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Changes of soil chemical and microbial characteristics in the forest floor and in the A-horizon caused by the application of wood ash (WA) on the soil surface were studied one year after the WA application. Soil sampling was performed at three plots in a 40-year-old Norway spruce stand in Central Slovakia – at the control plot (CP) and at the plots with WA application in the spring (P1) and the autumn (P2) 2010. Soil samples were taken from the litter (L), fermentation (F), humic (H) forest floor horizons and from the A-horizon (the depth of 0−10 cm). In soil samples chemical attributes (pH, C and N concentration, extractable C and base cations concentration) as well as microbial characteristics (microbial biomass C, basal respiration, catalase activity, richness and diversity of soil microbial functional groups) were analysed. WA application was reflected in the changes of chemical properties (soil reaction, C, N and Ca2+ concentration) only in the forest floor horizons but not in the A-horizon one year after the treatment. No significant differences between plots were found in microbial characteristics throughout the topsoil horizons. The most distinct differences in decreased C and N content compared to control plot were observed in the H-horizon. Soil acidity differed especially in the F-horizon, where the increase of pH-H2O from 4.76 to 6.85 at P1 was recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Twenty nine fir populations originating from the putative zones of interspecific hybridization in southern Balkans were studied using a mitochondrial nad5-4 gene marker. The populations were classified to three taxa based on their geographical distribution and an overall taxonomical assessment at the population level based on needle and twig morphology: Abies alba Mill., Abies cephalonica Loud. and Abies borisii regis Mattf. Three haplotypes were found: 230 bp in Calabrian A. alba populations, 150 bp in Bulgarian and Macedonian A. alba populations, and 341 bp in A. cephalonica populations. Populations from central and northern Greece, classified as A. borisii regis, shared the 150 bp and 341 bp haplotypes with their closest neighbours, whereby haplotype frequencies changed clinally along the latitudinal gradient. This geographical distribution of mtDNA haplotypes supports the hypothesis that A. borisii regis represents a relatively recent hybrid swarm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introgressive hybridization within hybrid swarm populations of Pinus sylvestris and P. mugo was analyzed in the localities Medzi Bormi and Sokolie, northern Slovakia, using species-specific trnV-trnH/Hinf I restriction profiles of chloroplast DNA of needles and zygotic embryos. The presence of trees with both P. sylvestris and P. mugo haplotypes indicates hybrid nature of the swarms. Molecular analysis revealed a relatively high rate of introgressive hybridization between putatively hybrid swarm individuals and the parental trees of the pure species P. sylvestris and P. mugo growing in the same localities. The proportion of hybrid seeds with P. sylvestris pollen donor averaged at 30.3%, whereas those with pollen donor of P. mugo at 19.8%. The results are discussed within context of the established crossability relationship between P. sylvestris and P. mugo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During 2011, the length of primary branches was measured in individual seedlings of firs representing 15 crossing variants. Measured branches were divided into separate groups according to the number of secondary twigs. Our data indicate the possibility for differentiation between the hybrid combinations based on length of their primary branches. The interspecific combinations A. pinsapo × A. alba and A. alba × A. pinsapo were more similar to mother species in this trait rather than to paternal parent. A given combination of different age differed primarily by the number of primary branches with a higher number of secondary branches in older seedlings. Comparison involving both primary and secondary branches appears to be more efficient in discriminating between hybrid combinations than comparison primary based on secondary branches alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Genetika (0534-0012) is the property of Serbian Genetics Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Folia Oecologica is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Folia Oecologica is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patterns of recent migration and gene exchange between divergent lineages of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) were studied in the hybrid zone of genetic lineages associated with different glacial refugia in the Ukrainian Carpathians. Thirty-three silver fir populations from Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia were analyzed using nuclear microsatellites. Based on diploid genotypes, sampled individuals were assigned to either western or eastern lineage using Bayesian inference. A phylogenetic analysis demonstrated the existence of three genetic clusters in the studied area, more or less structured according to genetic lineage and geography. First-generation migrants were concentrated close to the boundary between