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Commensal relationships between wild plants and their dispersers play a key ecological and evolutionary role in community structure and function. While non-human dispersers are often considered critical to plant recruitment, human dispersers have received much less attention, especially when it comes to non-domesticated plants. Australia, as a continent historically characterized by economies reliant on non-domesticated plants, is thus a key system for exploring the ecological role of people as seed dispersers in the absence of agriculture. Here, we utilize a controlled observation research design, employing ecological surveys and ethnographic observations to examine how seed dispersal and landscape burning by Martu Aboriginal people affects the distribution of three preferred plants and one (edible, but non-preferred) control species. Using an information theoretic approach, we find that the three preferred plants show evidence of human dispersal, with the strongest evidence supporting anthropogenic dispersal for the wild bush tomato, Solanum diversiflorum. Human dispersal of wild plants has received limited attention. Here, the authors combine ecological surveys and ethnographic observations to examine how Martu Aboriginal people's seed dispersal and landscape burning impact plant distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the age of big data, scientific progress is fundamentally limited by our capacity to extract critical information. Here, we map fine-grained spatiotemporal distributions for thousands of species, using deep neural networks (DNNs) and ubiquitous citizen science data. Based on 6.7 M observations, we jointly model the distributions of 2477 plant species and species aggregates across Switzerland with an ensemble of DNNs built with different cost functions. We find that, compared to commonly-used approaches, multispecies DNNs predict species distributions and especially community composition more accurately. Moreover, their design allows investigation of understudied aspects of ecology. Including seasonal variations of observation probability explicitly allows approximating flowering phenology; reweighting predictions to mirror cover-abundance allows mapping potentially canopy-dominant tree species nationwide; and projecting DNNs into the future allows assessing how distributions, phenology, and dominance may change. Given their skill and their versatility, multispecies DNNs can refine our understanding of the distribution of plants and well-sampled taxa in general. By modelling the distribution of the entire Swiss flora using deep learning and citizen science data, this study demonstrates a method that predicts flowering phenology and potentially dominant tree species more accurately than commonly used approaches. This approach could enable investigation of understudied aspects of ecology and refine our understanding of plant distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis can facilitate surveillance of invasive aquatic plant's distribution. However, it is still questionable how accurately eDNA concentration reflects and predicts aquatic plant abundance. Although previous studies investigated relationships between aquatic plant eDNA concentration and their abundance in freshwater environments, the conclusions were not consistent between the studies. Here, a systematic literature search was conducted to summarize previous findings and meta-analyze the relationships between eDNA concentration and aquatic plant abundance. Hierarchical random-effect meta-analyses showed significant positive, but weak, relationships between them (r = 0.45 in average), meaning that eDNA concentration accounted for approximately 20% of the observed variation in plant abundance. Additionally, the relationships tended to be rather stronger in the field than in the laboratory environments, which may be attributed to limited quantifiability and species specificity of plant coverage as abundance metrics, heterogeneous dispersion of plant eDNA particles, and phenology-dependent eDNA production from plant bodies. The finding indicates that aquatic plant eDNA particles could reflect more regional (but not local) abundance, and thus, eDNA-based abundance estimation might be more appropriate at a broader scale (i.e., lower spatial resolution). Further studies focusing on various environmental parameters and plant ecotypes are needed to clarify the relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Himalaya and Hengduan Mountains (HDM) are recognized as two global biodiversity hotspots, harboring the world's richest alpine flora. However, to what extent the distribution of alpine plants here is affected by climate change remains largely unknown. Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) are perennial medicinal herbs mainly distributed in the Himalaya-HDM region. In this study, we used bioclimatic data for current and future climate scenarios to assess the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of three Bergenia (Saxifragaceae) species. Our results revealed that the geographical distribution of the studied Bergenia species is primarily influenced by precipitation and elevation. By 2090, the three Bergenia species are expected to show contrasting range changes. The western Himalayan alpine species Bergenia stracheyi is expected to expand its range with 21.93 and 17.36% under the optimistic (SSP1-2.6) and moderate (SSP2-4.5) climate change scenario, respectively, while its distribution will shrink by 5.26% under the pessimistic scenario (SSP5-8.5). The Himalayan mid-elevation species B. ciliata is expected to expand its range from 142.42 to 157.14%. In contrast, the distribution