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The Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System according to Rivas-Martínez (WBCS) is a bioclimatic classification that is widely used in vegetation science, geobotany, and landscape ecology. To date, only one complete WBCS map has been produced for Italy at the national scale. Here, we define two major updates to the WBCS map of Italy: improvements to the surface spatial accuracy for the climate, especially for precipitation; and detailed mapping of the Submediterraneity Index and its levels, which mainly characterize the ecotone area between the Mediterranean and the Temperate macrobioclimates. Finally, all WBCS units (i.e. macrobioclimates, bioclimatic variants, bioclimates, continentality types, bioclimatic belts) and the Submediterraneity Index are mapped on a scale of 1:2,500,000. These maps and the bioclimatic indices and monthly climatic surfaces are available here as raster data-sets (resolution, 900 m) and are useful for accurate bioclimatic diagnosis for the entire Italian territory. They will also support vegetation-environment relationship analysis, ecological modeling, and applied studies of climate change at the national scale.

Recent global efforts in biodiversity accounting, such as those undertaken through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), are vital if we are to track conservation progress, ensure that we can address the challenges of global change, and develop powerful and scientifically sound indicators. Schlaepfer [1] proposes that we should work toward inventories of biodiversity that account for native and non-native species regardless of species origin and ecological context. We strongly disagree with the approach of combining counts of native and non-native species because this will reduce our capacity to detect the effects of non-native species on native biodiversity with potentially devastating consequences. Compelling and abundant evidence demonstrates that some non-native species can become invasive and produce major ecosystem disruptions and even native species extinction. Unfortunately, we still cannot be certain which non-native species will be the most detrimental (e.g., [2]). Combining native and non-native species together into a single biodiversity index would not only inflate biodiversity estimates and risk promoting the spread of invasive non-native species but would also ignore the fundamental ecological differences between the two groups.

Plants adapted to special soil types are ideal for investigating evolutionary processes, including maintenance of intraspecific variation, adaptation, reproductive isolation, ecotypic differentiation, and the tempo and mode of speciation. Common garden and reciprocal transplant approaches show that both local adaptation and phenotypic plasticity contribute to edaphic (soil-related) specialization. Edaphic specialists evolve rapidly and repeatedly in some lineages, offering opportunities to investigate parallel evolution, a process less commonly documented in plants than in animals. Adaptations to soil features are often under the control of major genes and they frequently have direct or indirect effects on genes that contribute to reproductive isolation. Both reduced competitiveness and greater susceptibility to herbivory have been documented among some edaphic specialists when grown in ‘normal’ soils, suggesting that a high physiological cost of tolerance may result in strong divergent selection across soil boundaries. Interactions with microbes, herbivores, and pollinators influence soil specialization either by directly enhancing tolerance to extremes in soil conditions or by reducing gene flow between divergent populations. Climate change may further restrict the distribution of edaphic specialists due to increased competition from other taxa or, expand their ranges, if preadaptations to drought or other abiotic stressors render them more competitive under a novel climate

Globally, ultramafic outcrops are renowned for hosting floras with high levels of endemism, including plants with specialised adaptations such as nickel or manganese hyperaccumulation. Soils derived from ultramafic regoliths are generally nutrient-deficient, have major cation imbalances, and have concomitant high concentrations of potentially phytotoxic trace elements, especially nickel. The South and Southeast Asian region has the largest surface occurrences of ultramafic regoliths in the world, but the geoecology of these outcrops is still poorly studied despite severe conservation threats. Due to the paucity of systematic plant collections in many areas and the lack of georeferenced herbarium records and databased information, it is not possible to determine the distribution of species, levels of endemism, and the species most threatened. However, site-specific studies provide insights to the ultramafic geoecology of several locations in South and Southeast Asia. The geoecology of tropical ultramafic regions differs substantially from those in temperate regions in that the vegetation at lower elevations is generally tall forest with relatively low levels of endemism. On ultramafic mountaintops, where the combined forces of edaphic and climatic factors intersect, obligate ultramafic species and hyperendemics often occur. Forest clearing, agricultural development, mining, and climate change-related stressors have contributed to rapid and unprecedented loss of ultramafic-associated habitats in the region. The geoecology of the large ultramafic outcrops of Indonesia’s Sulawesi, Obi and Halmahera, and many other smaller outcrops in South and Southeast Asia, remains largely unexplored, and should be prioritised for study and conservation.

