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Kecskeméttől háromféle távolságban elhelyezkedő, a szuburbanizációtól eltérő mértékben érintett településeken összesen 150 előkertben vizsgáltuk meg az ott előforduló fásszárú növényzet faj- és egyedszámát. Az előkertekben leggyakrabban egy faj, illetve két egyed fordult elő, de voltak 8 vagy több fajt és 14 vagy több egyedet felmutató előkertek is. Az összesen feljegyzett 668 egyed 111 fajhoz tartozott, amelyek közt az első öt helyet a Biota orientalis, a Hibiscus syriacus, a Thuja occidentalis, a Catalpa bignonioides és a Cerasus vulgaris foglalták el. Az öt faj összevont egyedszáma az összes megfigyelt fásszárú növényegyed 26%-át tette ki. Az adatokat többféle csoportosítás szerint is értékeltük: fa, cserje, sövény vagy lián; őshonos, archeofiton vagy neofiton; gyümölcsfa vs. díszfa; lombhullató vs. örökzöld; valamint vizsgáltuk az előkert felett húzódó légvezetékek hatását is. Eredményeink rávilágítanak a lakosok növényválasztási szokásaira, amit a megfelelő településrendezési és tájtervezési koncepciók kialakításához figyelembe lehet venni.

Root extracts of three goldenrods were screened for antimicrobial compounds. 2Z,8Z- and 2E,8Z-matricaria esters from European goldenrod (Solidago virgaurea) and E- and Z-dehydromatricaria esters from grass-leaved goldenrod (Solidago graminifolia) and first from showy goldenrod (Solidago speciosa) were identified by high-performance thin-layer chromatography combined with effect-directed analysis and high-resolution mass spectrometry or nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy after liquid chromatographic fractionation and isolation. Next to their antibacterial effects (against Bacillus subtilis, Aliivibrio fischeri, and Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola), they inhibited the crop pathogenic fungi Fusarium avenaceum and Bipolaris sorokiniana with half maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) between 31 and 107 μg/mL. Benzyl 2-hydroxy-6-methoxybenzoate, for the first time found in showy goldenrod root, showed the strongest antifungal effect, with IC50 of 25-26 μg/mL for both fungal strains.

We present PADAPT 1.0, the Pannonian Database of Plant Traits which relies on regional data sources and integrates existing data and new measurements on a wide range of traits and attributes of the plant species of the Pannonian Biogeographical Region and makes it freely accessible atwww.padapt.eu. The current version covers the species of the region occurring in Hungary (cc. 90% of the region’s flora) and consists of 126,337 records on 2745 taxa. There are 53 plant attributes in PADAPT 1.0 organised in six major groups: (i) Habitus and strategy, (ii) Reproduction, (iii) Kariology, (iv) Distribution and conservation, (v) Ecological indicator values, and (vi) Leaf traits. By including species of the eastern part of Europe not covered by other databases, PADAPT can facilitate studying the flora and vegetation of the eastern part of the continent. Data collection will continue in the future and the PADAPT team welcomes researchers interested in contributing with data. The main task before an updated version of the database is to include species of the Pannonian region not covered by the current version. In conclusion, although data coverage is far from complete, PADAPT meets the longstanding need for a regional database of the Pannonian flora.

Festucetum vaginatae Rapaics ex Soó 1929 em. Borhidi 1996 is a characteristic association of the calcareous sandy areas of the Pannonian basin; its dominant grass species is Festuca vaginata. Another typical species of these sandy areas is the newly discovered F. pseudovaginata. The question is whether F. pseudovaginata forms an independent coenotaxa? Our study proved that F. vaginata and F. pseudovaginata populations grow separately and compose different associations. Stands dominated by F. pseudovaginata had a higher species richness and harboured twice as many Festuco-Brometea species compared to the Festucetum vaginatae stands. Diagnostic species of the Festucetum pseudovaginatae association are Festuca pseudovaginata, Colchicum arenarium, Ephedra distachya, Koeleria majoriflora, and Astragalus onobrychis. The number of species, the density of the individuals, and the variability and diversity of the vegetation separated it from the Festucetum vaginatae association; thus, it can be considered an independent endemic association. Festucetum pseudovaginatae has its own differentiating and dominant species: Carex stenophylla, Cynodon dactylon, Eryngium campestre, Kochia laniflora.

In order to identify the most relevant environmental parameters that regulate flowering time of bulbous perennials, first flowering dates of 329 taxa over 33 yr are correlated with monthly and daily mean values of 16 environmental parameters (such as insolation, precipitation, temperature, soil water content, etc.) spanning at least 1 yr back from flowering. A machine learning algorithm is deployed to identify the best explanatory parameters because the problem is strongly prone to overfitting for traditional methods: if the number of parameters is the same or greater than the number of observations, then a linear model can perfectly fit the dependent variable (observations). Surprisingly, the best proxy of flowering date fluctuations is the daily snow depth anomaly, which cannot be a signal itself, however it should be related to some integrated temperature signal. Moreover, daily snow depth anomaly as proxy performs much better than mean soil temperature preceding the flowering, the best monthly explanatory parameter. Our findings support the existence of complicated temperature sensing mechanisms operating on different timescales, which is a prerequisite to precisely observe the length and severity of the winter season and translate for example, 'lack of snow' information to meaningful internal signals related to phenophases.

