Floristic Changes Research Articles

Phytoliths from modern plants in the Canary Islands as a reference for the reconstruction of long-term vegetation change and culture-environment interactions

AbstractThe Canary Islands were the first part of the Macaronesian archipelago to have been settled by humans. The various ways in which the indigenous inhabitants and later European colonisers interacted with the native and endemic flora is a central topic for archaeologists, geographers and ecologists. Floristic changes can be studied from phytoliths which are plant microfossils with a high potential for preservation in sediment deposits and they can help reconstruct past ways of life and vegetation changes through time. However, there is no comprehensive and systematic study and reference collection of phytoliths produced by the flora of the Canary Islands, so far. To make a start with a first phytolith reference collection of a selection of plants relevant for the study of past socio-ecological interactions there, we processed over a hundred modern plant specimens collected on the islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and La Palma to obtain the phytoliths from them, using the dry-ashing method. We then described the phytolith morphologies, and counted the numbers of morphotypes for each species. We have categorised taxa according to their phytolith concentration and production of morphotypes with diagnostic potential. Our results suggest that among the selected taxa, species within the Arecaceae, Boraginaceae, Cyperaceae, Poaceae and Urticaceae families are the main native producers of phytoliths in the archipelago. We also identified phytoliths with diagnostic potential in particular species within the Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Cistaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Ranunculaceae and Rubiaceae. We discuss how phytolith assemblages can be interpreted in archaeological sites and sediment records. Our growing reference collection is a significant step towards the application of phytolith analysis to disentangle the long-term climatic and human-driven transformation of this biodiversity hotspot, as well as the cultural use of plant resources.

Floristic changes and environmental drivers of soil fungi and archaea in different salt-tolerant plant communities in the intertidal habitat of coastal wetlands.

Microorganisms are crucial elements of terrestrial ecosystems, which play significant roles in improving soil physicochemical properties, providing plant growth nutrients, degrading toxic and harmful chemicals, and biogeochemical cycling. Variations in the types and quantities of root exudates among different plants greatly alter soil physicochemical properties and result in variations in the diversity, structure, and function of soil microorganisms. Not much is understood about the differences of soil fungi and archaea communities for different plant communities in coastal wetlands, and their response mechanisms to environmental changes. In this study, fungal and archaea communities in soils of Suaeda salsa, Phragmites australis, and Spartina alterniflora in the intertidal habitat of coastal wetlands were selected for research. Soil fungi and archaea were analyzed for diversity, community structure, and function using high throughput ITS and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The study revealed significant differences in fungi and archaea's diversity and community structure in the rhizosphere soil of three plant communities. At the same time, there is no significant difference in the functional groups. SOM, TP, AP, MC, EC and SOM, TN, TP, AP, MC, EC are the primary environmental determinants affecting changes in soil fungal and archaeal communities, respectively. Variations in the diversity, community structure, and ecological functions of fungi and archaea can be used as indicators characterizing the impact of external disturbances on the soil environment, providing a theoretical foundation for the effective utilization of soil microbial resources, thereby achieving the goal of environmental protection and health promotion.

Mixed signals of environmental change and a trend towards ecological homogenization in ground vegetation across different forest types

