Physiognomic Types Research Articles

Identification of John and Matthew in Some Nubian Paintings of Twelve Apostles

This paper aims to show how, in certain Nubian paintings depicting apostolic colleges, the evangelists John and Matthew can be identified by the attributes they hold, namely books. Theoretically, a book is an attribute that can define many figures involved in writing or preaching, such as saints (especially bishops in Nubian paintings), apostles, evangelists and Christ. However, in these particular paintings I am describing, only two of the apostles are holding books and these are the evangelists John and Matthew. The other apostles hold rotuli, while Peter is singled out through the key. My argument is based not only on the attributes, but also on an analysis of other elements such as the position of the apostles in the whole college, their physiognomic types, and finally the surviving inscriptions. However, we should remember that not all Nubian paintings are preserved intact. In many cases, large fragments of figures, including their faces, are missing.Therefore, several elements must be taken into consideration during the interpretationof the content of the paintings. The research I have carried out can be helpful inidentifying the individual figures that make up the apostolic college. It also shows howNubian iconographers consciously used the language of symbols by differentiatingbetween the earthly and heavenly hierarchies.

A coupled cartographic approach between bioclimatology and vegetation formations of Mexico

Aims: The task of classifying and naming Mexican vegetation types has been undertaken by previous botanists, ecologists, and mapping agencies. However, discrepancies remain due to the lack of criteria and joint efforts from a geographical and botanical perspective. We aim to unravel the complex interactions between climate and vegetation in Mexico using climatic data and advanced mapping techniques, display in maps the transition from land cover to vegetation maps and couple geobotanical and bioclimatological approaches to provide a sound, unified system for identifying Mexican bioclimatic physiognomic patterns. Methods: Bioclimatic mapping was developed from the Digital Climatic Atlas of Mexico data source. In addition, land cover and vegetation data were obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico regrouped as described by the Standardized Hierarchical Vegetation Classification. These data were analysed via standard map crossing technics using geographic information systems. Results and conclusions: The results revealed five ombrotypes and five thermotypes, leading to the identification of 13 different bioclimatic classes, which, when combined with physiognomic types, led us to recognize 11 forests, 3 shrublands and 3 herbaceous formations (at a scale of 1:4,000,000). The core outcome is a detailed bioclimatic/physiognomic vegetation map including forests, shrublands and areas dominated by Herbaceous/Non-Vascular formations. The map highlights the critical importance of harmonising methodologies to ensure comprehensive and accurate insights into Mexico’s bioclimatic diversity. Taxonomic reference: Villaseñor et al. (2005). Syntaxonomic reference: Velázquez et al. (2021). Abbreviations: INEGI = Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía; SECLAVEMEX = Standardized Hierarchical Vegetation Classification; WBCS = Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System.

Cultural Encounter, Race, and a Humanist Ideology of Empire in the Art of Trecento Venice

Cultural Encounter, Race, and a Humanist Ideology of Empire in the Art of Trecento Venice

Forage Plants of Gaur (<i>Bos gaurus</i> H. Smith, 1827) in Tropical Forest of Southern India

Forage plant species of Gaur ( Bos gaurus ) were studied by direct observation using focal sampling (90 hours) about 30 hours of sampling in three major habitats (Tropical dry deciduous forest, Moist deciduous forest and Thorn forest) in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Southern India from Jan-2003 to Aug-2004, also studied by feeding trail plots (924 1m2 plots and 495 5m2 plots) sampled in all the habitats. Gaur was observed to forage on 155 species of plants belonging to 38 families under 23 orders. Among different plant, physiognomic types trees and shrubs constituted a greater proportion by orders Rosales and Malvales. Herbs constituted 32% of the overall plant selected and consisted of 49 species in 17 orders and dominated by Asterales. The plant families such as Poaceae, Fabaceae, Asteraceae and Malvaceae collectively formed the major food species. Among the different species 29 grass, 9 herb species, 9 shrubs and 11 tree species were having more than one preference value. Gaur prefers to forage on Cenchrus purpureus, Axonopus compressus, Sprobolus diander, Themeda triandra, Oplismenus undulatifolius among grasses and Asystasia chelonoides and Sida cordifolia among herbs. The forage plant species of gaur was compared and discussed with other habitats of gaur distributional range.