Organisms with different life histories are able to act as indicators of different characteristics of their environment. Here, we compared the precision of habitat indication by the vegetation and soil microbial communities in four salt-affected pastures: annual open salt sward, Pannonic Puccinellia limosa hollow, Artemisia saline puszta and grassy saline puszta. Dissimilarity of habitats was evaluated by standardized principal component analysis (PCA) based on four different datasets: catabolic profiles of microbial communities in June (a) and September (b), composition of vascular vegetation (c) and physical and chemical properties of the soil (d). Procrustes analysis was used to quantify the resemblance between pairs of PCA ordinations based on soil properties (d) and various biotic communities (a, b, c). PCA ordination based on vegetation most closely matched the soil data-based ordination, thus vegetation appears to better indicate habitat conditions than soil microbial communities do. For microbial communities, a better agreement with the soil data-based ordination was reached in September than in June. Most probably, the long-lived sedentary habit of perennial plants in these communities requires adaptation to long-term average habitat conditions. In contrast, short-lived soil microbes can quickly follow environmental changes, thus the composition of soil microbial communities better reflect actual soil conditions.

Jelen dolgozatunkban négy erdei lágyszárú, Simon természetvédehni-érték besorolása szerint zavarástűrő faj: a Cardamine impatiens L., a Geum urbanum L., a Rumex sanguineus L. és a Verbascum austriacum Schott talajmagbankjának tulajdonságairól számolunk be. Az említett fajok magtúlélési képességét eltemetéses kísérletben vizsgáltuk. Frissen gyűjtött magvaikat sterilizált homokkal elkeverve, majd agyagcserepekbe töltve 0,65 m mélyen eltemettük, tíz ismétlésben, esetenként 100-100 magot felhasználva. Fajonként 1-1 százmagos tételt ástunk elő az eltemetést követő 1., 2., 3., 4., 6. és 19. évben, majd azokat üvegházi körülmények között csíráztattuk. A C. impatiens magbankja rövid távú perzisztensnek bizonyult. Ennél a fajnál ez feltehetőleg két ellentétes hatás eredőjeként jött létre, mivel az erdei környezet inkább a tranziens magbank típusnak, ugyanakkor a faj kétéves életformája és a bolygatottabb élőhelyeken való előfordulása viszont inkább a hosszú távú perzisztens magbank típusnak kedvezne. A G. urbanum esetében hosszú távú perzisztens magbankot igazoltunk, ami az első ilyen közlés a fajra vonatkozóan. Megjegyzendő, hogy a lapos és megnyúlt magvú fajok esetében az ilyen magbank típus viszonylag ritka, tehát a G. urbanum kivételes viselkedésűnek mondható. A V. austriacum magbankja, más, korábban vizsgált ökörfarkkóró fajokéhoz hasonlóan kitűnő magtúlélő képességet mutatott, a 19. évben is gyakorlatilag az első évivel megegyező arányban csírázott. A R. sanguineus esetében a szakirodalomban mindhárom fő magbank típusra nézve találunk közléseket. Eredményeink szerint ez a faj egyértelműen képes fenntartani hosszú távú perzisztens magbankot a talajban. Magvai 19 év elteltével is 43 százalékban csíráztak. Dolgozatunkban mérlegeljük még az eltemetéses magbank vizsgálatok használhatóságát a fajok magbank típusának feltárása szempontjából.

This study aims to detect the environmental changes subsequent to village abandonment in a hilly region with the investigation of vegetation. The examined village has been deserted over a 40-year period; so it is observable how the vegetation, mainly trees and shrubs reclaim the former human-used sites. The impacts of the rural abandonment on the environment are discussed, there are scenarios which emphasize the negative effects of these processes e.g. the homogenization of traditionally diversified landscapes, whilst others characterize it as a possibility to restore the natural conditions of a given area. In our study 14 sites (ruined buildings with their surrounding gardens) were subjected to detailed botanical survey in May 2018. In each site, woody vegetation was recorded in three categories: a) cultivated fruit, b) ornamental and c) wild-growing trees and shrubs. Spontaneous reforestation did not happen following abandonment, but a long term survival of certain cultivated fruit trees were striking, and the immigration of wild-growing berry shrub species was also remarkable.

If and how eutrophication influences the persistent soil seed bank is poorly understood. Here, we hypothesized that eutrophication alters the composition of the persistent seed bank indirectly through changes in the soil characteristics and aboveground plant community and productivity. We also hypothesized that changes in the persistent seed bank will consequently impact the aboveground vegetative composition. We tested these hypotheses using data from a 9-year nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization experiment in an alpine meadow ecosystem on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet plateau. We found that long-term nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization indirectly impacted the composition of the persistent seed bank through changes in soil pH, aboveground vegetation composition and annual net primary productivity (ANPP). Changes in the composition of the persistent seed bank, however, were relatively minor in comparison to changes in aboveground vegetation composition. Finally, changes in the persistent seed bank did not feedback on aboveground vegetation composition. Our findings demonstrate the importance of soil pH, ANPP and vegetation composition in regulating the persistent seed bank under eutrophication. Our results also highlight the relative stability of the persistent seed bank to long-term eutrophication and their important contribution to the sustainability of grassland ecosystems.