AbstractForest ground vegetation may serve as an early warning system for monitoring anthropogenic global-change impacts on temperate forests. Climate warming may induce a decline of cool-adapted species to the benefit of more thermophilous plants. Nitrogen deposition has been documented to potentially result in soil eutrophication or acidification, which can increase the proportion of species with higher nutrient requirements and species impoverishment caused by competitive exclusion. Abiotic forest disturbances are changing the light conditions in the forest understorey environment. In this resurvey study, we tested the magnitude and direction of change in alpha (species richness) and beta (within-site dissimilarity) diversity and composition of forest ground vegetation in forests of different types in Slovenia over fifteen years. Using plant-derived characteristics (Ellenberg-type indicator values) and by testing a priori predictions concerning expected effects of environmental drivers, we show that the magnitude and direction of forest ground vegetation diversity and floristic changes varies greatly between forest sites. Divergent responses at different sites resulted in low net change of alpha and beta diversity and a weak overall environmental signal. The largest decrease in species number was observed in lowland oak-hornbeam forests, which were also among the sites with the greatest compositional shifts. Changes in beta diversity did not show any consistent trend, and anticipated floristic convergence was not confirmed when all sites were considered. Thermophilization was mainly detected in montane beech sites and alpine spruce forests whereas eutrophication signal was most significant on nutrient-poor sites. Vegetation responses were strongly dependent on initial site conditions. Shrinkage of ecological gradients (process of ecological homogenization) suggests that sites positioned at the ends of the gradients are losing their original ecological character and are becoming more similar to mid-gradient sites that generally exhibit smaller changes. Our results point to the importance of local stand dynamics and overstorey disturbances in explaining the temporal trends in forest ground vegetation. Ground vegetation in Slovenian forests is changing in directions also dictated by multiple regional and global change drivers.

Caspar Bauhin’s life (1560–1624) – Academic career, achievements as a botanist and his herbarium

Caspar Bauhin was born 1560 in Basel as a refugee child from a distinguished Protestant family which escaped persecution of the Huguenots in France. He studied medicine and botany at the University in Basel, in Italy and France and became the first professor for medical Anatomy and Botany in Basel. He is the founder of one of the first Botanical Gardens north of the Alps, and the first to offer regularly botanical excursions and courses in systematics and taxonomy for medical students. In his many publications, C. Bauhin aimed to give a systematic overview of all c. 5600 plant species known at the time, based on meticulous comparison and descriptions by himself, renaming them by distinguishing clearly between genus and species and by adding the synonyms of other authors. Thereby Caspar Bauhin was paving the way for botany as an independent scientific discipline and for Linnaeus, who heavily relied on him for the further development of botanical systematics and nomenclature more than a century later. His herbarium, which today is kept at the University of Basel, served him as working tool and included more than 4000 species, which he collected himself or through exchange with a wide net of correspondents. Not the least of Bauhin’s achievements is the publication in 1622 of one of the first comprehensive local floras, which until today is used as a reference for floristic changes in the surroundings of Basel.

Naturalizations have led to homogenization of the Malesian flora in the Anthropocene

AbstractAimWorldwide, floras are becoming homogenized at global scales, but regional patterns vary. Here, we present the first assessment for the Malesian phytogeographical region in terms of the timing of introductions, direction, magnitude and drivers of floristic change due to alien plant naturalizations.LocationMalesian phytogeographic region, including Southeast Asia and the Pacific.TaxonTracheophyta (vascular plants).MethodsWe compiled data on first records of naturalized plants in Malesia to investigate temporal trends in the rate and origin of introductions. We then calculated β‐diversity (including turnover and nestedness) for the native, naturalized and Anthropocene (native + naturalized) floras for each pair of island groups (36 pairs), and a homogenization index for the native and Anthropocene floras, using presence/absence data for 31,580 plant species. Mantel tests were used to investigate the geographic, climatic and anthropogenic correlates of dissimilarity and homogenization.ResultsAround 75% of all naturalized species documented to date were already reported for the first time within Malesia prior to 1950. This has led to homogenization between the historic (native) and contemporary (Anthropocene) floras for all island group pairs. Turnover was the most important process for driving compositional dissimilarity between island groups in Malesia in the native and Anthropocene floras, but homogenization resulted from decreases in nestedness and turnover. Differences in average taxonomic homogenization for island groups were associated with differences in their level of anthropogenic modification.Main ConclusionsThis study improves current understanding of the direction and drivers of floristic homogenization in one of the world's most diverse tropical regions. Alien plant introductions carry a long historical legacy in Malesia, and naturalizations of these plants have led to overall taxonomic homogenization of the region's flora. Expected increases in the magnitude of human modification, without appropriate policy, will likely lead to further reductions in the floristic uniqueness of island groups.