Shrub facilitation promotes advancing of the Fagus sylvatica treeline across the Apennines (Italy)

AbstractQuestionsElevational treelines are expected to shift upwards in response to warming climate. However, worldwide upward shifts of treelines are inconsistent because local scale factors can affect the response to temperature. In this study, we explore the hypothesis that in the Apennines, where the current altitudinal treeline position is largely depressed because of past human activity, shrubs act as nurse plants promoting the upward migration of Fagus sylvatica.LocationA 500–km‐long latitudinal gradient in the Apennines, Italy.MethodsWe selected, along this gradient, nine treeline sites with different elevations, rock substrates, and physiognomic types including Juniperus communis, Pinus mugo, Vaccinium myrtillus shrublands, and grasslands. Here, in 68 transects we collected and analysed spatially fine‐scale distribution data of F. sylvatica individuals in relation to both their age and their position, associated or not with shrubs.ResultsFagus sylvatica regeneration is rare in open secondary grasslands at 1,600–2,100 m a.s.l., highlighting a bottleneck in the regeneration phase of this species. On the contrary, we systematically observed a strong association between shrubs and F. sylvatica individuals. Compared with the adjacent grassland, F. sylvatica regeneration was 58.3 times higher under Pinus mugo, 131.5 timeshigher under Juniperus communis and 102.4 times higher under Vaccinium myrtillus. The age structure of F. sylvatica population indicates that, in the last 50 years, recruitment under shrubs is continuous, while in grassland it is episodic.ConclusionsAbove the current treeline of the Apennines, F. sylvatica individuals develop only in the presence of shrubs, which act as nurse species. Shrubs are a necessary condition for F. sylvatica re‐colonization of the high‐altitude open areas affected, in the last centuries, by intense human land use.

What is an alliance?

The alliance is the basic unit of the EuroVegChecklist, and it often serves as the lowest rank in broad-scale vegetation surveys. However, there is hardly any literature about the concept and definition of this syntaxonomic rank, leading to uncertainty in its application. Here, I explore the original association concept of Braun-Blanquet, which was based on absolute character species, and I show that this concept is more or less identical with the units that we now call alliances. By also incorporating the concept of central syntaxa, I propose the following definition: “An alliance is a moderately broad vegetation unit that either has one or several absolute character taxa or that can be interpreted as the central alliance of an order.” The one-to-one relationship between character taxa and vegetation units gives the latter a clear biogeographical and evolutionary meaning. Restrictions to the validity of character taxa – either to certain geographical areas or to physiognomic types – cause theoretical and practical problems and should be avoided. Possible exceptions are species with similar frequency in two formations or species introduced to other continents. Taxonomic reference: Euro+Med PlantBase (http://ww2.bgbm.org/EuroPlusMed/) [accessed 1 July 2020].

¿Qué es, si es que es algo, una raza humana?

No hay ningún concepto de raza que, al aplicarse al Homo sapiens, encuentre su extensión en un grupo de linajes evolutivamente diferenciables. Consecuentemente, desde un punto de vista filogenético, las razas humanas son una ficción. Sin embargo, las ‘razas humanas’ pueden llegar a funcionar como predicados con algún grado de relevancia epistémica. Esos ‘predicados raciales’ especificarían ciertos tipos fisonómicos, de extensión relativamente delimitable, y con algún contenido disposicional, que pueden ser significativos en distintos contextos de discusión. Muy particularmente, cuando se trata identificar a grupos, e individuos, que puedan encontrarse en condiciones de vulnerabilidad, o que puedan venir a ser beneficiarios de políticas de acción afirmativa.

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis Framework for Mapping Vegetation Physiognomic Types at Fine Scales in Neotropical Savannas

Regional maps of vegetation structure are necessary for delineating species habitats and for supporting conservation and ecological analyses. A systematic approach that can discriminate a wide range of meaningful and detailed vegetation classes is still lacking for neotropical savannas. Detailed vegetation mapping of savannas is challenged by seasonal vegetation dynamics and substantial heterogeneity in vegetation structure and composition, but fine spatial resolution imagery (<10 m) can improve map accuracy in these heterogeneous landscapes. Traditional pixel-based classification methods have proven problematic for fine spatial resolution data due to increased within-class spectral variability. Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) is a robust alternative method to overcome these issues. We developed a systematic GEOBIA framework accounting for both spectral and spatial features to map Cerrado structural types at 5-m resolution. This two-step framework begins with image segmentation and a Random Forest land cover classification based on spectral information, followed by spatial contextual and topological rules developed in a systematic manner in a GEOBIA knowledge-based approach. Spatial rules were defined a priori based on descriptions of environmental characteristics of 11 different physiognomic types and their relationships to edaphic conditions represented by stream networks (hydrography), topography, and substrate. The Random Forest land cover classification resulted in 10 land cover classes with 84.4% overall map accuracy and was able to map 7 of the 11 vegetation classes. The second step resulted in mapping 13 classes with 87.6% overall accuracy, of which all 11 vegetation classes were identified. Our results demonstrate that 5-m spatial resolution imagery is adequate for mapping land cover types of savanna structural elements. The GEOBIA framework, however, is essential for refining land cover categories to ecological classes (physiognomic types), leading to a higher number of vegetation classes while improving overall accuracy.

