Analyses of the flora of railway stations in the Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Abstract

The main aims of our study were (1) to determine the flora in railway areas with special emphasis on the presence of neophytes; (2) to describe the features of the flora through analyses of taxonomic composition, chorotypes, life forms and the phytosociological character of species found at 15 stations in the Mediterranean and sub-Mediterranean areas of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (SE Europe). According to their floristic composition, two broad groups of stations were recognized: i) stations in the most southerly area with higher annual precipitation and air temperature (cities of Ploče, Metković, Čapljina, Mostar), and ii) stations in sub-Mediterranean rural areas located exclusively at higher altitudes, including stations in three Dalmatian large cities (Zadar, Šibenik, Split). Altogether, 359 vascular plant taxa (336 species and 23 subspecies) were identified within 62 families and 230 genera. Therophytes, and Mediterraneans with a considerable proportion of Cosmopolitans were predominant. Neophytes contributed 14% of identified flora, the majority being invasive. In the phytosociological spectrum, the largest element was made up of taxa from Stellarietea mediae and Festuco valesiacae-Brometea erecti classes. Most of the railway stations studied excluding those in large cities, retain a link with the floristic composition of the plant communities of their biogeographic contexts. jugu Hrvatske i Bosne i Hercegovine s višom godišnjom količinom oborina i temperaturom zraka (Ploče, Metković, Čapljina, Mostar) te ii) postaje u ruralnim područjima na isključivo višim nadmorskim visinama, uključujući i one u tri najveća dalmatinska grada, Zadru, Šibeniku i Splitu. Ukupno je utvrđeno 359 svojti (336 vrsta i 23 podvrste) vaskularnih biljaka svrstanih u 230 rodova i 62 porodice. Prevladavali su terofiti te svojte mediteranskog flornog elementa s značajnim udjelom široko rasprostranjenih svojti. Udio neofita u ukupnoj flori bio je 14%, a većina imaju status invazivnih svojti. Fitocenološki, najveći broj svojti svojstvene su vegetacijskim razredima Stellarietea mediae i Festuco valesiacae-Brometea erecti ili njihovim nižim sintaksonima. Najveći broj istraživanih željezničkih postaja, osim onih u velikim dalmatinskim gradovima, pokazuju vezu s florističkim sastavom biljnih zajednica unutar svojeg biogeografskog položaja.

Flora of the cobbled streets and pavements in the Mediterranean Old City of Dubrovnik during the COVID-19 lockdown

“…In the present study, neophytes contributed 10 % of identified flora. This is only partly consistent with the proportion of neophytes in urban flora of the main Croatian coastal cities (Jasprica et al, 2010(Jasprica et al, , 2017Milović & Mitić, 2012). In general, the pattern of neophytes is most strongly influenced by site conditions (Šilc et al, 2012).…”

Progress in Slovak botany: a successful path to modern research on flora and vegetation

“…According to Denisow et al (2017), Jehlík et al (2017), Vinogradova et al (2017, Májeková et al (2021) synanthropic plants connected with human activity find suitable conditions also on railway. On the other hand, some native thermophilous species, rare and threatened plants (Novinska and Czarna 2008;Májeková et al 2014;Jasprica et al 2017;Vinogradova et al 2017) typical for other habitats are also occurred here. The authors present four species (Euphorbia davidii, Galeopsis angustifolia, Geranium purpureum, Grindelia squarrosa) that are typical examples of ferroviatic migration either in Slovakia or Ukraine.…”

New floristic records from Central Europe 12 (reports 164-175)

“…Most likely, it was introduced by rail transport or with track ballast during the renovation of railway tracks near the Bonarka station. The spread of G. rotundifolium into railway areas has already been observed in Poland (Trojecka-Brzezińska 2017), as well as in other European countries (Májeková et al 2014;Jasprica et al 2017;Leach 2020). Further long-term observations are required to confirm the establishment of the species in the Polish flora.…”