range of the east Himalaya-HDM alpine species B. purpurascens is expected to shrink with 34.88 to 47.24%, with most of the habitats in the southeast chains of the HDM at lower elevation summits being lost. In addition, all three Bergenia species are projected to shift their ranges to higher elevations in response to temperature increases. Overall, we conclude that alpine plants may be more vulnerable to climate change than their congeners at lower elevations, supporting the "nowhere to go" hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of Andean plant genera in moist forests of the Brazilian Atlantic Coast has been historically hypothesized as the result of cross-continental migrations starting at the eastern Andean flanks. Here we test hypotheses of former connections between the Atlantic and Andean forests by examining distribution patterns of selected cool and moist-adapted plant arboreal taxa present in 54 South American pollen records of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), ca. 19–23 cal ka, known to occur in both plant domains. Pollen taxa studied include Araucaria, Drimys, Hedyosmum, Ilex, Myrsine, Podocarpus, Symplocos, Weinmannia, Myrtaceae, Ericaceae and Arecaceae. Past connectivity patterns between these two neotropical regions as well as individual ecological niches during the LGM were explored by cluster analysis of fossil assemblages and modern plant distributions. Additionally, we examined the ecological niche of 137 plant species with shared distributions between the Andes and coastal Brazil. Our results revealed five complex connectivity patterns for South American vegetation linking Andean, Amazonian and Atlantic Forests and one disjunction distribution in southern Chile. This study also provides a better understanding of vegetation cover on the large and shallow South American continental shelf that was exposed due to a global sea level drop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Allium macrostemon Bunge, commonly referred to as "no-biru" in Japan, is a widespread wild onion species found across the country. Despite being deeply entwined in ancient Japanese culture, it remains an underutilized crop in Japan. Determining the origins of its domestic populations and understanding their genetic composition is crucial to highlighting the plant's historical significance in Japan. This study aims to bridge this knowledge gap by examining the genetic diversity of 47 A. macrostemon samples from various regions in Japan using RAD-Seq. Our analyses distinguished unique population structures, dividing the samples into three distinct groups: A, B, and C. Notably, groups A and B showed clear evidence of bulb propagation, while group C did not. Group C formed four subgroups: C1, C2, C3, and C4. Hybridization between subgroup C1 and either group A, B, or both, resulted in the emergence of subgroups C2, C3, and C4. Thus, groups A, B, and C1 are posited as the ancestral populations. Additionally, our morphological observations indicated distinct differences among these three groups. Our findings also suggest that human migration may have influenced the plant's distribution, hinting at active usage in the past that later waned, causing its current underutilized status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the northern forelands of the Alps, farmers report an increase of Jacobaea aquatica in production grasslands. Due to its toxicity, the species affects grassland productivity and calls for costly control measures. We are investigating the extent to which management practices or climatic factors are responsible for the increase of the species and how the situation will change due to climate change. We tested for effects of management intensity, fertilization, agri-environmental measures, and soil disturbance, and modeled the occurrence of the species under rcp4.5 and rcp8.5 scenarios. The main determinants of the occurrence of the species are soil type and summer rainfall. A high risk is associated with wet soils and > 400 mm of rain between June and August; an influence of the management-related factors could not be detected. Under the climate-change scenarios, the overall distribution decreases and shifts to the wetter alpine regions. Thus, the current increase is rather a shift in the occurrence of the species due to the altered precipitation situation. Under future climatic conditions, the species will decline and retreat to higher regions in the Alps. This will decrease the risk of forage contamination for production grassland in the lowlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recognition of species richness spatial patterns is important for nature conservation and theoretical studies. Inventorying species richness, especially at a larger spatial extent is challenging, thus different data sources are joined and harmonized to obtain a comprehensive data set. Here we present a new data set showing vascular plant species richness in Poland based on a grid of 10 × 10 km squares. The data set was created using data from two sources: the Atlas of Distribution of Vascular Plants in Poland and the Polish Vegetation Database. Using this data set, we analysed 2,160 species with taxonomical nomenclature according to the Euro + Med PlantBase checklist in 3,283 squares covering the entire territory of Poland (ca. 312,000 km2). The species were divided into groups according to their status and frequency of distribution, and the statistics for each square were obtained. For purposes of analysis, sampling bias was assessed. The data set promotes theoretical analysis on species richness and reinforces the planning of nature conservations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquatic plants are crucial