Estructura del bosque altoandino y páramo en el Macizo de Bijagual, Boyacá, Colombia

Abstract. Structure of the high Andean forest and paramo in the Bijagual Massif, Boyacá, Colombia. Introduction: Colombia has increased research due to the necessity of knowing the country´s biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as to establish priorities for their protection throughout the national territory. The knowledge of the Boyacá ecosystems and the high Andes are not an exception. Objective: this work provides information on diversity and structure of the Bijagual Massif, a high mountain area defined as a biological corridor, with paramo (2 900 - 3 460 masl) and high Andean forest (2 682 -3 268 masl) ecosystems. Methods: Sampling consisted of 27 random transects in the high Andean forest (100 x 2.5 m) and 13 in the paramo (10 x 5 m). We recorded abundance data, growth form, height, coverage, DAP and basal area. We calculated diversity analyses (H’, D and Jaccard), of vertical and horizontal structure. Results: Estimated species richness of 429 species in 86 families. Similarity does not exceed 46 % between sampling units, data that supports the heterogeneity of the Bijagual Massif. We recorded 10 777 individuals in the forest. The most abundant and richest growth forms were herbs (2 595/104) and trees (2 189/67), while lower in abundance and richness were vines (466/29). In the paramo 3 337 individuals, with a dominance of herbs (in frailejonal, shrubs and pajonal), rosettes (in frailejonal and pajonal) and shrubs. Species with ecological representativeness are: Clusia multiflora, C. elliptica, C. alata, Weinmannia rollottii, Brunellia comocladifolia and Viburnum triphyllum. Conclusion: These results confirm the uniqueness of these high mountain ecosystems and the need to maintain the heterogeneity before the occurence of soil transformation processes. The last, is supported by the high species turnover among sampling units, the dominance per physiognomic type, and the ecological significance of arboreal and shrub species in the forest and those that reoccur in the paramo. Here we define Bijagual, as a biological corridor with great biodiversity.

Sistemas agrícolas y silvopastoriles en el Chaco Semiárido. Impactos sobre la productividad primaria

Net primary production (NPP) is defined as the rate at which biomass accumulates per unit area and time and is considered an integrating variable of the ecosystem function. Deforestation and land use changes observed in the semi-arid Chaco region may affect total C gains and seasonality. Previous work in the region uses spectral vegetation indexes as a subrogate of the NPP. However, they arrive at contrary results and only concluded about to what happens with the aboveground production, without considering the changes that occur in the belowground production, which usually varies between physiognomic types of vegetation. Based on the model of radiation use efficiency, spectral information obtained from remote sensing and BNPP/NPP relationships of the bibliography, the goal of this work was to quantify the effect of the land use and cover change on the NPP and its seasonal variation. Specially, we evaluated the change on NPP in agricultural and silvopastoral systems with a variable woody component respect to the original forest. NPP and its seasonal variation of the main land uses of the semi-arid Chaco region. We observed that, in general, the land uses that showed higher aboveground productivity showed, at the same time, the lower levels of belowground productivity. The double wheat-maize crop presented the highest total NPP, significantly higher than that of the silvopastoral systems between 5 and 25% of tree cover, and to the wheat-soybean and soybean crops. However, their productivity did not vary significantly from that of the native forest, the tropical pastures and the maize. The results obtained not only provide substantial information to conclude quantitatively in terms of the magnitude of the change in units of dry matter, but also allow to establish a more appropriate order or ranking of land uses in terms of total productivity.https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.20.30.1.0.961

Genetic Structure and Connectivity of the Red Mangrove at Different Geographic Scales through a Complex Transverse Hydrological System from Freshwater to Marine Ecosystems