The olive ( Olea europaea L., Oleaceae) is the most significant fruit tree that has been around for thousands of years. Consequently, it boosts the Palestinian economy by increasing the agricultural national product in Mediterranean nations like Palestine. This study aims to determine the effect of climatic and bioclimatic factors on olive production in the Jenin of Palestine. We utilized Salvador Rivas Martinez’s bioclimatic classification for the earth during the study period (1993–2015), obtained from the Palestinian Meteorological Station, along with the corresponding period of olive production (rainfed) data from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, to analyze environmental factors of Jenin, including climate and bioclimate. Through correspondence analysis (CA), we observed that during the years (2000–2015), Jenin was positively influenced by bioclimatic factors such as the annual ombrothermic index and the simple continentality index, whereas during the years (1993–2000), the effect was negative. A significant proportion of the variance was explained by axes F1 (95.8%), F2 (2.88%), and axes F1 and F2 (98.7%). Additionally, Jenin should maintain an ideal annual temperature of 15–20 degrees Celsius, receive 400–1000 mm of precipitation annually, have a compensated thermicity index ranging from 210/250 to 350/400, a simple continentality index between 15–20, and an annual ombrothermic index value exceeding 3.5 to achieve optimal olive production. Arid, semi-arid, dry to humid ombrotype environmental zones, and thermomediterranean to mesomediterranean thermotype environmental locations are preferable for olive production. Jenin is classified as both arid, dry to subhumid of the ombrotype, and thermomediterranean of the thermotype.

Climate change is causing major changes in terrestrial ecosystems and biomes around the world. This is particularly concerning in oceanic islands, considered reservoirs of biodiversity, even more in those with a significant altitudinal gradient and high complexity in the vegetation they potentially harbour. Here, in Tenerife (Canary Islands), we have evaluated the changes in potential vegetation belts during the last 20 years by comparing them with a previous study. Considering the intimate linkage between vegetation and climate, we used a methodology based on phytosociological knowledge, ordination techniques and geostatistics, using multivariate spatial interpolations of bioclimatic data. This has allowed us to spatially detect the variations experienced by eight vegetation units during the last 20 years and incorporating a set of vulnerability metrics. New bioclimatic and vegetation cartography are provided according to the current scenario studied (1990–2019). Our results indicate that summit vegetation, humid laurel forest and thermo-sclerophyllous woodland are the habitats that have experienced a very high area loss and mismatch index, strong changes, if we consider that we are only comparing a period of 20 years. Simultaneously, the more xeric vegetation belts, the dry laurel forest and the pine forest would have benefited from this new warmer and drier climate, by gaining area and experiencing strong upward movements. These changes have not been spatially uniform, indicating that the elevational gradient studied not explain completely our results, showing the influence of the complex island topography. Effective landscape management should consider current remnants, transition capacity and movement limitations to better understand current and future vegetation responses in a global change context.

This paper enumerates the endemic plants of the Central Grassland of North America. The Central Grassland encompasses the full extent of the tallgrass, mixed-grass, and shortgrass prairie ecological systems of North America plus floristically related plant communities that adjoin and/or interdigitate with the midcontinental grasslands including savanna-open woodland systems, shrub-steppe, and rock outcrop communities. There are 382 plant taxa endemic to the Central Grassland, 300 endemic species (eight of which have multiple subspecific taxa endemic to the region) and 72 endemic subspecies/varieties of more widely distributed species. Nine regional concentrations of endemic taxa were identified and are described as centers of endemism for the Central Grassland: Arkansas Valley Barrens, Edwards Plateau, Llano Estacado Escarpments, Llano Uplift, Mescalero-Monahans Dunes, Niobrara-Platte Tablelands, Raton Tablelands, Red Bed Plains, and Reverchon Rocklands. In addition to hosting localized endemics, these areas are typically enriched with more widely-distributed Central Grassland endemics as well as peripheral or disjunct occurrences of locally-rare taxa, making them regions of high floristic diversity for the Central Grassland. Most of the endemics (299 or 78%) are habitat specialists, associated with rock outcrop, sand, hydric, or riparian habitats. There is a strong correlation between geology and endemism in the Central Grassland, with 59% of the endemics (225 taxa) associated with rock outcrop habitat. Of the 382 Central Grassland endemics, 124 or 33% are of conservation concern (NatureServe ranking of G1/T1 to G3/T3). Of these at-risk taxa, 78 or 63% are primarily associated with one of the centers of endemism identified in the study. It is hoped these findings will be useful in focusing conservation action on the habitats, ecological associations, and regions of the Central Grassland that host the highest concentrations of unique and at-risk plant species and associated biological diversity. En este artículo se enumeran las plantas endémicas de la Pradera Central de Norteamérica. la Pradera Central abarca totalidad de los sistemas ecológicos de praderas de gramíneas altas, mezcladas, y bajas de Norteamérica junto con comunidades de plantas relacionadas florísticamente que se añaden y/o se entremezclan con las praderas continentales que incluyen sistemas de sabana-bosque abierto, arbusto-estepa, y comunidades de afloramientos rocosos. Hay 382 taxa endémicos de la Pradera Central, 300 especies endémicas (ocho de las cuales tienen múltiples taxa subspecíficos endémicos de la región) y 72 subespecies/variedades endémicas de especies de distribución más amplia. Se identificaron nueve concentraciones regionales de taxa endémicos y se describen como centros de endemismos de la Pradera Central: Arkansas Valley Barrens, Edwards Plateau, Llano Estacado Escarpments, Llano Uplift, Mescalero-Monahans Dunes, Niobrara-Platte Tablelands, Raton Tablelands, Red Bed Plains, y Reverchon Rocklands. Además de albergar endemismos localizados, estas áreas están típicamente enriquecidas con endemismos de la Pradera Central de distribución más amplia, así como ocurrencias periféricas o disyuntas de taxa localmente raros, que hacen de ellas regiones de alta diversidad florística para la Pradera Central. La mayoría de los endemismos (299 o 78%) están especializados en un hábitat, asociados con afloramientos rocosos, arena, agua, o hábitats riparios. Hay una correlación fuerte entre geología y endemismo en la Pradera Central, con 59% de los endemismos (225 taxa) asociados con afloramientos rocosos. De los 382 endemismos de la Pradera Central, 124 o 33% necesitan conservación (ranking de NatureServe de G1/T1 a G3/T3). De estos taxa en riesgo, 78 o 63% están asociados primariamente con uno de los centros de endemismo identificados en el estudio. Se espera que estos hallazgos sean útiles para establecer las acciones de conservación en los hábitats, asociaciones ecológicas, y regiones de la Pradera Central que alberga las mayores concentraciones de especies únicas y amenazadas y la diversidad biológica asociada.