for aquatic ecosystems and their species and distribution reflect aquatic ecosystem health. Remote sensing technology has been used to monitor plant distributions over large scales. However, the fine identification of the species of aquatic higher plants is challenging due to large temporal-spatial changes in optical water body properties and small spectral differences among plant species. Here, an aquatic plant identification method was developed by constructing a decision tree file in the C4.5 algorithm based on the canopy spectra of eight plants in the Changguangxi Wetland water area from hyperspectral remote sensing technology. The method was used to monitor the distribution of different plants in the Changguangxi Wetland area and two other water areas. The results showed that the spectral characteristics of plants were enhanced by calculating their spectral index, thereby improving the comparability among different species. The total recognition accuracy of the constructed decision tree file for eight types of plants was 85.02%. Nymphaea tetragona, Pontederia cordata, and Nymphoides peltatum had the highest recognition accuracy and Eichhornia crassipes was the lowest. The specific species and distributions of aquatic plants were consistent with the water quality in the area. The results can provide a reference for the accurate identification of aquatic plants in the same type of water area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drinking water (DW) quality can change during distribution, leading to taste and odor events and microbial regrowth. Pilot plants mimicking distribution networks are crucial for understanding these changes. We present a new pilot plant design, including piping material, sensors, and instrumentation. The three independent loops (100 m each) of the pilot exhibit identical behavior, allowing simultaneous testing of three conditions. Monitoring includes taste and odor compound formation, microorganism regrowth, and dissolved organic carbon changes. Real-time measurements enable continuous monitoring, and inner pipe biofilm sampling is feasible. The pilot's modularity facilitates studying climate change effects, different piping materials, and source waters on DW quality in the distribution network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phelypaea tournefortii (Orobanchaceae) primarily occurs in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and N Iran) and Turkey. This perennial, holoparasitic herb is achlorophyllous and possesses one of the most intense red flowers among all plants worldwide. It occurs as a parasite on the roots of several Tanacetum (Asteraceae) species and prefers steppe and semi-arid habitats. Climate change may affect holoparasites both directly through effects on their physiology and indirectly as a consequence of its effects on their host plants and habitats. In this study, we used the ecological niche modeling approach to estimate the possible effects of climate change on P. tournefortii and to evaluate the effect of its parasitic relationships with two preferred host species on the chances of survival of this species under global warming. We used four climate change scenarios (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP5-8.5) and three different simulations (CNRM, GISS-E2, INM). We modeled the species' current and future distribution using the maximum entropy method implemented in MaxEnt using seven bioclimatic variables and species occurrence records (Phelypaea tournefortii – 63 records, Tanacetum argyrophyllum – 40, Tanacetum chiliophyllum – 21). According to our analyses, P. tournefortii will likely contract its geographical range remarkably. In response to global warming, the coverage of the species' suitable niches will decrease by at least 34%, especially in central and southern Armenia, Nakhchivan in Azerbaijan, northern Iran, and NE Turkey. In the worst-case scenario, the species will go completely extinct. Additionally, the studied plant's hosts will lose at least 36% of currently suitable niches boosting the range contraction of P. tournefortii. The GISS-E2 scenario will be least damaging, while the CNRM will be most damaging to climate change for studied species. Our study shows the importance of including ecological data in niche models to obtain more reliable predictions of the future distribution of parasitic plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important food crop in China, changes in suitable areas for rice planting are critical to agricultural production. In this study, the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) was utilized to pick the main climatic factors affecting single-season rice planting distribution and project the potential changes under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios. It was clear that rice planting distribution was significantly affected by annual total precipitation, the accumulated temperature during a period in which daily temperature was ≥ 10 °C, the moisture index, total precipitation during April–September, and continuous days during the period of daily temperature ≥ 18 °C, with their contribution being 97.6%. There was a continuous decrease in the area of good and high suitability for rice planting projected from 2021–2040 to 2061–2080, with a respective value ranging from 1.49 × 106 km2 to 0.93 × 106 km2 under the RCP4.5 scenario and from 1.42 × 106 km2 to 0.66 × 106 km2 under RCP8.5 scenarios. In 2081–2100, there was a bit increase in the area of good and high suitability under the RCP4.5 scenario. The most significant increases in good and high suitability were detected in Northeast China, while obvious decreases were demonstrated in the Yangtze River Basin which might be exposed