Botanical memory: five centuries of floristic changes revealed by a Renaissance herbarium (Ulisse Aldrovandi, 1551-1586).

We analysed the spatially explicit floristic information available in the herbarium of Ulisse Aldrovandi (1551-1586) to track floristic changes in the surroundings of Bologna across five centuries. Aldrovandi's data were compared with the Flora della Provincia di Bologna by Girolamo Cocconi (1883) and the Floristic Database of Emilia-Romagna (1965-2021). We explored potential variations in native range and life forms composition, and habitat affinity of the species in the three floras, also contrasting between native and alien species. Native species, mainly in terms of variations of hydro-hygrophytes, chamaephytes and therophytes, provide clear signals of human disturbance and habitat loss. Signals of climate change are provided by the high-mountain species, that were comparably rare between Aldrovandi and current flora and more represented in Cocconi, probably reflecting the effect of the Little Ice Age. Our findings also indicate the increasing importance of alien species from the Renaissance onwards. In this perspective, Aldrovandi's herbarium preserves the memory of the first signs of a radical transformation of the European flora and habitats. Finally, the study warns about the risk of dismissing herbaria and herbarium specimens collection, which would cause irreparable lacunas in our botanical memory, hindering our ability to predict biodiversity trajectories.

Early-melting snowpatch plant communities are transitioning into novel states

Snowpatch plant community distribution and composition are strongly tied to the duration of long-lasting snow cover in alpine areas; they are vulnerable to global climatic changes that result in warmer temperatures and longer growing seasons. We used a revisitation study to quantify early-melting snowpatch floristic and functional diversity change in southern Australia, and document shrub size-class distributions over time to detect evidence for their encroachment into snowpatches, a key prediction with climatic change. Early-melting snowpatch vegetation has declined in areal extent, changed in species composition, and shrub and tussock grass cover has increased, but changes in functional trait diversity were less clear. Species gains, particularly by non-clonal species, accounted for most of the floristic change observed. Shrub recruitment was ongoing by most shrub species. Biotic differentiation is occurring; many early-melting snowpatches are transitioning to a novel state with changed composition and taller vegetation structure, but there is little evidence for species loss having occurred. Given enough time, however, the long-term loss of species is likely (i.e. biotic homogenisation) if taller shrubs outcompete short-statured snowpatch species. Our results provide evidence that this alpine ecosystem is forming a novel community with an uncertain future.

Phytosociology of the Herbaceous Flora of University of Ibadan Oil Palm Plantation, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Southwest, Nigeria

Plantation agriculture perturbs native flora of ecosystems. This impacts vegetation biodiversity, through species invasion and shift in weeds population dynamics. Oil palm plantations are common in tropical landscapes, and can cause long-term floristic changes. There is paucity of knowledge on inventory and potential impacts of the plantation on community structure of plants. This study investigated herbaceous flora diversity and phytosociology as indicators of  appropriateness of management strategy in the University of Ibadan oil palm plantation. The study site is located in a lowland rainforest at the Teaching and Research Farm, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria on 07°27`253`N latitude and longitude 03°53`427`E. A systematic sampling was employed to enumerate herbaceous flora of a hectare mega plot. The hectare was laid along 100 m transects at 10 m intervals, with 10 m separating each transect. Each transect was laid to cut across middle of 9 m x 9 m x 9 m plant spacing for oil palm. Data were collected on species composition, frequency and density for determination of relative importance value (RIV), species diversity, ordination and classification. The plantation consisted of 32 herbaceous  species in 15 plant families. Commelina erecta had the highest RIV (12.621) while Alchornea cordifolia had the least (RIV=0.288). Diversity indices indicated high species richness (Simpson Index = 0.909) among enumerated species and species co-dominance (D = 0.091) Ordination biplots indicated three distinct vegetation structures (Secondary, wetland, dryland/fallow). Classification model showed Commelina erecta had widest coverage of 92% in distribution at the site followed by Commelina benghalensis at 88%. The Oil palm plantation is heterogeneous in species composition, and was not detrimentally invaded. Weeding regimes and other agronomic practices in the plantation should be ecologically integrated to conserve its native vegetation.