Bioclimatology deals with the interrelation between climate and living organisms, in particular, plants and plant communities, considering the main climate variables that are relevant for species distribution. In this context spatial interpolation of monthly temperature and precipitation data using 203 rain gauges and 68 temperature gauges for Sardinia (Italy) was undertaken. As interpolation technique, we used regression kriging which combines multiple linear regression (MLR) with ordinary kriging of the residuals. MLR procedures include as independent variables: altitude, latitude, longitude, coast distance and a topographic factor of relative elevation. Elevation data were obtained from digital elevation model at 40 m resolution. Following the approach of the Worldwide Bioclimatic Classification System, a bioclimatic diagnosis of the entire territory was derived using map algebra calculations of the bioclimatic indices proposed by Rivas-Martínez et al. [(2011). Worldwide Bioclimatic classification system. Global Geobotany, 1, 1-638]. Two macrobioclimates (Mediterranean pluviseasonal oceanic and Temperate oceanic), one macrobioclimatic variant (Submediterranean), and four classes of continentality (from weak semihyperoceanic to weak semicontinental), eight thermotypic horizons (from lower thermomediterranean to upper supratemperate) and seven ombrotypic horizons (from lower dry to lower hyperhumid) were identified, resulting in a combination of 43 isobioclimates. The resulting map represents a useful environmental stratum, for regional planning, ecological modeling and biodiversity conservation.

This study identifies and analyzes the plant communities that allow the definition of the geographic limits between Temperate and Mediterranean macrobioclimates, for the center of Portuguese mainland. The altitude of Serra da Estrela, Açor and Lousã, combined with the increase in atmospheric humidity, allows the presence of vegetation typical of a Temperate macrobioclimate. Thus, based on the phytosociological methodology, floristic relevés were carried out in order to identify the series of vegetation existing in these territories. Through these relevés carried out, four new plant associations were identified: Cytisetum grandifloro-striati ass. nova, Scrophulario grandiflorae-Sambucetum nigrae ass. nova, Pruno lusitanicae-Coryletum avellanae ass. nova that lives in the submediterranean bioclimatic variant, mesotemperate humid to hyper-humid. A new association namely Genisto falcatae-Quercetum broteroanae ass. nova with two subassociations were also identified. Based on the vegetation distribution, new biogeographic limits are proposed. Thus, it was intended to identify the southern limits of the European Atlantic Province (Atlantic Orolusitania Subrovince) based on the vegetation cover, namely the distinction between the Estrela Sierran District and a new Biogeographical District, the Alvo-Gardunhense.

This article provides an overview of the literature on the role of geobotanical research in agriculture. In it, the author describes this article, which contains opposing points of view on the problem considered in the importance of geobotanical studies of today’s agricultural systems. The article discusses the problems and ways to solve the economic use of geobotany is the creation of artificial phytocenoses, as well as changing the natural ones by one or another violation of their composition and structure. Agriculture should ensure the maintenance of ecological balance in agrolandscape systems. Compliance with the requirements of environmental management, environmental protection and optimization of management of agricultural landscapes is becoming one of the main conditions for increasing the productive longevity of agricultural ecosystems and the efficiency of agricultural production.