to extreme temperature threat. The spatial potential planting center was characterized by the largest planting area in 25°N–37°N and 98°E–134°E. The north boundary and center of rice cultivation arose to 53.5°N and 37.52°N, respectively. These potential distributions for single-season rice under future climate change can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing rice planting layout, improving cultivation, and adjusting variety and management systems in response to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northern Viet Nam displays a remarkable diversity of wild bananas (Musa L.), including the species from which the majority of cultivated bananas derive. The taxonomy and exact distribution of these wild bananas are however not well known, limiting their conservation and use. In the present study, we describe the morphology, ecology, and phytogeography of the 6 Musa species that were collected between 2016 and 2019 in northern Viet Nam: Musa acuminata Colla, M. balbisiana Colla, M. itinerans Cheesman, M. haekkinenii N.S.Ly & Haev, M. lutea R.V.Valmayor, L.D.Danh and Hakkinen and M. paracoccinea A.Z.Liu and D.Z.Li:. Of these, M. itinerans was the species with the most widespread distribution range, occurring as large mats in various habitats between 136 and 1331 m, whereas M. acuminata was found between 136 and 989 m and M. balbisiana was between 108 and 981 m. Furthermore, M. lutea, M. paracoccinea and M. haekkinenii were distributed in open areas with low competition for light, between 80 and 800 m. These latter three species have the potential to become ornamental plants, being characterized by bright and colourful upright inflorescences. The data presented here will help in providing a valuable contribution to the conservation and use of the wild bananas in northern Viet Nam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serious concerns exist about potentially reinforcing negative effects of climate change and land conversion on biodiversity. Here, we investigate the tandem and interacting roles of climate warming and land-use change as predictors of shifts in the regional distributions of 1701 plant species in Sweden over 60 years. We show that species associated with warmer climates have increased, while grassland specialists have declined. Our results also support the hypothesis that climate warming and vegetation densification through grazing abandonment have synergistic effects on species distribution change. Local extinctions were related to high levels of warming but were reduced by grassland retention. In contrast, colonisations occurred more often in areas experiencing high levels of both climate and land-use change. Strong temperature increases were experienced by species across their ranges, indicating time lags in expected warming-related local extinctions. Our results highlight that the conservation of threatened species relies on both reduced greenhouse gas emissions and the retention and restoration of valuable habitat. Land use change has been the dominant anthropogenic driver of plant distribution change, but climate change has also become a major factor. This analysis of long-term data shows that warming likely reinforced the impact of grassland abandonment on plant species distribution change in Sweden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clouds play an important role in maintaining the balance in the environment. Cloudiness can influence numerous important ecological drivers, including growth, survival and distribution of plants. The cloud cover dynamics and distribution may provide key information for delineating various types of plant and species distribution. During a year, different types of clouds on a territory can influence the distribution of plants and potential of cloud seeding. New properties of cloudiness may be important for new ecological patterns and new adapted values of ecological drivers. In the territory of the Republic of Moldova, 30 years of cloudiness were taken to show new distribution of clouds properties and their influence on sunflower (Helianthus annus L.) and grapes (Vitis vinifera). The main result of this research is the first established map with the location of water derived from cloud seeding. In the last decade (2010–2020), the cloudiness increased by more than 15%. Another important focus of this research is the possibility of cloud seeding in line with recent deficit of precipitation, especially in dry areas. The territory of Moldova has 37% of semiarid and 6% of arid zones. The distribution and the potential of cloud seeding has been analyzed by means of Remote Sensing and GIS techniques and methodology, along with the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Satellite data in the resolution of 1 km2 were downloaded for the period between 1990 and 2020. The exact distribution of clouds helped to determine the belts for the potential irrigation of crops. Extremely low cloudiness and a long period of drought may jeopardize the agricultural sector in the Republic of Moldova, and therefore, the irrigation from alternative water sources is of utmost importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) in the emerging South Atlantic region during the late Aptian (Early Cretaceous) is reflected in the spatio-temporal distribution of plant communities recorded in eight Brazilian sedimentary basins. The distribution of the bioclimatic groups of hygrophytes, hydrophytes, tropical lowland flora, upland flora, and xerophytes was quantified using pollen and spores. A predominance of xerophytes from the tropical xerophytic shrubland biome characterized the pre-evaporitic, evaporitic, and post-evaporitic paleoclimatic phases, in particular the evaporitic