In the Anthropocene, the world’s plant diversity is threatened with extinction and the erosion of the genetic diversity of natural populations. According to the State of the World’s Plants and Fungi 2020 of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, two out of five of the ~350,000 known vascular plant species are at risk of extinction. Despite the considerable toolkit of biodiversity conservation practices, usually it is hard to choose the best option to stop biodiversity loss. Ex situ conservation has seen massive development due to radical losses of natural ecosystems, and its incrementing necessity has been underscored by Target 8 of the 2011-2020 Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. As we crossed the finish line of this strategy in 2020, a review of the accumulated knowledge on the ex situ living collections has become particularly important. Despite the increasing attention received by ex situ conservation, studies on the sustainability, quality, and usability of the plant material prior to establishing the garden collections are few, leaving major gaps unfilled in terms of best ex situ conservation practices. Here we present an overview of the results and experiences in ex situ conservation focusing on living plant collections, with the aim of guiding conservation practitioners towards the most efficient working methods. We evaluate the future needs and perspectives of this conservation technique, based on case studies on both woody and herb species. Possible conservation applications and priorities suggested for future works are summarized.

Drought is one of the major abiotic stresses that frequently causes severe loss in crop yield worldwide. Laboratory predictors of field drought tolerance could significantly increase the effectiveness of existing plant breeding programs. In earlier field experiments, drought tolerance of 22 cultivated barley varieties has already been quantified. In order to develop laboratory markers of drought sensitivity, field drought tolerance data were correlated with parameters obtained in laboratory tests. Root and shoot length and weight were measured on control and PEG-treated (a simple laboratory drought model) seedlings. Significant correlations were found among root growth, shoot weight in laboratory stress conditions and field drought tolerance. Interestingly, a negative correlation was found between root length of the untreated seedlings and drought tolerance. Laboratory Drought Tolerance Index (DTI) was introduced as the linear combination of those laboratory parameters which were correlated with field drought tolerance. DTI showed good predictive value (r = 0.57, p < 0.05) for drought tolerance in field experiments and we suggest it for preselection of drought tolerant barley breeding lines and for the characterization of drought tolerance in general.

Fiatal erdőállományokban, Budakeszi határában gímszarvas okozta intenzív kéreghántás nyomait tapasztaltuk. A sérült állományok fa egyedeit 10 m ´ 10 m-es kvadrátokban vizsgáltuk, pontosan lemérve a rajtuk megfigyelhető hántáskárok kiterjedését. A sérült kérgű zóna átlagosan 59 cm-es magasságban kezdődött, és 143 cm-es magasságig tartott. A hántással érintett törzsek aránya a különböző fafajok körében eltérően alakult, amely szerint az alábbi hántottsági-arány sorrend állítható fel: Fraxinus excelsior (89,3%), Euonymus europaeus (66,7%), Tilia platyphyllos (50,0%), Acer platanoides (40,0%) és Acer campestre (11,8%). Ugyanakkor a felsorolt fajokkal elegyedő néhány további fafaj kérge sértetlen maradt: Acer pseudoplatanus, Cerasus avium, Crataegus monogyna és Quercus petraea. Az eredmények interpretálásánál figyelembe vettük a település közelségének, és az ebből adódó zavarásnak a hatását, amely vélhetően szerepet játszott a szarvasok kéreghántásának felerősödésében.

The antibacterial profiling of Onopordum acanthium L. leaf extract and subsequent targeted identification of active compounds is demonstrated. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and off-line overpressured layer chromatography (OPLC) coupled with direct bioautography were utilized for investigation of the extract against eight bacterial strains including two plant and three human pathogens and a soil, a marine and a probiotic human gut bacteria. Antibacterial fractions obtaining infusion-transfusion OPLC were transferred to HPLC–MS/MS analysis that resulted in the characterization of three active compounds and two of them were identified as, linoleic and linolenic acid. OPLC method was adopted to preparative-scale flash chromatography for the isolation of the third active compound, which was identified after a further semi-preparative HPLC purification as the germacranolide sesquiterpene lactone onopordopicrin. Pure onopordopicrin exhibited antibacterial activity that was specified as minimal inhibitory concentration in the liquid phase as well.