A reserve is not always so good: change in landscape management after protection negatively affects the floristic diversity of an urban park

The aim of this study is to analyze the floristic changes occurred between 1991 and 2018 in the “Pineto Urban Regional Park” (Rome) as a result of a land-use change that in mid-90s led to the abandonment of traditional pasture practices and a shift to a more intense frequentation for recreational purposes. About 25 years after the change in management the area has a similar floristic richness, but it is characterized by a high turnover rate, a significant homogenization of the flora and a change in the community structure with a higher level of dominance. The removal of the pasture, which has favoured an increasing frequentation by people, seems to be the main driver of these changes. We suggest that a more active management, with the reintroduction of a sustainable grazing and a limitation of the fruition in marginal areas close to the urban matrix, could restore an higher diversity and reverse the homogenization processes detected in this study and at the same time ensure the citizen fruition.

Climate change impacts on Mediterranean vegetation are amplified at low altitudes

AbstractAimIn the face of ongoing climate warming, we wanted to quantify impacts on vegetation at one of the major climatic and biogeographical boundaries of Europe, the limit between the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian biogeographical regions. We analyse temperature and moisture requirements of plants along altitudinal gradients at regional scale in the period 1980–2020 and we explore if changes coincide with observed changes in the same regions in terms of measured climatic data.LocationSouthern France.Time period1980–2020.TaxaVascular plants.MethodsWe calculated shifts in plants’ temperature and moisture requirements for a large floristic database from south‐eastern France (SIMETHIS) during the period 1980–2020 along altitudinal gradients by using ecological indicator values (EIV). Additionally, we analysed standardized weather station data from the same area and period, to investigate whether floristic changes are synchronized with climate changes.ResultsVegetation data suggest a linear increase in temperature requirements of plant communities from 1980 to 2020 with a greater change at low altitudes. Upward shifts in temperature requirements coincided with observed climate change although warming did not show a general trend towards greater increases at low altitudes. Data on vegetation and climate suggest an upward shift of respectively 150 and 300 m for the boundary between Mediterranean and temperate belts. Moisture requirements of vegetation indicate an increase of the frequency of dry adapted species at low altitudes but an increase towards higher moisture requirements at high altitudes. Comparing vegetation responses with climate data suggests that responses are faster at low altitudes.Main conclusionsOur analyses show that strong general changes in vegetation are underway and highlight faster responses of vegetation to warming in low altitudes compared to high altitudes and demonstrate the need for reliable data on vegetation and climate changes, especially on water balance.

Magnitude and drivers of plant diversity loss differ between spatial scales in Scania, Sweden 1957–2021

AbstractQuestionsChanged land use, nitrogen deposition, climate change, and the spread of non‐native species have repeatedly been reported as the main drivers of recent floristic changes in northern Europe. However, the relevance of the geographical scale at which floristic changes are observed is less well understood and it has only rarely been possible to quantify biodiversity loss. Therefore, we assessed changes in species richness, species composition and mean ecological indicator values (EIVs) at three nested geographic scales during two different time periods, each ca 30 years, since the mid‐1900s.LocationTwo parishes in central Scania, southernmost Sweden.MethodsWe analyzed species presence/absence data from three inventories at ca 30‐year intervals over 1957–2021 and three geographic scales (157 m2, ca 7 km2 and ca 45 km2) to document temporal trends and differences between geographic scales in terms of species richness, species composition and mean EIVs.ResultsWe found shifts in species composition across all geographical scales. However, the magnitude of biodiversity loss and the main drivers of these changes were scale‐dependent. At the smallest spatial scale, we saw a dramatic loss of plant biodiversity with local species richness in 2021 being only 48% of that of 1960. In contrast, at the larger geographic scales no significant changes in species richness were observed because species losses were compensated for by gains of predominantly non‐native species, which made up at least 78% of the new species richness. At the smallest spatial scale, changed land use (ceased grazing/mowing and intensified forestry) appeared as the main driver, while an increasing proportion of non‐native species, as well as climatic changes and increasing nitrogen loads appeared relatively more important at larger geographic scales.ConclusionOur results highlight the precarious situation for biodiversity in the region and at the same time the fundamental importance of geographic scale in studies of biodiversity change. Both the magnitude and drivers of changes may differ depending on the geographic scale and must be considered also when previously published studies are interpreted.