phase. The region experienced humidity events in the pre-evaporitic and post- evaporitic phases, especially near the paleoequator, where the tropical rainforest biome with two phytophysiognomies (lowland and montane rainforests) prevailed. Increasing humidity had a positive effect on plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of anthropocene, global warming tends to alter the distribution range of the plant species. Highly fragile to such changes are the species that are endemic, inhabit higher elevations and show narrow distribution ranges. Predicting and plotting the appropriate suitable habitats and keeping knowledge of how climate change will affect future distribution become imperative for designing effective conservation strategies. In the current study we have used BIOMOD ensemble forecasting to study the current and predict the future potential distribution of Dactylorhiza hatagirea and Rheum webbianum and describe their niche dynamics in Himalayan biodiversity hotspots under climate change scenarios using ecospat R package. Results reveal sufficient internal evaluation metrics with area under curve (AUC) and true skill statistic (TSS) values greater than 0.8 i.e. 0.93 and 0.98 and 0.82 and 0.90 for D. hatageria and R. webbianum respectively, which signifies robustness of the model. Among different bioclimatic variables, bio_1, bio_3, bio_8, bio_14 and bio_15 were the most influential, showing greater impact on the potential distribution of these plant species. Range change analysis showed that both the studied species will show significant contraction of their suitable habitats under future climatic scenarios. Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5 for the year 2070, indicate that the suitable habitats could be reduced by about 51.41% and 70.57% for D. hatagirea and R. webbianum respectively. The results of the niche comparisons between the current and future climatic scenarios showed moderate level of niche overlap for all the pairs with D. hatageria showing 61% overlap for current vs. RCP4.5 2050 and R. webbianum reflects 68% overlap for current vs. RCP4.5 2050. Furthermore, the PCA analysis revealed that climatic conditions for both the species vary significantly between current and future scenarios. The similarity and equivalence test showed that the niche between present and future climate change scenarios is comparable but not identical. From the current study we concluded that the influence of climate change on the habitat distribution of these plant species in the Himalayan biodiversity hotspots can be considered very severe. Drastic reduction in overall habitat suitability poses a high risk of species extinction and thereby threatens to alter the functions and services of these fragile ecosystems. Present results can be used by conservationists for mitigating the biodiversity decline and exploring undocumented populations on one hand and by policymakers in implementing the policy of conservation of species by launching species recovery programmes in future on the other. The outcomes of this study can contribute substantially to understand the consequences of climate change in the Himalayan biodiversity hotspots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a novel solar energy need index was proposed for the proper distribution of solar power plants. Important parameters such as land use costs, regional consumption, installed solar power plants, and solar energy potential were used for this index. This index was applied to the existing solar power plants in Turkey. In addition, detailed information about the development, strategies, potential, and the regional distribution of solar energy applications in Turkey was given. Also, an energy consumption map and a solar power plant distribution map were created. According to different parameters, an important map named "Regional need map of solar power plants" of the country was created. This preliminary study was carried out to bring a new index value to literature for the balanced distribution of solar power plants and to conduct a regional need analysis for the country's future solar power plants. The indexes and maps unearthed in this study will lead researchers from other countries to carry out further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clustering methods based on environmental variables are useful in the planning of conservation strategies for species and ecosystems. However, there is a lack of work on the regionalization of the vast space of North Africa and the distribution of plant species. The current lists of endemic plants are focused mostly on an occurrence at the country level and not on regions with different conditions. The aim of this work was to lay out an environmental scheme for northwest Africa and to collect data about the occurrence of endemic plants in this area. Clustering with 12 of 33 tested environmental rasters was performed to divide the Maghreb into environmental clusters. Then, a list of 1618 endemic plant taxa (1243 species and 375 subspecies) was prepared and their distribution in estimated environmental clusters was examined. Eleven clusters with different conditions were estimated. The main drivers of regionalization were temperature amplitude, precipitation seasonality, and precipitation of the warmest quarter. According to the occurrence of endemic plants, northwest Africa may be divided into three zones: Atlas, Mediterranean (two environmental clusters), and southern zone (eight environmental clusters). The presented results provide a good basis for understanding the spatial patterns of the Maghreb, including its environment and species diversity. A designed list of endemic plant species together with environmental