Flora diversity

Flora diversity
George Fotiadis

Introduction
-What is flora?
-What are rare and endemic species?
-What is vegetation?
Flora diversity
-Where are the plant-rich areas?
-Where are the rare and endemic plant-rich
areas?
-What about the Mediterranean?
Flora diversity in agroforestry systems
-What about agroforestry systems?

Introduction

Flora 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
found only in that area and nowhere else in the
world

Rare species: small populations or individuals sparse in large or
small areas depending on the capability of the species to regenerate (e.g.
Epipogium aphyllun is found in large areas with small populations and
has limited regeneration capability)

Vegetation is a group of plants called after
the dominant species (e.g. oak wood)…

…or the dominant group of plants
(e.g. annual or perennial herbaceous plant
species: grasslands)

Major vegetation types of the Mediterranean:
(1) Mediterranean coniferous woods

Major vegetation types:
(2) Mediterranean evergreen shrublands

Major vegetation types:
(3) Mediterranean low xerothermic shrublands
(e.g. phrygana, tomiralles, batha)

Major vegetation types:
(4) Sub-Mediterranean forests (oak forests)

Major vegetation types:
(5) Grasslands dominated by annual plant
species

Major vegetation types:
(6) Oro-Mediterranean coniferous forests

Major vegetation types:
(7) Subalpine grasslands or oro-phrygana

Ecotones: the transition areas

Changes in floristic composition:
Vegetation succession….

Changes in floristic composition:
Vegetation succession….

Changes in floristic composition:
Vegetation succession….

Changes in floristic composition:
Vegetation succession….

Changes in floristic composition:
Vegetation succession….

Flora diversity

Plant diversity: methods
-Number of species and number of individuals per species
-Number of rare or endemic species
-Stability of diversity in large expanses
-In the field: usually a plot of 50 X 50 cm or 1 X 1 m, in
which we are counting the number of species and the
number of individuals per species
-Deskwork: many indexes for quantifying plant diversity
and presenting qualitative features of flora and vegetation

Hot spots of plant diversity

Plant diversity: plant species in vegetation
dominated by low shrubs (chamaephytes,
e.g. phrygana, tomiralles, batha)

Plant diversity: plant species in lowland
grasslands

Plant diversity: plant species in evergreen
broadleaved shrublands (maquis)

Plant diversity: plant species in oak forests

Plant diversity: plant species in beech
forests

Plant diversity: plant species in subalpine
grasslands

Plant diversity: species-rich Natura 2000
habitat types (e.g. lowland grasslands of
Thero-Brachypodietea)

Plant diversity: species-rich Natura 2000
habitat types (e.g. subalpine grassland of
Nardus stricta)

Plant diversity: what about arable land
(annual cultivations)?

Plant diversity: what about arable land (tree
or shrub cultivations)?

Plant diversity: what about “urban” flora?

Plant diversity and competition between plant
species

Plant diversity: ecotones

Plant diversity: ecotones

Plant diversity: the example of Chalkidiki
annual
crops
intensive olive
groves
olive groves + grazing
non‐intensive olive
cultivations
number of
species 7 14 29 21

Plant diversity: the example of Chalkidiki
number
of
species
coniferous
forests
19 (up to 15
woody
species!)
coniferous
reforestations
evergreen
broadleaved
shrublands
phrygana deciduous
forests
grasslands
6 21 29 15 19

Plant diversity: the example of Chalkidiki
number of
species
herbaceous
edges
species‐rich
hedges
indiv. rows of
deciduous trees
indiv. rows of
evergreen shrubs
21 21 17 6

Plant diversity: the example of Chalkidiki
number of
species
hedges
shrublands
olive groves &
grazing
non‐intensive olivegroves
21 21‐29 29 21

Plant diversity: rare and endemic plant
species in the world

Plant diversity: vegetation succession and
extinction of species (e.g. Lesquereuxia
syriaca)

Plant diversity: in specific groups of plants
(e.g. clovers Trifolium spp.)

Plant diversity: in specific groups of plants
(e.g. Trifolium spp.) – center of distribution

Plant diversity: stability of diversity in
space

Plant diversity: stability of diversity in time
depends on vegetation succession
Number of species

Plant diversity threatened by: green deserts

Plant diversity threatened by : invasive
species

Plant diversity and vegetation diversity

Flora diversity in
agroforestry
systems

Plant diversity in silvopastoral systems

Plant diversity in silvoarable systems

Plant diversity in agropastoral systems

Plant diversity in agroforestry systems:
the plant-rich hedges

Thank you for your attention!