A talajok hazai és nemzetközi kutatásában egyre nagyobb szerepet kap a talajok mikrobiótájának vizsgálata. Hazai viszonylatban szikes talajokon eddig kevés ilyen irányú kutatás történt. Kutatásunkban kiskunsági szikes talajok mikrobaközösségeinek katabolikus aktivitás mintázatát vizsgáltuk Apajpusztáról származó mintákon. A mintavételhez négy, a szikesedés különböző fázisaira jellemző növényzettel rendelkező területet választottunk ki (szoloncsák vaksziknövényzet, kiskunsági szikfoknövényzet, ürmös szikespuszta és füves szikespuszta), ezek területéről a talaj mikrobiológiai szempontból legaktívabbnak tekintett 0-10 cm-es rétegét mintáztuk. A minták néhány fontosabb talajtani paraméterét meghatároztuk (szemcseösszetétel, pH, só-, humusz- és mésztartalom, valamint néhány fontosabb tápelem mennyisége). A négy eltérő növényzetű terület között a talajtani paramétereik alapján is jelentős különbségeket tapasztaltunk. A minták mikrobiológiai aktivitását az itthon még kevéssé ismert mikrorespirációs (MicroRespTM) módszerrel vizsgáltuk. Ennek során a talajmintákhoz 23 különböző szerves szubsztrátot adtunk, és az általuk indukált légzési válaszon keresztül mértük, hogy az egyes talajminták mikrobaközösségei milyen mértékben képesek hasznosítani az egyes szubsztrátokat. Az így kapott, közösségre jellemző katabolikus aktivitás mintázatokat főkomponens elemzéssel és kanonikus korreszpondancia elemzéssel értékeltük. Eredményeink alapján a mikrorespirációs módszer egyértelműen alkalmas az általunk vizsgált talajok mikrobiótájának elkülönítésére. Az egyes minták katabolikus aktivitás mintázatai közötti különbségek egybevágtak a minták közötti, talajfizikai és —kémiai tulajdonságban megfigyelt eltérésekkel. A kutatást az OTKA (K 108572) támogatta.

The aim of this study is to provide supplementary distribution records for fern species to the “Flora Atlas” of Hungarian vascular plants, published in 2015. Most of the data came from grid cells (according to the Central European Flora Mapping System) in the territory or in the surroundings of Budapest. During the work, special attention was paid to the man-made stone constructions (walls of buildings, stone fences, ruins etc.), because these objects are the most characteristic to the main study area of the survey. Te survey resulted in new biogeographical records for 15 fern species with altogether 54 new occurrences concerning 18 grid cells. Among the species, five are legally protected in Hungary: Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, A. scolopendrium, Gymnocarpium robertianum, Polystichum aculeatum and Thelypteris palustris, and further six are native members of the flora. Species with highest numbers of new records are Asplenium ruta-muraria (9), Asplenium trichomanes (7), Dryopteris flix-mas (7) and Polystichum aculeatum (7) (numbers in brackets indicate the number of grid cells from where the given species was frst reported). Surprisingly, four exotic fern species were also found: Adiantum capillus-veneris, Cyrtomium falcatum, Pteris cretica and Pteris cf. multifda appearing on walls of clinker brick buildings, permanently heated during the winter period (in the present cases in old public hospitals). Based on the results man-made stone constructions, especially the older ones, seem to be suitable habitats to establish for a wide variety of ferns, including rare and protected species. Therefore, these anthropogenic habitats deserve special attention during regional flora mapping projects.

Munkank soran a Budapestre behurcolt, es ott egyre jobban elszaporodo aszalyfű (Eleusine indica) elterjedtsegevel es tarsulastani jellemzesevel foglalkoztunk. Az előfordulasok felmereset 2015 masodik feleveben vegeztuk. Conologiai felvetelezes a varos 15 pontjan tortent, a kvadratok merete 2 m × 2 m-es, vagy 1 m × 4 m-es volt, alkalmazkodva az allomanyok kiterjedesehez. A felmeres soran megallapitast nyert, hogy az aszalyfű ma mar Budapest minden keruleteben es a Duna szigetein is megtelepedett, megjelenese gyakran tomeges. A varos 106 helyszinen előfordulasat pontos koordinatakkal is megadtuk. Jellemző előhelyei az erősen taposott talajfelszinek, jardaszegelyek, utburkolat-repedesek es gepkocsiparkolok; terjedeseben feltehetőleg fontos szerepet jatszik a gepjarműforgalom. Noveny-tarsulastani szempontbol az aszalyfű dominalta allomanyok a madarkeserűfuves taposott tarsulasokeval azonos előhelyeket foglalnak el, onallo előhelyigenyere utalo jeleket nem tapasztaltunk, es felvetelezett allomanyaiban mindig megtalalhato volt a madarkeserűfű is. A megvizsgalt allomanyok leggyakoribb kiserőfajai az alabbi harom csoportba sorolhatok: (1) keső nyari, C4-es fotoszintezisű fuvek (Cynodon dactylon, Digitaria sanguinalis, Eragrostis minor, Setaria pumila); (2) kimondottan taposastűrő, gyakran tőlevelrozsas ketszikűek (Polygonum aviculare, Plantago lanceolata, P. major, Taraxacum ofcinale, Trifolium repens) es (3) keső nyari, ketszikű gyomok (Amaranthus retroflexus, Erigeron canadensis, Portulaca oleracea es Tribulus terrestris).