data may facilitate the planning of future research in north Africa and arranging methods of biodiversity protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eutrophication of aquatic systems resulting from human activities frequently leads to phytoplankton blooms, which decrease water transparency and therefore limit light availability for aquatic plants. However, several submerged macrophytes are able to grow despite the light competition pressure exerted by phytoplankton. Photosynthetic performance and plant morphology may be key traits allowing plant species to tolerate phytoplankton-induced light limitation in eutrophic systems. The aim of this study was to explore how morphological and photosynthetic traits allow submerged macrophytes to withstand the stress induced by decreased light in eutrophic systems. Morphological and photosynthetic traits were measured in 7 species of submerged macrophytes collected from mesotrophic to hypertrophic shallow lakes (Dombes, Ain, France). Then, we determined whether these traits were related to species occurrence in lakes according to depth and water turbidity. This study highlighted 2 strategies potentially resulting in a trade-off between morphological and photosynthetic traits. The first strategy was tolerance to reduced light and was characterized by a higher investment in leaf area and photosynthetic efficiency (initial slope of photosynthetic activity measured at low light intensities), allowing plants to use low amounts of light energy. The second strategy was to avoid the regions of reduced light and was characterized by a greater investment in vertical growth and maximum photosynthesis at high light intensities. The morphological and physiological traits favoured in turbid lakes corresponded to the avoidance strategy with a low compensation point, allowing plants to grow to the photic zone to reach the water areas where light is at a maximum. Small species exhibiting a light stress tolerance strategy may be maintained in turbid lakes subjected to disturbances, offering a window of opportunity for successful recruitment and reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to climate change, plant populations experience environmental conditions to which they are not adapted. Our understanding of the next century's vegetation geography depends on the distance, direction, and rate at which plant distributions shift in response to a changing climate. In this study we test the sensitivity of tree range shifts (measured as the difference between seedling and mature tree ranges in climate space) to wildfire occurrence, using 74,069 Forest Inventory Analysis plots across nine states in the western United States. Wildfire significantly increased the seedling-only range displacement for 2 of the 8 tree species in which seedling-only plots were displaced from tree-plus-seedling plots in the same direction with and without recent fire. The direction of climatic displacement was consistent with that expected for warmer and drier conditions. The greater seedling-only range displacement observed across burned plots suggests that fire can accelerate climate-related range shifts and that fire and fire management will play a role in the rate of vegetation redistribution in response to climate change. Tree species that are expanding their distribution in response to climate change could be hindered or facilitated by disturbances. Here the authors analyse forest inventory data from the western US to test the hypothesis that wildfire can facilitate climate-induced range shifts in trees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties of biomembranes depend on the presence, local structure and relative distribution assumed by the thousands of components it is made of. As for animal cells, plant membranes have been demonstrated to be organized in subdomains with different persistence lengths and times. In plant cells, sitosterol has been demonstrated to confer to phospholipid membranes a more ordered structure while among lipids, glycosphingolipids are claimed to form rafts where they tightly pack with sterols. Glucosylceramides are glycosphingolipids involved in plant signalling and are essential for viability of cells and whole plant. The glucosylceramide-sitosterol structural coupling within PLPC membranes is here investigated by Langmuir films, in silico simulations and neutron reflectometry, unveiling that a strong direct interaction between the two molecules exists and governs their lateral and transversal distribution within membrane leaflets. The understanding of the driving forces governing specific molecules clustering and segregation in subdomains, such as glucosylceramide and sitosterol, have an impact on the mechanical properties of biomembranes and could reflect in the other membrane molecules partitioning and activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between plant species and climatic factors has always been a fundamental issue in plant ecology, and the use of multivariate statistical methods can be effective in revealing the relationship between climatic factors and plant species distribution. Therefore, in this study, climatic factors affecting the distribution of Artemisia sieberi and Artemisia aucheri, widely distributed in Iran, were investigated. For this purpose, 117 climatic factors were used, and to reduce the number of factors and determine the most important effective ones, a factor analysis was used by principal component analysis. The results showed that six factors including heating temperature, spring and summer precipitation, wind, autumn–winter precipitation, and dusty and cloudiness days explained 37.32%, 22.54%, 7.18%, 6.6%, 4.22%, and 4.15% of data variation, respectively. Together