Mangrove forests are ecologically and economically valuable resources composed of trees morphologically and physiologically adapted to thrive across a range of habitats. Although, mangrove trees have high dispersion capacity, complexity of hydrological systems may lead to a fine-scale genetic structure (FSGS). The Transverse Coastal Corridor (TCC) is an interesting case of hydrological systems from fresh to marine waters where mangrove forests dominate. We evaluated genetic diversity and structure of Rhizophora mangle across a range of hydrological conditions within the TCC using inter-simple sequence repeat molecular markers. Sampling included four hydrological systems, two localities inside each system, and fringe and dwarf trees. Genetic differentiation was evaluated at local (<100 km) and fine (<10 km) scales through a set of analyses, and genetic diversity was evaluated at all scale levels and between fringe and dwarf physiognomic types. Rhizophora mangle exhibited a high genetic structure at both scales with high genetic diversity. The genetic structure observed among hydrological systems likely reflects the historical dispersion of mangroves, whereas the FSGS reflect contemporary processes such as seed dispersal restriction, habitat fragmentation, and local water flow regimes. A higher genetic diversity for dwarf than for fringe trees and differentiation between both physiognomic types at a fine-scale were observed and discussed.

Woody plant encroachment may decrease plant carbon storage in grasslands under future drier conditions

Abstract Aims Woody plants are widely distributed in various grassland types along the altitudinal/climatic gradients in Xinjiang, China. Considering previously reported change in carbon (C) storage following woody plant encroachment in grasslands and the mediating effect of climate on this change, we predicted that a positive effect of woody plants on plant C storage in semiarid grasslands may revert to a negative effect in arid grasslands. We first investigated the spatial variation of aboveground C (AGC) and belowground C (BGC) storage among grassland types and then tested our prediction. Methods We measured the living AGC storage, litter C (LC) and BGC storage of plants in two physiognomic types, wooded grasslands (aboveground biomass of woody plants at least 50%) and pure grasslands without woody plants in six grassland types representing a gradient form semiarid to arid conditions across Xinjiang. Important Findings Living AGC, LC, BGC and total plant C storage increased from desert to mountain meadows. These increases could also be explained by increasing mean annual precipitation (MAP) or decreasing mean annual temperature (MAT), suggesting that grassland types indeed represented an aridity gradient. Woody plants had an effect on the plant C storage both in size and in distribution relative to pure grasslands. The direction and strength of the effect of woody plants varied with grassland types due to the mediating effect of the climate, with wetter conditions promoting a positive effect of woody plants. Woody plants increased vegetation-level AGC through their high AGC relative to herbaceous plants. However, more negative effects of woody plants on herbaceous plants with increasing aridity led to a weaker increase in the living AGC in arid desert, steppe desert and desert steppe than in the less arid other grassland types. Under greater aridity (lower MAP and higher MAT), woody plants allocated less biomass to roots and had lower BGC and had a more negative impact on herbaceous plant production, thereby reducing vegetation-level BGC in the desert, steppe desert and desert steppe. In sum, this resulted in a negative effect of woody plants on total plant C storage in the most arid grasslands in Xinjiang. As a consequence, we predict that woody plant encroachment may decrease rather than increase C storage in grasslands under future drier conditions.

Gestione forestale e prevenzione del dissesto idrogeologico in territori ad elevata vulnerabilità in Campania

This paper focuses on the compatibility between forest management and soil conservation with reference to chesnut (Castanea sativa Mill.), holm oak (Quercus ilex L.) and especially Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus L.) mixed hop Hornbeam (Ostrya carpinifolia Scop.) coppices stands, located on slopes of Campania and characterized by intensely pedogenised pyroclastic coverage, but unstable when facing intense rainy events. Based on the Corine Land Cover system (2012), we divided the areas into the three physiognomic types; thus, the proportion of surfaces falling under the pyroclastic coverage, which are the more instable, were obtained by overlapping the land systems and soil map produced by the Campania region (2014). For each type of coppice, we examined all the different structural conditions (traditional coppices, coppices past traditional rotation age and coppice in conversion to high forest) and underlined the most important critical issues due to clearcutting, We summarized the different types of silvicultural interventions to improve the forest management sustainability, especially in those areas which are vulnerable to hydrogeological instability. We also stressed that forest planning is the essential tool for sustainable management of coppices, together with the catchment area and the fire-fighting planning.