genetic lineages, whereas F1 hybrids showed a more dispersed distribution. Potential ecological and evolutionary explanations for the observed patterns were shortly discussed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Folia Oecologica is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The effect of 19 environmental variables on species richness of macrophytes was studied in 39 Slovak streams. The studied streams were poor in species; in total, 88 macrophyte taxa were found and the average number of macrophytes per sampling site was 4, ranging from 0 to15. The most frequently occurring macrophytes were filamentous algae (occurrence at 38.6% of sampling sites), followed by Rhynchostegium riparioides (28.4%) and Phalaris arundinacea (19.3%). The strongest environmental gradient in the sampling site detected by factor analysis (factor 1 explains more than 32% variability) is related to the portion of artificial banks, shading by woody vegetation along banks, flexuosity of stream course and the portion of natural land cover in the contact zone of the stream, and can be interpreted as a natural-anthropogenic gradient. The following variables had the highest correlations with species richness of macrophytes: shading by woody vegetation ( r=−0.507), portions of artificial bank ( r=0.488), flexuosity ( r=−0.457) and distance from stream source ( r=0.388). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focused on the responses of soil microorganisms to different management regimes on disturbed windthrow areas. Microbial parameters potentially serving as indicators of environmental changes within a long-term monitoring of forest development after large-scale disturbance events were assessed. Basal and substrate-induced respiration, N mineralisation, catalase activity, microbial biomass as well as functional diversity based on Biolog assay were determined in soil samples from three disturbed plots and an undisturbed reference plot in the Tatra National Park (Slovakia) since 2006. A relative congruence of inter-annual trends of microbial activity indicators at all plots results from a common response of microbiota to changes of climate at the landscape level after forest stands were destroyed. While catalase activity and functional diversity proved to be useful indicators of temporal trends, microbial biomass seems to reflect different management regimes at the disturbed plots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analysed seasonal dynamics of macrophyte abundance in two perennial lowland regulated streams (Stream 1 and 2) in the Danube basin (Slovakia). Assessments of macrophyte abundance and environmental characteristics were accomplished 7 times during the vegetation period in 2005 within a 100 m long section. Statistically significant differences in total abundance of macrophytes as well as an abundance of macrophyte groups (hydrophytes, amphiphytes, helophytes) and Potamogeton nodosus were detected among months within the vegetation period. Abundance fluctuations for individual macrophyte groups and species were moderate in Stream 1 and much stronger in Stream 2. Only amphiphytes showed bimodal temporal distribution in Stream 1, but the abundance of this group was low, reflecting more or less random occurrence of species in vegetation period. Multiple linear regression revealed that water depths and air temperature are the most significant environmental variables affecting the seasonal pattern of total as well as dominating group abundance in Stream 1 and 2, respectively. In all cases, abundances are significantly influenced by the abundance of the respective group in the preceding month. Culmination time differed between streams for all macrophyte groups except helophytes. Total abundance culminated 0.57 month later in the Stream 1 compared to Stream 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two provenance experiments with Norway spruce in Slovakia were used to reveal trends in the behaviour of provenances after their transfer. Regressions between the average height and survival of provenances and the differences between the geographic and selected climatic characteristics of the place of origin and provenance plots were significant for most of the characteristics tested. Data from the experiment with Polish and Slovak provenances from 1972 indicated that transfer into warmer regions with a longer vegetation period results in improved height growth and survival, with the exception of survival at initial stages. The experiment from 1964 with a broader altitudinal range of provenance plots, but with unadjusted latest measurements at individual plots available, revealed the best height growth of Slovak Norway spruce provenances after their transfer to sites with the mean annual temperature approximately 1°C higher and with the vegetation period 12 days longer than at places of origin. Transfer into lower altitudes, a warmer climate and a longer vegetation period improved survival. In both experiments, transfer to areas with increased rainfall had a negative effect on growth, which is probably associated with the fact that provenances are not able to exploit additional precipitation for the growth in areas with a colder climate and a shorter vegetation period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]