The exotic honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) is often planted as ornamental tree in urban parks. In Hungary, it occasionally escapes cultivation, in other countries it has already become invasive, and thus, further spread cannot be ruled out. The production of copious long-lived seeds may contribute to its invasiveness. We investigated the soil seed bank of honey locust growing in urban parks of Budapest (Hungary). Soil samples of 1200 cm3 were taken under the canopy of 48 solitary female trees, seeds were extracted by washing, and their viability was assessed by germination test following scarification. For each tree, trunk circumference and level of park maintenance were recorded. Seed bank density varied between 0 and 500 seeds/m2 and in 17 out of 48 cases, it exceeded 100 seeds/m2. Larger trees tended to form better-developed soil seed bank than smaller ones, yet the level of park maintenance has a much stronger effect: trees in neglected parks produced five-times higher density on average than those in perfectly managed parks (126.4 and 24.5 seeds/m2, respectively). For a better understanding of the species’ invasion risk, detailed seed ecological studies are needed and to prevent its further spreading, a more careful treatment of its litter is recommended.

We compared seed longevity of herbaceous species in three habitat types differing in stability. We hypothesized that seed longevity is the lowest for forest species (living in stable habitat), the highest for weeds, while species of xerothermic grasslands take an intermediate value. Ten species were selected from each of the three habitats with balanced representation of plant families among habitats. Seeds of the 30 species were deep buried at 65 cm depth, then replicates recovered after 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 years, and germinated in an unheated greenhouse. Weeds expressed the highest germination rate (36.1% in average) exceeding forest (14.4%) and grassland species (10.2%) which did not differ significantly. The number of species with transient, short-term persistent and long-term persistent seed bank, respectively, was 1, 7 and 2 for grasslands; 1, 3 and 6 for forests; and 0, 1 and 9 for weeds. As expected, weeds possessed the highest seed longevity. Contrary to our assumption, low seed longevity w...

Precipitation changes may induce shifts in plant species or life form dominance in ecosystems, making some previously subordinate species abundant. The plasticity of certain plant functional traits of these expanding subordinate species may be one possible mechanism behind their success. In this study, we tested if the subordinate winter annual grass Secale sylvestre shows plasticity in growth and reproduction in response to altered environment associated with field-scale rainfall manipulations (severe drought, moderate drought, and watering) in a semiarid grassland, and whether the maternal environment influences offspring germination or growth in a subsequent pot experiment. Compared to control plots, S. sylvestre plants grew 38% taller, and produced 32% more seeds in severe drought plots, while plants in watered plots were 17% shorter, and had 22% less seeds. Seed mass was greatest in severe drought plots. Plants growing in drought plots had offspring with enhanced juvenile shoot growth compared to the progeny whose mother plants grew in watered plots. These responses are most likely explained by the decreased cover of previously dominant perennial grasses in severe drought plots, which resulted in wetter soil compared to control and watered plots during the peak growth of S. sylvestre. We conclude that the plasticity of this subordinate annual species in response to changing environment may help to gain dominance with recurring droughts that suppress perennial grasses. Our results highlight that exploring both within-generation and transgenerational plasticity of subordinate species may lead to a better prediction of changes in plant species dominance under climate change.

A new stand, formed by some fifty individuals of Ambrosia artemisiifolia L., an invasive plant of alien origin, was discovered at the Katowice railway station (southern Poland), in 2011. Two years later, the stand (increased to more than 160 individuals in the meantime) was re-visited, phytosociological survey was made, and four soil cores (5 cm deep and 80 cm2 surface area, each) were taken for seed bank studies. The phytosociological sampling revealed 28 co-occurring vascular species, most of them representing hemicryptophyte and geophyte life forms. According to Ellenberg's values, the species pool indicated sunny (L7 and L8 species dominating) and semi-dry (mainly F4 species) habitat for the common ragweed population, whereas Zarzycki's soil granulometric data reflected coarse-grained soil. Albedo of the soil was lower than that of the vegetation thus sparsely vegetated sites were considered as heat accumulating microhabitats that might support establishment of the thermophilic A. artemisiifo...

Relationships between seed germination response to plant-derived smoke and various plant traits (habitat requirements, life form, seed morphology, seed bank type) were analysed for 97 species of the Hungarian flora using published data. It was hypothesized that smoke-responsive species – those displaying enhanced germination in response to smoke – differ from non-responsive species – smoke having an indifferent or inhibitory effect on germination – in habitat requirements and/or certain life history traits. To our knowledge, no such comparison has previously been reported for a European flora. We found that species indicating disturbance and those preferring soils rich or moderately rich in nitrogen were more frequent in the smoke-responsive group (80% and 41%, respectively) than in the non-responsive group, while the non-responsive group contained a high percentage of natural species (i.e. species dominant or characteristic in natural plant communities; 47%) and species indicative of nutrient poor (38%) or (sub)mesotrophic (38%) soils. Annuals or biennials (67%) dominated the smoke-responsive group, whereas in the non-responsive group these short-lived species and perennial herbs were equally abundant (43% each). There was a tendency for higher frequency of long-term persistent seed bank among smoke-responsive species (78%) than in the non-responsive group (54%). These findings suggest that smoke-stimulated germination is associated with only a few specific plant traits for species from a semiarid temperate region of Europe, but highlight the frequent occurrence of smoke-enhanced germination among short-lived, nitrophilous or disturbance tolerant species. These results can contribute to a better understanding of post-fire regeneration of plant communities, and could also be considered during vegetation restoration or weed management.