these seven factors account for 82% of data variation. The autumn–winter precipitation and heating temperature had the greatest impact on the presence of Artemisia sieberi and Artemisia aucheri, respectively, so that the autumn–winter precipitation was negative in areas where Ar.sieberi is observed. The heating temperature factor is negative in areas where Ar.aucheri is present, while it is positive in areas lacking Ar.aucheri. The study of the effect of environmental factors on Artemisia species distribution is very important in the planning and management of natural resources, and Artemisia is one of the most important plants in the country's rangelands; therefore, the results of this research can be used for practical planning, management, and reclamation of these rangelands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is essential to predict areas of losses or exchanges of ecosystem services to adapt communities to the impacts caused by climate change. Particularly for provisioning ecosystem services provided by economically important plant species, understanding the association between climate change impacts and deforestation of native vegetation increases the accuracy of those predictions. Thus, we aim to (i) map the richness of provisioning ecosystem services from economically important native plants; (ii) use forecasts (present and future) of the distribution of ecosystem services to assess areas of changes in the number and type of provisioning ecosystems services. We evaluated provisioning ecosystem services from 110 Cerrado native species of economic importance for the local population. We determined the potential distribution of these plants using ecological niche modeling techniques, which were grouped according to the 21 different services provided. The forecasts for variation in richness and type of service used four future climate change scenarios (RCPs 4.5 and 8.5 in 2050 and 2070). The service losses detected in our models were associated with variables representing the progress of native vegetation deforestation in the biome due to agricultural expansion. Currently, ecosystem services can be found simultaneously in practically the entire biome. However, changes in the global climate will impact the potential geographic distribution of those plants, causing many areas in the biome to have reduced availability of potential ecosystem services. Moreover, due to the association between exposure to climate change and deforestation of native vegetation, the northern region of the biome will likely have the distribution of ecosystem services severely affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping the spatial distribution of a plant is a current challenge in ecology. Here, a convolutional neural network (CNN) and 33,798 Sentinel-2 satellite images were used to detect and map forest stands dominated by trees of the genus Pleroma by their magenta-to-deep-purple blossoms in the entire Brazilian Atlantic Forest domain, from June 2016 to July 2020. The Pleroma genus, known for its pioneer behaviour, was detected in an area representing 10.8% of the Atlantic Forest, associated negatively with temperature and positively with elevation, slope, tree cover and precipitation. The detection of another genus by the model, 18% of all the detections contained only pink blooming Handroanthus trees, highlighted that botanical identification from space must be taken with caution, particularly outside the known distribution range of the species. The Pleroma blossom seasonality occurred over a period of ~5–6 months centered on the March equinox and populations with distinct blossom timings were found. Our results indicate that in the Atlantic Forest, the remaining natural forest is less diverse than expected but is at least recovering from degradation. Our study suggests a method to produce ecological-domain scale maps of tree genera and species based on their blossoms that could be used for tree studies and biodiversity assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alien invasive plants pose a threat to global biodiversity and the cost of control continues to rise. Early detection and prediction of potential risk areas are essential to minimize ecological and socio-economic costs. In this study, the Maxent model was used to predict current and future climatic conditions to estimate the potential global distribution of the invasive plant Xanthium italicum. The model consists of 366 occurrence records (10 repeats, 75% for calibration and 25% for verification) and 10 climate prediction variables. According to the model forecast, the distribution of X. italicum was expected to shrink in future climate scenarios with human intervention, which may be mainly caused by the rise in global average annual temperature. The ROC curve showed that the AUC values of the training set and the test set are 0.965 and 0.906, respectively, indicating that the prediction result of this model was excellent. The contribution rates of annual mean temperature, monthly mean diurnal temperature range, standard deviation of temperature seasonal change and annual average precipitation to the geographical distribution of X. italicum were 65.3%, 11.2%, 9.0%, and 7.7%, respectively, and the total contribution rate was 93.2%. These four variables are the dominant environmental factors affecting the potential distribution of X. italicum, and the influence of temperature is greater than that of precipitation. Through our study on the potential distribution prediction of X. italicum under the future climatic conditions, it has contribution for all countries to strengthen its monitoring, prevention and control, including early warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information