An introduction to ice ages, climate dynamics and biotic events: the Late Pennsylvanian world

Abstract The Late Pennsylvanian was a time of ice ages and climate dynamics that drove biotic changes in the marine and non-marine realms. The apex of late Paleozoic glaciation in southern Gondwana was during the Late Pennsylvanian, rather than the early Permian as inferred from more equatorial Pangaea. Waxing and waning of ice sheets drove cyclothemic sedimentation in the Pangaean tropics, providing an astrochronology tuned to Earth-orbital cycles, tied to climatic changes, reflected in aeolian loess and palaeosol archives. Vegetation change across the Middle–Late Pennsylvanian boundary was not a ‘Carboniferous rainforest collapse’, but instead a complex and drawn out step-wise change from one kind of rainforest to another. Changes in marine invertebrate and terrestrial vertebrate animals occurred across the Middle–Late Pennsylvanian boundary, but these did not lead to substantive changes in the organization of those communities. The base of the Upper Pennsylvanian is the base of the Kasimovian Stage, and this boundary needs a GSSP to standardize and stabilize chronostratigraphic usage. To avoid further chronostratigraphic confusion, the Cantabrian Substage should be abandoned, and the traditional Westphalian–Stephanian boundary should be returned to and recognized as the time of major floristic change, the lycospore extinction event.

Pennsylvanian glacial cycles in western Gondwana: an overview

Abstract The Pennsylvanian on the western rim of Gondwana can be considered a time of significant contrasts in terms of environments, revealing a unique translatitudinal disposition of the South American continent, where glaciomarine deposits and peat-forming environments, situated further south, coexisted with marine carbonate platforms and aeolian dune fields, in terrains further north. This peculiar record creates an opportunity to better understand the teleconnections of glaciation and deglaciation during the Late Paleozoic Ice Age (LPIA) between mid and low latitude regions. In the last decade, radiometric dating together with marine microfossils (mostly conodonts) has enabled a better understanding of the timing and duration of deposition of different sedimentary environments found in the climate belts that originated from a global ice-house regime. These advances in the chronostratigraphical positioning of sedimentary deposits also allow a more precise correlation between them, making it possible to estimate cause–effect patterns arising from the growth and decay of glaciers in this portion of Gondwana. This contribution aims to present an overview of the main climatic–environmental events that took place during the Pennsylvanian and to associate them with the floristic changes that occurred in the emergent lands based on palaeobotanic and palynological information. The record from the west rim of Gondwana could be roughly divided into Early, Middle and Late Pennsylvanian, exactly as proposed in the geological time-scale.

Spontaneous Primary Succession and Vascular Plant Recovery in the Iberian Gypsum Quarries: Insights for Ecological Restoration in an EU Priority Habitat.