To identify powdery mildew fungi infecting Oenothera spp. in Europe, specimens collected worldwide were examined based on morphology and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences of the nuclear rRNA gene complex. The specimens were morphologically barely distinguishable from each other, each exhibiting pseudoidium-type conidiophores but sexual morphs lacking. Surprisingly, based on ITS sequence analyses, these specimens represented two species, i.e. Erysiphe howeana, known to infect Oenothera spp., and Erysiphe cf. alphitoides, which has never been recorded on herbaceous plants. Both species were detected on the invasive O. biennis in different parts of the world including regions where O. biennis was introduced only recently.

The aim of our study was to reveal the differences in the species composition and soil properties of open sandy grasslands dominated by different Festuca species, Festuca vaginata and F. pseudovaginata. Due to the arid conditions, sandy grasslands are generally covered by xerothermic vegetation in which F. vaginata is a typical dominant species. Festuca pseudovaginata, a species newly described by the authors, can also gain dominance in sandy grasslands. However, species composition and soil properties of grasslands dominated by this recently discovered species are still undiscovered. Based on previous coenological studies, we hypothesised that the grasslands characterised by the endemic F. vaginata are more species-rich than those with F. pseudovaginata. Coenological sampling was carried out in May 2009 at two study sites using the Braun-Blanquet method in quadrats of 2 m × 2 m. Five relevés were sampled in stands dominated by F. vaginata and F. pseudovaginata respectively at two study sites in Central Hungary, resulting in a total of twenty relevés. Analyses were based on the cover scores of vascular plant species and cryptogam crust and values of seven soil properties (pH [KCl], pH [H2O], humus, total N, Ca, P2O5 and K2O) measured in the 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil layers. Soil properties of the grasslands dominated by F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata (dependent variables) were compared by linear mixed models, where ‘grassland type’ was the fixed factor and ‘site nested in grassland type’ was considered as random factor. Data were analysed by cluster analysis, fusion algorithm was a combinatorial method (minimising increase of variance), and the correlation was used as comparative function. We compared the cover of subordinate species by Mann-Whitney U test. We found that F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata samples were well separated, and grasslands dominated by F. pseudovaginata had nearly two times more species than those dominated by F. vaginata. Based on the cluster analyses using plant cover and upper 0–15 cm soil layer data, F. pseudovaginata and F. vaginata groups could be well separated. Linear mixed models revealed that F. vaginata grasslands were typical on soils with higher pH, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium contents compared to F. pseudovaginata grasslands, which indicates a tight connection between the properties of the upper soil layer and the vegetation in sandy grasslands.

Egy műtrágyázási kísérlet 39. évében, 2012-ben vizsgáltuk az eltérő N, P, K, ellátottsági szintek és kombinációik hatását a Festuca pratensis vezérnövényű, nyolckomponensű pillangósnélküli gyepkeverék 12. évének termésére és botanikai összetételére. A termőhely talaja a szántott rétegben 3% humuszt, 3–5% CaCO3- ot és 20–22% agyagot tartalmazott, N és K elemekben eredetileg közepesen, P és Zn elemekkel viszonylag gyengén ellátottnak minősült. A kísérlet 4N×4P×4K = 64 kezelést, 2 ismétlést, azaz összesen 128 parcellát foglal magában. A talajvíz 13–15 m mélyen helyezkedik el, a terület aszályérzékeny. A vizsgált 2012. évben a kaszálásig (június 7-ig) összesen 123 mm csapadék hullott. Az elöregedő gyep sarjút nem képzett, második kaszálást nem adott. Megállapítottuk, hogy a tartamkísérlet 39. illetve a telepített gyep 12. évében a N és a N×P, N×K trágyázás eredményeképpen kifejezetten nőtt a pázsitfű fajok versenyképessége a gyomfajok, illetve az előforduló pillangósok rovására. Döntőnek azonban a N-hatások bizonyultak mind a borítottsági százalékokat, mind a növényállomány átlagos magasságát, mind a szénaterméseket illetően. A legbőségesebb és a legkisebb N×P×K ellátottságú kezelésekben az alábbi minimum-maximum adatok jellemezték az állományt: átlagos növénymagasság 10–70 cm, légszárazanyag 40–58%, zöldtömeg 1,4–9,8 t∙ha-1, szénatermés 0,6–4,8 t∙ha-1. A pillangós fajok számottevő megjelenése csak a N-kontroll parcellákon volt tapasztalható. A felmérés során összesen 8 fűfajt, továbbá 6 pillangós és 39 nem pillangós egyéb fajt azonosítottunk. A 12 évvel ezelőtt elvetett 8 fűfajból jelentősebb arányban az Agropyron pectinatum és a Festuca arundinacea, nyomokban (1% alatt) a Dactylis glomerata, valamint a Phalaris arundinacea maradtak meg. A Bromus inermis betelepült fajként 14,3% átlagos borítottságot ért el.

