Seed description in morphology is often based on adjectives such as “spherical”, “globular”, or “reniform”, but this does not provide a quantitative method. A new morphological approach based on the comparison of seed images with geometric models provides a seed description in Silene species on a quantitative basis. The novelty of the proposed method is based in the comparison of the seed images with geometric models according to a cardioid shape. The J index is a measurement that indicates the seed percentage of similarity with a cardioid or cardioid-derived figures used as models. The seeds of Silene species have high values of similarity with the cardioid and cardioid-derived models (J index superior to 90). The comparison with different figures allows species description and differentiation. The method is applied here to seeds of 21 species and models are proposed for some of them including S. diclinis, an endangered species. The method is discussed in the context of previous comparison with the measures used in traditional morphometric analysis. The similarity of seed images with geometric figures opens a new perspective for the automatized taxonomical evaluation of samples linking seed morphology to functional traits in endangered Silene species.

Modern automated and semi-automated methods of shape analysis depart from the coordinates of the points in the outline of a figure and obtain, based on artificial vision algorithms, descriptive parameters (i.e., the length, width, area, and circularity index). These methods omit an important factor: the resemblance of the examined images to a geometric figure. We have described a method based on the comparison of the outline of seed images with geometric figures. The J index is the percentage of similarity between a seed image and a geometric figure used as a model. This allows the description and classification of wheat kernels based on their similarity to geometric models. The figures used are the ellipse and the lens of different major/minor axis ratios. Kernels of different species, subspecies and varieties of wheat adjust to different figures. A relationship is found between their ploidy levels and morphological type. Kernels of diploid einkorn and ancient tetraploid emmer varieties adjust to the lens and have curvature values in their poles superior to modern “bread” varieties. Kernels of modern varieties (hexaploid common wheat) adjust to an ellipse of aspect ratio = 1.6, while varieties of tetraploid durum and Polish wheat and hexaploid spelt adjust to an ellipse of aspect ratio = 2.4.

The alpine-boreal plants which have survived in Central European lowlands during glacial periods depend both on the preservation of their refugial habitat, and their capability for vegetative and generative reproduction and dispersion. Pulsatilla vernalis (L.) Mill. is a model species which occurs throughout most of the European alpine system, as well as in isolated populations in the lowlands. At present, the relict lowland localities of this species often have a historic character. In the Polish lowlands, only the population located in Rogowiec is characterized by effective recruitment. It presents a large number of rosettes and a diversified demographic structure, with plants in all stages of development. The study examines the population in Rogowiec from 2002 to 2008 with regard to the number of flowering and fruiting shoots, new seedlings, and loss of juvenile rosettes, and the obtained data are correlated with climatic conditions. Three years were found to demonstrate effective recruitment, with numerous seedlings and little loss of juvenile rosettes. No significant relationship was found between seedling dynamics and the flowering-fruiting process. However, correlations were found between effective renewal and some climatic factors. Temperature, water balance, and solar radiation were found to have a limiting effect on the reproduction and regeneration of the analyzed relict population. Due to the longevity of the rosettes, favorable climatic conditions occurring every few years are sufficient for survival of the species in this location. However, serious threats are posed by the climate change trends expected in Europe over the coming decades, and the fact that due to its small-scale dispersal ability, the analyzed species occupies only a small area in Rogowiec.

IntroductionEcological comparisons between urban or industrial environments and natural areas emphasize their differences (Lundholm and Richardson, 2010). Humanmodified ecosystems are considered to be ecologically novel in that climatic conditions, soils, toxins, hydrology, productivity, species composition, and interactions (Pickett et al., 2001) differ from conditions prevailing prior to human alterations (Lundholm and Richardson, 2010). The physical, chemical, and biological properties are generally less favorable than those in soil found on natural landscapes. For instance, urban soils are characterized by modified soil organism activity and modified soil temperature regimes, elevated soil reaction (pH), greater nutrient amounts and availability to plants, higher calcium levels, more rocks, greater decomposition rates, less accumulated organic matter, and compacted mixtures of anthropogenic materials compared with local remnants of the natural ecosystems (McDonnell et al., 1997).Many orchid habitats are liable to be lost to development, since they are often postindustrial, and may even be contaminated. In contrast, anthropogenic analogues of natural habitats provide refuge for many rare or threatened and endangered species such as Orchidaceae (Pedersen et al., 2013). The most common colonizers of secondary habitats in temperate Europe are Epipactis and Dactylorhiza, species with short life cycles and broad ecological amplitudes. Substrates rich in CaCO 3 , high light availability, and diminished competition resulting from disturbance of the upper soil level are common in habitats colonized by orchids (

Species distribution models need adequate sets of data, particularly in the case of range‐restricted species. The problem faced in the modeling of rare species is twofold: a small sample size and the occurrence of sampling biases. The present analysis combines spatial‐ and habitat‐thinning approaches to improve maximum entropy models based on geographically incomplete data of relict and subendemic Festuca amethystina L. grass on Polish territory. The results show that models based on strongly incomplete historic data did not predict the occurrence of all important areas where the species was found in the following decades. However, the introduction of species‐specific thinning allows for more precise prediction of the species range, i.e., the detection of suitable areas on a more local scale. The introduction of habitat thinning caused the diversity of important predictors in model to increase, but spatial thinning decreased the number of significant predictors and made interpretation easier. Additionally, a combination of thinning techniques allowed significant improvements to be made to the model predictions after the experimental addition of a lower number of localities to regions which had previously been poorly recognized. It can be concluded that in the case of incomplete data, the above corrections allow the true range of the species to be predicted after the discovery of a lower number and relatively dispersed new localities.