C. sancti-jacobi is unjustified. The pattern of North American endemism suggests that our species are at least of Tertiary age. The large number of Californian endemics emphasizes the fact that California is one of the richest and most critical lichenological areas of the United States, rich because of the large number of relatively narrow endemics in this and other genera and critical because this flora is being destroyed more rapidly, through air pollution and urban development, than any other. The coastal flora at its best is now limited to protected areas of the Monterey Peninsula, the Santa Barbara Islands, Santa Catalina Island, and San Clemente Island. San Clemente receives some protection because it is a military base and Santa Catalina because it is in friendly private ownership. Parts of Monterey Peninsula and the Santa Barbara Islands have received protection as nature reserves. Whether or not these refuges are safe from atmospheric pollution remains to be seen. Hasse's classic localities around Los Angeles are now almost completely destroyed, a tragedy for lichenology because it is now impossible to restudy the type localities for more adequate material.

Essai de phytogéographie comparée. La végétation du Sud-Est de l'Angleterre et ses analogies avec celle du Nord de la France

SUMMARYIn 1960 we attempted (ROSE and GEHY) a purely floristic comparison of the Pas-de-Calais with Kent and Sussex, following the earlier work of Good (1925). Here we have attempted a fuller comparison of the vegetation and the phytogeographical elements present in the two regions and we conclude that the Weald of S.-E. England has a far greater « atlanticity » phytogeographically than any part of France North and East of the Cotentin. This is largely explicable on geological, topographic and microclimatics grounds, but not entirely so. The more meridional and oceanic character of the coastal flora of S.-E. England can also he partly explained on grounds of topography, but the greater richness of the inland Kentish chalk Downs in southern-continental elements as compared with the chalk of Pas-de-Calais is less easy to explain.Probably a complex interaction of subtle climatic factors not yet fully appreciated plays its part; for it is quite clear that the Straits of Dover er in themselves have proved a ne...

Papers on the flora of northern Chile. 1: The coastal flora of the departments of Chañaral and Taltal; 2: The flora of the Nitrate Coast; 3: Undescribed species from the cordilleras of Atacama

Papers on the flora of northern Chile. 1: The coastal flora of the departments of Chañaral and Taltal; 2: The flora of the Nitrate Coast; 3: Undescribed species from the cordilleras of Atacama

The coastal flora of the departments of Chañaral and Taltal

The coastal flora of the departments of Chañaral and Taltal