Clearly defining the taxonomic identity of a potential biocontrol agent is an essential component of any biological control programme. As part of such a programme against Impatiens glandulifera, a highly invasive annual weed in both Europe and North America, the rust fungus Puccinia komarovii was collected on this host plant in its native Himalayan range. However, current literature indicates that P. komarovii is a pathogen of a number of Impatiens species globally and was described originally from I. parviflora, a species native to Asia and now naturalized in Europe. Morphological comparisons, based on urediniospore and teliospore measurements, were generally inconclusive in showing any clear differences between the accession from I. glandulifera and those from other Impatiens species. Both, nrDNA ITS and ITS2-LSU sequence analyses indicated a difference between the rust infecting I. glandulifera compared to accessions on other hosts. However, the large variations in both ITS and 28S (ITS2-LSU) sequences determined within single accessions in this study, makes a clear separation difficult. Cross-inoculation experiments, using one accession of P. komarovii ex I. glandulifera (from India) and two accessions of P. komarovii ex I. parviflora (from China and Hungary), confirmed the specificity of these strains to their original hosts. Two Himalayan Impatiens species, I. scabrida and I. brachycentra, showed varying levels of susceptibility to these rust accessions, where the former was weakly susceptible to all three accessions and the latter was weakly susceptible only to P. komarovii ex I. parviflora (from China). However, commercial cultivars of I. balsamina proved to be fully susceptible to all rust accessions, although this has not been demonstrated under field conditions in India. Based on these host specificity differences between the rust accessions, we propose a new variety: Puccinia komarovii var. glanduliferae var. nov. associated with I. glandulifera in the Himalayas.

Jelen munkánkban négy, magökológiai kutatásokhoz épülő adatbázisról számolunk be. A magtömeg, a magalak, a magterjesztési mód és a magbank típus adatbázis jelenleg rendre 1892, 1654, 1927 és 501 fajról tartalmaz adatokat. Az adatbázisok használhatóságát két példa révén ismertetjük. (1) A magtömeg és a magbank típus adatbázisok kombinált használatával megmutatjuk, hogy a talajban mutatkozó túlélőképesség (tranziens, rövid távú, illetve hosszú távú perzisztens magbank) fordított arányban áll a fajok ezermagtömegével. (2) A szemtermés tömegét és alakját véve figyelembe kimutatjuk, hogy a hazai C3-as illetve C4-es fűfajok csoportja e jellegek alapján szignifikánsan elkülönül. A C4-es füvek szemtermése rendszerint kisebb tömegű és egyben kompaktabb alakú, mint a C3-asoké. A felismert összefüggés hozzájárulhat a fűfajok gyomosító képességének előrejelzéséhez.

Jelen dolgozat a Magyar Flóratérképezési Program keretében megvizsgált két Pusztaszabolcs melletti kvadrát (8878/1 és 8878/3) flóráját mutatja be. Az összesen 68,75 km2-nyi terület bejárása 2003.–2004. években történt. A 8878/1-es négyzet fajszáma 260, a 8878/3-asé 321, a két négyzet összfajszáma pedig 366 volt. A Sørensen-index a két négyzet flórájának magas (74%-os) hasonlóságát mutatta, ezért természetességi-degradáltsági értékelésüket az összevont fajlista alapján tárgyaltuk. A fajkészlet természetvédelmiérték kategóriák szerinti megoszlása a terület degradált állapotát jelezte, mivel az erre utaló fajok részaránya megközelítette a 60 százalékot. A szociális magatartás típusok szerinti elemzés ezzel egybehangzó eredményt adott, itt a leromlást indikáló fajok aránya 63% volt. Mindkét elemzési mód esetén tovább növekedett a leromlást jelző fajok csoportjainak részaránya, ha a számításokat csak a nagyobb elterjedésű (mindkét térképezési négyzetben előforduló) fajokra vonatkozóan végeztük el. A természetes vegetáció elszegényedésének elsődleges oka a nagytáblás művelésű szántóföldek uralkodó jelenléte a kistájban, amihez még hozzájárul a megmaradt mezsgyék és más vonalas tájelemek jelentős bolygatottsága is. Az általános leromlottság ellenére nyomokban még fellelhetők voltak a kistáj természetes növényzetét egykor meghatározó löszvegetáció elemei, de a védett löszfajok közül csak a Taraxacum serotinum került elő.

