Flora diversity
Flora diversity
Flora diversity
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
<strong>Flora</strong> <strong>diversity</strong><br />
George Fotiadis
Introduction<br />
-What is flora?<br />
-What are rare and endemic species?<br />
-What is vegetation?<br />
<strong>Flora</strong> <strong>diversity</strong><br />
-Where are the plant-rich areas?<br />
-Where are the rare and endemic plant-rich<br />
areas?<br />
-What about the Mediterranean?<br />
<strong>Flora</strong> <strong>diversity</strong> in agroforestry systems<br />
-What about agroforestry systems?
Introduction
<strong>Flora</strong> is the total number of the plant species…
Floristic regions of the world
Floristic regions of Europe
Endemic species of an area are the species<br />
found only in that area and nowhere else in the<br />
world
Rare species: small populations or individuals sparse in large or<br />
small areas depending on the capability of the species to regenerate (e.g.<br />
Epipogium aphyllun is found in large areas with small populations and<br />
has limited regeneration capability)
Vegetation is a group of plants called after<br />
the dominant species (e.g. oak wood)…
…or the dominant group of plants<br />
(e.g. annual or perennial herbaceous plant<br />
species: grasslands)
Major vegetation types of the Mediterranean:<br />
(1) Mediterranean coniferous woods
Major vegetation types:<br />
(2) Mediterranean evergreen shrublands
Major vegetation types:<br />
(3) Mediterranean low xerothermic shrublands<br />
(e.g. phrygana, tomiralles, batha)
Major vegetation types:<br />
(4) Sub-Mediterranean forests (oak forests)
Major vegetation types:<br />
(5) Grasslands dominated by annual plant<br />
species
Major vegetation types:<br />
(6) Oro-Mediterranean coniferous forests
Major vegetation types:<br />
(7) Subalpine grasslands or oro-phrygana
Ecotones: the transition areas
Changes in floristic composition:<br />
Vegetation succession….
Changes in floristic composition:<br />
Vegetation succession….
Changes in floristic composition:<br />
Vegetation succession….
Changes in floristic composition:<br />
Vegetation succession….
Changes in floristic composition:<br />
Vegetation succession….
<strong>Flora</strong> <strong>diversity</strong>
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: methods<br />
-Number of species and number of individuals per species<br />
-Number of rare or endemic species<br />
-Stability of <strong>diversity</strong> in large expanses<br />
-In the field: usually a plot of 50 X 50 cm or 1 X 1 m, in<br />
which we are counting the number of species and the<br />
number of individuals per species<br />
-Deskwork: many indexes for quantifying plant <strong>diversity</strong><br />
and presenting qualitative features of flora and vegetation
Hot spots of plant <strong>diversity</strong>
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in vegetation<br />
dominated by low shrubs (chamaephytes,<br />
e.g. phrygana, tomiralles, batha)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in lowland<br />
grasslands
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in evergreen<br />
broadleaved shrublands (maquis)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in oak forests
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in beech<br />
forests
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: plant species in subalpine<br />
grasslands
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: species-rich Natura 2000<br />
habitat types (e.g. lowland grasslands of<br />
Thero-Brachypodietea)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: species-rich Natura 2000<br />
habitat types (e.g. subalpine grassland of<br />
Nardus stricta)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: what about arable land<br />
(annual cultivations)?
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: what about arable land (tree<br />
or shrub cultivations)?
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: what about “urban” flora?
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> and competition between plant<br />
species
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: ecotones
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: ecotones
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: the example of Chalkidiki<br />
annual<br />
crops<br />
intensive olive<br />
groves<br />
olive groves + grazing<br />
non‐intensive olive<br />
cultivations<br />
number of<br />
species 7 14 29 21
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: the example of Chalkidiki<br />
number<br />
of<br />
species<br />
coniferous<br />
forests<br />
19 (up to 15<br />
woody<br />
species!)<br />
coniferous<br />
reforestations<br />
evergreen<br />
broadleaved<br />
shrublands<br />
phrygana deciduous<br />
forests<br />
grasslands<br />
6 21 29 15 19
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: the example of Chalkidiki<br />
number of<br />
species<br />
herbaceous<br />
edges<br />
species‐rich<br />
hedges<br />
indiv. rows of<br />
deciduous trees<br />
indiv. rows of<br />
evergreen shrubs<br />
21 21 17 6
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: the example of Chalkidiki<br />
number of<br />
species<br />
hedges<br />
shrublands<br />
olive groves &<br />
grazing<br />
non‐intensive olivegroves<br />
21 21‐29 29 21
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: rare and endemic plant<br />
species in the world
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: vegetation succession and<br />
extinction of species (e.g. Lesquereuxia<br />
syriaca)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: in specific groups of plants<br />
(e.g. clovers Trifolium spp.)
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: in specific groups of plants<br />
(e.g. Trifolium spp.) – center of distribution
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: stability of <strong>diversity</strong> in<br />
space
Plant <strong>diversity</strong>: stability of <strong>diversity</strong> in time<br />
depends on vegetation succession<br />
Number of species
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> threatened by: green deserts
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> threatened by : invasive<br />
species
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> and vegetation <strong>diversity</strong>
<strong>Flora</strong> <strong>diversity</strong> in<br />
agroforestry<br />
systems
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> in silvopastoral systems
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> in silvoarable systems
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> in agropastoral systems
Plant <strong>diversity</strong> in agroforestry systems:<br />
the plant-rich hedges
Thank you for your attention!