No abstract

IntroductionCapparis herbacea Willd. (C. spinosa auct. non L.) is a perennial pendulous shrub distributed in the Irano-Turanian floristic region, extending into the Euro-Siberian region, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Caucasus (Inocencio et al., 2006). Capers from the section Capparis L. (which also includes C. herbacea) usually inhabit desert and semidesert areas (Fakhireh et al., 2012). In Georgia this species grows in dry open woodlands, xerophytic scrublands, semideserts, and secondary steppes. As a native plant it is of considerable importance for erosion control and revegetation of degraded habitats in Georgia, due to its drought tolerance and ability to withstand desertification in the fragile semiarid ecosystem.Capparis herbacea differs from the Mediterranean C. spinosa L. by straight stipules, prominent innervations of the abaxial leaf surface, strong zygomorphy of the flower, and star-like shape of the nectary. Like C. spinosa, C. herbacea is an economically important species; capers, pickled flower buds and young fruits, are often used as seasoning or garnish. The available data on the sexual system of the section Capparis indicate that at least one species from the section C. spinosa is an andromonoecious plant (Zhang & Tan, 2008).Andromonoecy is a particular sexual system in which both perfect (hermaphrodite, bisexual) flowers are produced with male (staminate, female sterile) flowers on the same individual. This rare phenomenon is described only in 1.7% of Angiosperms (Yampolsky & Yampolsky, 1922;Diggle, 1991;Miller & Diggle, 2003). Our preliminary observations indicate that C. herbacea produces both hermaphrodite and staminate flowers on the same individual.The aims of the present work were to determine morphological and morphometric differences between 2 flower morphs, study variations in the proportion of male and hermaphrodite flowers during the flowering season, and investigate whether andromonoecy occurs in Capparis herbacea. According to the classification of section Capparis L. revised by Inocencio et al. (2006), C. herbacea is regarded as C. sicula Veill. subsp. herbacea (Willd.) Inocencio, D. Rivera, Obón & Alcaraz. The number of stamens and the size and shape of the anther and nectary are regarded as important diagnostic characters. The species is known to be a nocturnal plant; however, factors affecting the time and duration of the blooming period have not yet been identified. Therefore, the second purpose of this study was to identify the characters mentioned in the studied Abstract: Floral morphology coupled with the morphometry of androecium revealed that Capparis herbacea Willd. has an andromonoecious sexual system, producing both male and perfect flowers on the same plant. Functionally male flowers develop more stamens with larger anthers than bisexual ones (63.6 ± 0.6 and 4.1 ± 0.01 mm; 58.1 ± 0.7 and 3.6 ± 0.02 mm, respectively). The ratio of male to perfect flowers ranges from 0.5 to 2.6 during the flowering season. The development of dense trichomes on the adaxial surfac...

Paederotella pontica is a Colchis tertiary relict species, regional narrow endemic to the Caucasus, representative of an oligotypic genus. The aim of this study was to determine dormancy-breaking requirements and develop seed germination protocol for P. pontica. Freshly matured seeds of P. pontica are morphophysiologically dormant (MPD). Mean length of seed is 820 μm, linear embryo is fully differentiated, on average 625 μm long. Penetration of tetrazolium salt indicates the permeability of seed coat and high percentage of vital seeds in capsules. Prior to root emergence, the E:S ratio increased from 0.76 to 0.9. Effects of warm and cold stratification and gibberellic acid (GA3) on embryo growth and seed germination were studied under laboratory conditions. Since cold stratification is the only requirement for the loss of MPD, the longest embryo growth occurred during this treatment and GA3 promoted MPD loss, we concluded that P. pontica seeds have intermediate complex MPD. Based on the treatment results a germination protocol is proposed: 1. Dry storage at 20°C, 2 months; 2. Cold-wet stratification at 3°C, 3 months; 3. Germination at 20/15°C day/night. Under developed conditions germination is fast, synchronous and yields to 80%.

<p>It was established recently that gravity drainage is inefficient on Kolkheti Lowland along the Black Sea coast of Georgia and that novel approaches are urgently recommend, such as implementing rewetting schemes to restore ecosystem services and enhance economic values of these areas through wet agriculture, biofuel production with native wetland species, and/or afforestation, to achieve sustainable outcomes in both ecologic and economic terms. Water Detection, Fractional Cover and Urbanization remote sensing tools, provided by Georgian Data Cube (comprising Landsat sensor Analysis Ready Data), developed recently with UNEP/GRID support, were applied on multi-year timescale basis for Kolkheti lowland to identify priority areas with high potential for rewetting. Water Detection tool allowed establishment of low effectiveness drainage areas, as demonstrated by high cumulative values for the presence of water, indicating water-logged areas as potential intervention sites for wet agroforestry. Water Detection combined with Fractional Cover tool allowed comparative analysis of non-photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil areas versus high water detection areas to single out those lands on the Kolkheti lowland, where drainage seems effective and dry agriculture is pursued versus those lands where drainage is not effective and dry agriculture is not actually happening. Urbanization tool can also be applied to detect human activities, such as agricultural activities, visualising those areas, which are subjected to active vegetation removal on an annual basis due to crop harvesting and those areas, where vegetation was not removed, staying vegetated most of the time, interpreted as abandoned agricultural lands. Regular patters combining non-use agricultural with cumulative water covered areas could thus help locate candidate sites for piloting wet agriculture on Kolkheti Lowland in Georgia. In addition to sustainable economic practices, rewetting could certainly benefit core ecological areas of Kolkheti Lowland, protected by both national designation as Kolkheti National Park and international designation as Central Kolkheti Ramsar Site.</p>