Gypsum covers a vast area of the Iberian Peninsula, making Spain a leader in its production. Gypsum is a fundamental raw material for modern societies. However, gypsum quarries have an obvious impact on the landscape and biodiversity. Gypsum outcrops host a high percentage of endemic plants and unique vegetation, considered a priority by the EU. Restoring gypsum areas after mining is a key strategy to prevent biodiversity loss. For the implementation of restoration approaches, understanding vegetation's successional processes can be of invaluable help. To fully document the spontaneous succession in gypsum quarries and to evaluate its interest for restoration, 10 permanent plots of 20 × 50 m were proposed, with nested subplots, in which vegetation change was recorded for 13 years in Almeria (Spain). Through Species-Area Relationships (SARs), these plots' floristic changes were monitored and compared to others in which an active restoration was carried out, as well as others with natural vegetation. Furthermore, the successional pattern found was compared to those recorded in 28 quarries distributed throughout the Spanish territory. The results show that an ecological pattern of spontaneous primary auto-succession is widely recurring in Iberian gypsum quarries, which is capable of regenerating the pre-existing natural vegetation.

Floristic Homogenization and Differentiation under Deer Grazing in a Subalpine Zone in Central Japan

Changes of vegetation due to deer grazing may result in floristic homogenization or differentiation. The relationships between the changes caused by grazing are still being debated. Vascular plants and grazing by Cervus nippon were recorded in 2010 and 2018 in Betula forests and tall grassland communities in a subalpine zone, central Japan. Species composition differed significantly between vegetation types in both censuses. The α-diversity had declined significantly in both vegetation types. Metrics related to species replacement made a greater contribution to β-diversity than those related to nestedness in both vegetation types. A decrease of β-diversity based on incidence data from 2010 to 2018 in the Betula forests indicated that floristic homogenization had occurred; an increase of β-diversity based on abundance data from 2010 to 2018 in the grasslands indicated that floristic differentiation had occurred. Changes of α-diversity in both vegetation types and of β-diversity in the grasslands were significantly correlated with grazing intensity. These results showed that deterministic processes, which originally differed between the Betula forests and grasslands, would be the dominant causes of floristic changes under deer-grazing pressure.

Kasimovian floristic change in tropical wetlands and the Middle–Late Pennsylvanian Boundary Event

Abstract A threshold-like vegetational change in tropical wetlands occurred in the early Kasimovian (the US Desmoinesian–Missourian boundary) – Event 3. Two earlier significant changes occurred, first in the mid-Moscovian (Atokan–Desmoinesian; ∼Bolsovian–Asturian) – Event 1, and the second in the late Moscovian (mid-Desmoinesian; mid-Asturian) – Event 2. These changes occurred during a time period of dynamic and complex physical change in Euramerican Pangaea driven by changes in polar ice volume and accompanying changes in sea level, atmospheric circulation, rainfall, and temperature. During the Event 3 change, hyperbolized as ‘the Carboniferous rainforest collapse’, lycopsid dominance of (mostly peat) swamps changed to marattialean tree-fern and medullosan pteridosperm dominance, and biodiversity decreased. Event 3 encompassed one glacial–interglacial cycle and included vegetational turnover in other wetland habitats. For several subsequent glacial–interglacial cycles peatland dominance varied, known from palynology, before stabilizing. These vegetational changes likely reflect climatic events driving unidirectional, non-reversible wetland vegetational changes, during cooler, wetter parts of glacial–interglacial cycles. Discussion is complicated by different placements of crucial stratigraphic boundaries, but under the same names, compromising both clear communication and understanding of the literature. Not the least is the floating base of the Cantabrian Substage, together with the position of the Westphalian–Stephanian Stage boundary.