Alpine Vegetation on the Paekdu-San (Changbaishan) Summit of the North-east China

We aim to provide a syntaxonomical scheme for the alpine tundra vegetation of volcano Mount Paekdu (Changbaishan) bordering China and North Korea. From the field investigations in 1991, 2004, and 2009 a total of 89 phytosociological releves were sampled by the Braun-Blanquet method. Obtained data sets were analyzed by tabular hand-sorting technique. Syntaxonomic position and nomenclature of units were determined by comparison with mainly Japanese relevant communities. Ten rankless units in four physiognomic vegetation types were classified: alpine desert vegetation (Papaver radicatum var. pseudoradicatum community, Minuartia arctica community, Polytrichastrum alpinum-Minuartia macrocarpa var. koreana community), alpine windswept dwarf vegetation (Chrysanthemum zawadskii var. alpinum-Festuca ovina var. koreano-alpina community, Scirpus maximowiczii community, Oxytropis anertii-Salix rotundifolia community, Carex longirostrata-Dryas octopetala var. asiatica community), snow-bed vegetation (Phyllodoce caerulea-Tofieldia coccinea community, Viola biflora-Calamagrostis langsdorfii community), and colluvial drainage channel vegetation (Carex atrata-Sanguisorba stipulata var. riishiriensis community). The variation of the vegetation resulted from primarily the rock and soil particle size and soil mobility, and slope inclination. Some of the plant communities were regarded as local and endemic types. Yet we firmly believe that further researches are requested by much richer materials and syntaxonomical comprehensive evaluation in between elsewhere in the Pan-East Sea (Sea of Japan).

Species composition and frequency of habitat use by medium and large-sized mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado Biome, State of Tocantins

The Cerrado biome is the second largest natural vegetation type existing in Brazil after the Amazon, covering 91% of the State of Tocantins, with 30% of the territory changed as a result of the expansion of economic development areas. The substitution of natural vegetation means habitat loss on species, and may put the survival of medium and large-sized mammal species under extinction risk. These species represent significant energy demands and high requirements of area within the habitat. This study aims to assess the species composition and the frequency of use of physiognomic types of vegetation by medium and large-sized mammals. The study was conducted from 2001 to 2011 using a set of complementary and alternative techniques in fragments of seven different physiognomic types of vegetation. Fourth-seven medium and large-sized mammals were registered. This record corresponds to 92% of species already described within the biome, and five additional species to those registered in the data base of the State of Tocantins. Fourteen of these species are at certain degree of threat of extinction. The most used physiognomic types of vegetation in terms of canopy cover were Cerradao, Typical Cerrado, Riparian Forest and Dense Cerrado, and the less used were Gallery Forest, Campo Sujo and Vereda.

Особливості екологічної ніші молюска Monacha (Monacha) cartusiana (O. F. Muller, 1774) у техноземі на сіро-зеленій глині (Нікопольський марганцеворудний басейн)

У роботі встановлено особливосто екологічної ніші молюска Monacha (Monacha) cartusiana (O. F. Muller, 1774) у техноземі на сіро-зеленій глині (Нікопольський марганцеворудний басейн) та показано стаціонарність у часі одержаного результату. Дослідження проводили протягом 2012–2014 рр. на ділянці рекультивації Нікопольського марганцеворудного басейну в м. Покров. Як екогеографічні предиктори екологічної ніші молюсків виміряно такі показники, як електропровідність ґрунту, агрегатний склад, твердість ґрунту на глибині до 0,5 м, проективне покриття фізіономічних типів рослинності та фітоіндикаційні оцінки екологічних режимів. Для кількісної характеристики екологічної ніші застосовано ENFA-аналіз. У результаті дослідження встановлено, що маргінальність екологічної ніші M. cartusiana визначають такі екогеографічні предиктори, як уміст агрегатів розміром 1–2 та 2–3 мм (позитивна маргінальність) і > 10 мм (негативна маргінальність), твердість ґрунту на глибинні 0–5, 20–25 та 35–40 см і фізіономічний вигляд рослинного покриву. Цей вид надає перевагу ділянкам із більшим проективним покриттям фізіономічного типу ІІІ та уникає ділянок із переважанням фізіономічного типу V і VI. Надають перевагу ділянкам із підвищеною аерацією ґрунту. Спеціалізацію екологічної ніші M. cartusiana визначають такі екогеографічні предиктори, як уміст агрегатів розміром 0,5–1,0 та > 10 мм, твердість на різних глибинах, електрична провідність ґрунту, кріоклімат і континентальність, проективне покриття фізіономічних типів ІІІ та VI. Установлені особливості екологічної ніші є стаціонарними за період досліджень.