obtained from the analysis of dust, particularly biological particles such as pollen, plant parts, and fungal spores, has great utility in forensic geolocation. As an alternative to manual microscopic analysis of dust components, we developed a pipeline that utilizes the airborne plant environmental DNA (eDNA) in settled dust to estimate geographic origin. Metabarcoding of settled airborne eDNA was used to identify plant species whose geographic distributions were then derived from occurrence records in the USGS Biodiversity in Service of Our Nation (BISON) database. The distributions for all plant species identified in a sample were used to generate a probabilistic estimate of the sample source. With settled dust collected at four U.S. sites over a 15-month period, we demonstrated positive regional geolocation (within 600 km2 of the collection point) with 47.6% (20 of 42) of the samples analyzed. Attribution accuracy and resolution was dependent on the number of plant species identified in a dust sample, which was greatly affected by the season of collection. In dust samples that yielded a minimum of 20 identified plant species, positive regional attribution was achieved with 66.7% (16 of 24 samples). For broader demonstration, citizen-collected dust samples collected from 31 diverse U.S. sites were analyzed, and trace plant eDNA provided relevant regional attribution information on provenance in 32.2% of samples. This showed that analysis of airborne plant eDNA in settled dust can provide an accurate estimate regional provenance within the U.S., and relevant forensic information, for a substantial fraction of samples analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research was carried out in Wadi Elkor, one of the Sarawat Mountains regions, which is a special location from an environmental standpoint and one of the only places in Saudi Arabia where a range of Palaearctic flora co-exists with Afrotropical species. The study aimed to determine the floristic composition as well as the effects of slope aspect and elevation on species, life forms, and phytogeographical elements distribution. The study area is located in Wadi Elkor, a valley in the Sarawat Mountains that cuts off the Al-Hada escarpment, 47 km southeast of Makkah City, Saudi Arabia. We conducted the research at three different locations, each with a different elevation and slope aspect. Based on floristic composition, Ward classification moreover Jaccard comparisons were performed. A total of 189 species was discovered, divided into 131 genera and 43 families. The current study identified Argyrolobium rarum Dumme as a new vascular plant in Saudi Arabia's terrestrial flora. In the current study, the Gramineae, Leguminosae, and Compositae families contributed 29% of the total plant species, whereas 14 families were represented by one species each. Solanum was the most numerous genus, with seven species, followed by Acacia and Pulicaria, each with six species, while Commicarpos and Euphorbia, each with four species. At an elevation of 1060 m above sea level, the north facing slope had the most plants, genera, and families. Therophytes had the most species, accounting for 44%, followed by Chamaephytes, which accounted for 26%. Hemicryptophytes accounted for 12% of the total, while phanerophytes accounted for 10%. In the studied area, the bioregional Saharo-Sindian and Sudano-Zambesian groups were the most well-represented (41%). The floristic composition, as well as the distribution of life forms and phytogeographical components, were found to be significantly affected by the elevation and slope aspects. The study showed that slope aspect and elevation both affected the distribution of plant species, with elevation being the most influential of the two variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ecological processes such as seedling establishment, biotic interactions, and mortality can leave footprints on species spatial structure that can be detectable through spatial point-pattern analysis (SPPA). Being widely used in plant ecology, SPPA is increasingly carried out to describe biotic interactions and interpret pattern-process relationships. However, some aspects are still subjected to a non-negligible debate such as required sample size (in terms of the number of points and plot area), the link between the low number of points and frequently observed random (or independent) patterns, and relating patterns to processes. In this paper, an overview of SPPA is given based on rich and updated literature providing guidance for ecologists (especially beginners) on summary statistics, uni-/bi-/multivariate analysis, unmarked/marked analysis, types of marks, etc. Some ambiguities in SPPA are also discussed. Results: SPPA has a long history in plant ecology and is based on a large set of summary statistics aiming to describe species spatial patterns. Several mechanisms known to be responsible for species spatial patterns are actually investigated in different biomes and for different species. Natural processes, plant environmental conditions, and human intervention are interrelated and are key drivers of plant spatial distribution. In spite of being not recommended, small sample sizes are more common in SPPA. In some areas, periodic forest inventories and permanent plots are scarce although they are key tools for spatial data availability and plant dynamic monitoring. Conclusion: The spatial position of plants is an interesting source of information that helps to make hypotheses about processes responsible for plant spatial structures. Despite the continuous progress of SPPA, some ambiguities require further clarifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]