The non-native Pinus nigra has been widely planted on natural dolomite grassl ands in Hungary, yet little is known on its influence on so il properties. We compared soil micro-element concentrations in rock grassland (RG) and under P. nigra plantation (PP), both grown on north facing slopes of dolomite bedrock. At PP sites, the origin al vegetation was RG prior to afforestation. For bo th vegetation types, five sampling sites were selected, and at ea ch site soil samples were taken from three depths (0-5, 5-10 and 10-15 cm). Micro-element concentrations of corresponding soil layers in the two vegetation types were compared. Under the pine plantation, the concentration of a number of soil trace elements was altered compared to the original rock grassland soil, and this effect increased with soil depth. At the deepest layer, significant differenc es were found for 10 microelements (Al, Fe, Mn, Ba, Cd, Co, Ni, Pb, Sr, Zn), and in each case the concentra tion was higher in PP than in RG soil. In contrast, the concentration of Cr, Cu, Hg, Mo and Se was not diff erent between the two habitats throughout the soil layers sampled. Values exceeding the Hungarian environmental limits of background concentrations were detected for lead and cadmium. In the RG soil, conc entrations of Pb and Cd were highest in the topmost layer, while for the PP sites these elements showed concentrations higher in the 10-15 cm layer than i n the 5-10 cm depth. Concentrations of some other micro-elements showed similar inversion at PP sites. The depth inversion of these, often airborne pollut ant trace elements was explained as a consequence o f afforestation with P. nigra and such phytostabilization effect of the pine sta nds is assumed to increase with stand age.

The floristic composition and spatial structure of a West African riverine forest in north-western Benin were studied in order to identify vegetation zones and their arrangement and composition. Data were collected on five continuous belt transects and were analysed using multivariate methods. A total of 133 tree taxa from 34 plant families were identified, with Rubiaceae and Leguminosae-Papilionoideae as the most frequent families. Fifteen homogeneous transect sections were documented. Near-river sections were dominated by water-demanding species (Syzygium guineense, Garcinia ovalifolia, Berlinia grandiflora, Breonardia salicina) (=gallery forest), whereas uphill sections were characterised by savanna species (Terminalia laxiflora, Hymenocardia acida, Detarium microcarpum, Burkea africana) (= savanna). The shift from gallery forest to savanna was reflected by a floristic turnover and the different physiognomy of the vegetation, although diversity values for gallery forest and savanna were very s...

Seed mass and shape of grasses were analysed in a temperate flora containing 178 and 26 species belonging to C3 and C4 photosynthetic types respectively. The weedy character and the annual or perennial status were also considered. On the basis of the seed traits studied, three groups were distinguished: C4 grasses, annual C3 grasses of weedy character and perennial non-weedy C3 grasses. The C4 group had more isodiametric (same diameter in all directions) seed shape and lower average seed mass than the C3 group. To our knowledge, this has not yet been described for temperate C4 grasses and is certainly associated with their preference for open habitats where competition for light is small. Weedy annual C3 grasses had heavier and less isodiametric seeds than C4 grasses did. These species are mostly specialized to establish in the dense cover of perennial vegetation, and this ability distinguishes them from the C4 group. Non-weedy perennial C3 species possessed less isodiametric seeds than did C4 grasses, but did not differ from weedy annual C3 grasses. As most alien C4 grasses naturalized in Hungary are annuals with small, isodiametric seeds, these traits are good candidates to be included in screening for potential future invasives in open habitats.

Pinus nigra and Robinia pseudoacacia are exotic trees used for afforestation in Hungary. Pinus nigra was non-invasive, however R. pseudoacacia escaped from cultivation and invaded several vegetation types including pine plantations. It has recently been planned to cut P. nigra plantations and replace them by native tree stands, especially in nature reserves. The scattered presence of R. pseudoacacia specimens in pine stands might place constraints on planned tree replacement because of their vegetative resprouting and recolonization from an established seed bank. The aim of this study was to investigate the soil seed bank under the canopy of solitary R. pseudoacacia specimens found in P.nigra plantations. Altogether 250 soil samples were collected from the 0-6 and 6-12 cm soil layers under solitary Robinia trees of varying ages (with basal areas between 62.4 and 1089.3 cm2). Seeds were separated by sieving then scarified and germinated. Seed bank density ranged between 640 and 2285 seedsm-2 with an average distribution of 82.7% and 17.3% in the upper and lower soil layer, respectively. Total density of the seed bank and also the seed bank ratio of the lower soil layer increased with tree age. The accumulated seed bank of R. pseudoacacia should be considered in the careful planning of tree replacement operations in Pinus nigra stands.

Aquatic hyphomycetes or Ingoldian fungi are the major decomposers of leaf litter in temperate aquatic ecosystems. Role of leaf litter quality in structuring hyphomycete communities is intensively discussed among hydrobiologists. Therefore, an adequate sampling strategy of the leaf litter is essential in this field. The present paper aims analysing the appropriate sample size of leaf litter with various diversity and evenness combinations taken from streambeds in the temperate deciduous forest zone.Leaf litter in the streambed was sampled at four stream sections of two tributaries of the Morgo stream in the Borzsony Mts, Hungary. The tributaries differed in water chemistry, altitude and riparian vegetation. To analyse species number-sample size relations, species saturation diagrams were drawn and statistically evaluated.Results showed that: (1) a sample size of 500 leaves sufficiently describes the species composition of leaf litter taken from streambeds in the temperate forest zone, in cases of low diversity forest stands and high diversity forest stands coupled with high evenness; and (2) for forest sites with high diversity coupled with low evenness values a litter sample composed by 800-1000 leaves is advised to investigate to achieve satisfactory estimation of the species composition of leaf litter.The sampling methods described in this paper are proposed for studies where estimation of leaf litter composition is required to understand the available substrate quality for litter decomposing organisms.