Mapping Physiognomic Types of Indigenous Forest using Space-Borne SAR, Optical Imagery and Air-borne LiDAR

Indigenous forests cover 24% of New Zealand and provide valuable ecosystem services. However, a national map of forest types, that is, physiognomic types, which would benefit conservation management, does not currently exist at an appropriate level of detail. While traditional forest classification approaches from remote sensing data are based on spectral information alone, the joint use of space-based optical imagery and structural information from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and canopy metrics from air-borne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) facilitates more detailed and accurate classifications of forest structure. We present a support vector machine (SVM) classification using data from the European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-1 and 2 missions, Advanced Land Orbiting Satellite (ALOS) PALSAR, and airborne LiDAR to produce a regional map of physiognomic types of indigenous forest. A five-fold cross-validation (repeated 100 times) of ground data showed that the highest classification accuracy of 80.5% is achieved for bands 2, 3, 4, 8, 11, and 12 from Sentinel-2, the ratio of bands VH (vertical transmit and horizontal receive) and VV (vertical transmit and vertical receive) from Sentinel-1, and mean canopy height and 97th percentile canopy height from LiDAR. The classification based on optical bands alone was 72.7% accurate and the addition of structural metrics from SAR and LiDAR increased accuracy by 7.4%. The classification accuracy is sufficient for many management applications for indigenous forest, including biodiversity management, carbon inventory, pest control, ungulate management, and disease management.

Фізіономічні типи рослинності та їх ідентифікація за допомогою дешифрування цифрових знімків

Фізіономічні типи рослинності та їх ідентифікація за допомогою дешифрування цифрових знімків

Analysis of the spatial distribution of the ecological niche of the land snail Brephulopsis cylindrica (Stylommatophora, Enidae) in technosols

The aim of our work is to describe the ecological niche of the land snail Brephulopsis cylindrica (Menke, 1828) in terms of the edaphic properties and properties of the vegetation cover and to show the spatial features of the variation of the habitat preference index within the artificial soil body – technosols (soddy-lithogenic soils on loess-like clays) using the ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA). The research was carried out at the Research Centre of the Dnipro Agrarian and Economic University in Pokrov. Sampling was carried out on a variant of artificial soil (technozems) formed on loess-like clays. The test site where the sampling was conducted consists of 7 transects of 15 samples each. Test points form a regular grid with a mesh size of 3 m. Soil mechanical impedance, aggregate-size distribution, soil electrical conductivity, vegetation physiognomic characteristics, and Didukh phytoindication scales were used as ecogeographic predictors of the mollusc’s ecological niche properties. Phytoindication assessment indicates that the technosol ecological regimes are favourable for sub-mesophytes, hemi-hydrocontrastophiles, neutrophiles, semi-eutrophs. The test for statistical significance showed that an axis of marginality of the ecological niche of B. cylindrica and axes of specialization are significantly different from the random distribution. We found that the ecological niche of the mollusc is determined by both edaphic factors and ecological features of vegetation. The marginality of B. cylindrica ecological niche over the entire period of study is determined mainly by preferences for physiognomic vegetation types, higher values of the continentality and thermality regimes. Often greater content in the soil of aggregates 1–3 mm in size coincides with greater numbers of B. cylindrica individuals. Individuals of this species avoid physiognomic type III and areas with higher soil alkalinity and mineralization detected both by means of the phytoindication approach and soil electrical conductivity data. Ecological niche optima may be presented by integral variables such as marginality and specialization axes and plotted in geographic space. The spatial distribution of the B. cylindrica habitat suitability index (HSI) within the technosols is shown, which makes it possible to predict the optimal conditions for the existence of the species.

An introduction to the classification of the physiognomic landscape types: methodology and results of testing in the area of Kazimierz Landscape Park (Poland)

ABSTRACTThe publication of the European Landscape Convention (2000) had a stimulating effect on the development of both new systems of landscape classification and new methods of their evaluation and mapping. As an example, a new classification of physiognomic landscape types was developed in Poland in 2014. The objectives of the paper are to (1) popularize, on the international scale, the classification of physiognomic landscape types in a new, improved version, (2) present the original method of physiognomic landscape types mapping with the use of the system of basic landscape units, and (3) present the results of testing of the method in the area of the Kazimierz Landscape Park, Poland. In the area of the Kazimierz Landscape Park, 491 basic landscape units were delimited, within which, on the basis of the leading traits of land relief and cover forms, the physiognomic landscape types were identified. Maps of this type can be important tools in implementing the recommendations of the European Landscape Convention. The total number of physiognomic landscape types identified within a specific area can be one of the key indicators of landscape diversity.