Transformations of Vascular Flora of a Medieval Settlement Site: A Case Study of a Fortified Settlement in Giecz (Wielkopolska Region, Western Poland)

Exceptional components of the cultural landscape of Central Europe include archaeological sites, e.g., castle ruins, prehistoric or medieval fortified settlements, other settlements and burial mounds. The plants associated with them help us explain the processes of species persistence on habitat islands as well as the process of naturalization of crop species, which escape from fields or are abandoned. This study describes the flora of a medieval fortified settlement in Giecz (Wielkopolska region, western Poland), presents plant indicators of former settlements (relics of cultivation), species of high conservation value, and transformations of the vascular flora of this settlement over a few decades. Field research was conducted in 1993–1994, 1998–1999, and 2019. At the study site, 298 species of vascular plant species were recorded, and nearly 70% of them (201 species) have persisted there over the last 20 years. The flora includes seven relics of cultivation (Artemisia absinthium, Leonurus cardiaca, Lycium barbarum, Malva alcea, Pastinaca sativa, Saponaria officinalis, and Viola odorata), 5 species threatened with extinction in Poland and/or Wielkopolska, and 53 species of least concern (LC) according to the European red list. We have attempted to explain the floristic changes. The archaeological site in Giecz is of high conservation value, very distinct from the surrounding cultural landscape because of its specific flora, and composed of species from various habitats (e.g., dry grasslands, wooded patches, meadows, aquatic and ruderal habitats), including threatened, protected, and relic species.

Ancient woodland indicator species: can old herbarium specimens supplement recent records to inform ecological management?

Old herbarium specimens have become increasingly well-recognised as a rich source of ecological baseline data. For long-continuity plant communities, such as ancient woodland, these records may be particularly important for present day ecological management. To evaluate this potential, searches for pre-1950 Ancient Woodland Indicator (AWI) herbarium specimens collected in East Gloucestershire, UK, were conducted using digital open access sources and the physical Royal Agricultural University herbarium. In total 305 specimens were retrieved from twelve herbaria, with small regional collections being particularly important sources. The earliest specimen dated to 1834. There was a significant association between old specimen availability and year of collection, due to a peak in the late-1800s and early-1900s. Over half of the AWI species for the region were represented, although some taxonomic bias was evident. To determine if old AWI specimens contributed any new location records, 246 unique specimens with detailed georeferences were mapped and compared to the locations of 1950-1999 and 2000-2021 biological records. One third of the pre-1950 specimens had not been recorded in the same locality since collection of the old specimen, indicating either a gap in recent records or floristic change. However, length of time since specimen collection was not a predictor of a 1950-2000 or 2000-2021 record in the same locality. Overall, it is highly recommended that policy-makers, land managers, and field surveyors consult old AWI herbarium records for ancient woodland identification, management, and restoration.

Two Centuries of Change in the Native Flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

We examined changes in the native vascular flora of Franklin County, Massachusetts, a largely rural county with a long history of botanical investigation. The historical flora was documented using herbarium specimens and literature records, and the current flora was assessed in 10 years of field work starting in 2010. The county contains 26 towns, and apparent changes were based on town-level presence/absence. In total, 1205 species were recorded. Apparent losses from the historical flora totaled 5.6% of species, and apparent gains totaled 4.2%. Several families exhibited greater declines than the flora as a whole, including the Orchidaceae, Ophioglossaceae, Ranunculaceae, and Violaceae. Species dependent on fungi during at least part of their life cycle declined relative to other species, but were concentrated in a small group of families, including the Orchidaceae and Ophioglossaceae. Species with fleshy fruits increased relative to those with ant-dispersed seeds. Annuals increased relative to biennials and perennials, probably due to the increasing extent of ruderal habitats. Graminoids showed greater apparent increases than forbs, which may reflect undercollecting of the former taxa during the historical period. Species changes were related to habitat, with marked increases in plants of ruderal habitats, but other apparent changes may reflect sampling biases. Northern taxa appear to be declining relative to other species, particularly in towns at lower elevations. This study is one of several that have examined floristic changes in the northeastern United States and is part of a nascent literature suggesting that climate changes have altered the southern New England flora in the past century. Additional documentation of regional floras is needed to facilitate assessments of future floristic changes.

Floristic changes of vascular flora in the city of Rome through grid-cell census over 23 years

Floristic changes of vascular flora in the city of Rome through grid-cell census over 23 years