This is the first detailed study of the distribution of mosses and lichens at Alexandra Mountains and Rockefeller Mountains, Edward VII Peninsula, Antarctica. A total of 418 samples was collected on 21 nunataks in the summer of 1987–1988. Lichens included 44 taxa, bringing the total known from Edward VII Peninsula to 50. Ten lichen species were new records for the Continental Antarctic zone, whilst only six were endemic to that zone. There were six species and one variety of moss, bringing the total known from Edward VII Peninsula to seven species and one variety. These included the first record of a species of Orthotrichum in Continental Antarctica. Two other species and a variety were new records for Edward VII Peninsula. Overall, the flora was species rich for a Continental Antarctic region and was comparable with the species-rich sites of Botany Bay and Kar Plateau, which are at approximately the same latitude (77°S) in southern Victoria Land. This rich flora was probably supported by a reliable summer water supply from melting snowfall and snowdrift and by the range of microenvironments at nunataks with different degrees of nutrient enrichment from nesting birds.

Twenty-eight species of Verrucariaceae are reported from Nepal. One genus and nine species are described as new: Nesothele gen. nov., sister to Staurothele s. lat., with a crustose to squamulose thallus, hymenial algae and 4–8 colourless muriform ascospores per ascus; Nesothele glebulosa sp. nov., resembling N. rugulosa but with smaller perithecia; Thelidium uvidulum sp. nov., producing a thin thallus with soralia, prominent perithecia, and 1-septate ascospores; Verrucaria antepotens sp. nov., having a well-developed thallus with dark-sided areoles, immersed perithecia, and small ascospores 12.5–16.5 μm long; V. lactea sp. nov., resembling V. praetermissa but with larger ascospores and a strongly deviating ITS sequence; V. parvipeltata sp. nov., with brown, basally constricted areoles on an extensive dark prothallus; V. senta sp. nov., with a brown cracked thallus and prominent naked perithecia; Willeya eminens sp. nov., with prominent perithecia, and differing from W. protrudens in its ITS sequence; W. irrigata sp. nov. with a thallus cracked into dark-sided areoles, and relatively large ascospores 28.5–40 μm long; W. nepalensis sp. nov. with a cracked thallus, immersed perithecia and a distinctive ITS sequence. Three species complexes might contain new taxa, but wider geographical sampling is necessary before delimiting species: Thelidium minutulum, Verrucaria elaeomelaena and V. hydrophila. Five new combinations are made: Willeya honghensis comb. nov. (for Staurothele honghensis), Nesothele globosa comb. nov. (for Endocarpon globosum), N. hymenogonia comb. nov. (for Staurothele hymenogonia), N. rugulosa comb. nov. (for Staurothele rugulosa) and N. succedens comb. nov. (for Staurothele succedens). Four species are unidentified.

Lichens are widely acknowledged to be a key component of high latitude ecosystems. However, the time investment needed for full inventories and the lack of taxonomic identification resources for crustose lichen and lichenicolous fungal diversity have hampered efforts to fully gauge the depth of species richness in these ecosystems. Using a combination of classical field inventory and extensive deployment of chemical and molecular analysis, we assessed the diversity of lichens and associated fungi in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska (USA), a mixed landscape of coastal boreal rainforest and early successional low elevation habitats deglaciated after the Little Ice Age. We collected nearly 5000 specimens and found a total of 947 taxa, including 831 taxa of lichen-forming and 96 taxa of lichenicolous fungi together with 20 taxa of saprotrophic fungi typically included in lichen studies. A total of 98 species (10.3% of those detected) could not be assigned to known species and of those, two genera and 27 species are described here as new to science: Atrophysma cyanomelanos gen. et sp. nov., Bacidina circumpulla, Biatora marmorea, Carneothele sphagnicola gen. et sp. nov., Cirrenalia lichenicola, Corticifraga nephromatis, Fuscidea muskeg, Fuscopannaria dillmaniae, Halecania athallina, Hydropunctaria alaskana, Lambiella aliphatica, Lecania hydrophobica, Lecanora viridipruinosa, Lecidea griseomarginata, L. streveleri, Miriquidica gyrizans, Niesslia peltigerae, Ochrolechia cooperi, Placynthium glaciale, Porpidia seakensis, Rhizocarpon haidense, Sagiolechia phaeospora, Sclerococcum fissurinae, Spilonema maritimum, Thelocarpon immersum, Toensbergia blastidiata and Xenonectriella nephromatis. An additional 71 ‘known unknown’ species are cursorily described. Four new combinations are made: Lepra subvelata (G. K. Merr.) T. Sprib., Ochrolechia minuta (Degel.) T. Sprib., Steineropsis laceratula (Hue) T. Sprib. & Ekman and Toensbergia geminipara (Th. Fr.) T. Sprib. & Resl. Thirty-eight taxa are new to North America and 93 additional taxa new to Alaska. We use four to eight DNA loci to validate the placement of ten of the new species in the orders Baeomycetales, Ostropales, Lecanorales, Peltigerales, Pertusariales and the broader class Lecanoromycetes with maximum likelihood analyses. We present a total of 280 new fungal DNA sequences. The lichen inventory from Glacier Bay National Park represents the second largest number of lichens and associated fungi documented from an area of comparable size and the largest to date in North America. Coming from almost 60°N, these results again underline the potential for high lichen diversity in high latitude ecosystems.

The descriptive flora of Iraq is incomplete, with ± 900 species yet to be described. However, names of all species with their distribution in the different physiographic districts of Iraq are databased (in BRAHMS) from information obtained from published sources and herbarium records. A quantitative analysis of the flora shows ± 3300 species (accepted names) in 908 genera belonging to 136 families of flowering plants. The families Asteraceae (409 spp.), Fabaceae (393 spp.), Poaceae (264 spp.), Brassicaceae (195 spp.) and Apiaceae (155 spp.) are the largest. An analysis of the distribution of the flora in the different physiographic regions and districts of Iraq shows the Mountain Region (northern mountains of Iraq) and the Central Alluvial Plains District in the Lower Mesopotamian Region to be the most species rich. Iraq is influenced by two major phytochoria, the Saharo-Sindian and the Irano-Turanian, which are subdivided into regional phytochoria specific to the Middle East region. Endemism is high in the Irano-Turanian region of Iraq which occupies the Mountain and major part of the Upper Plains and Foothills Regions. These Regions also contain the majority of the endemic and near endemic species. Biodiversity surveys carried out by Nature Iraq during 2005–2010 propose 88 Key Biodiversity Areas in Iraq. The National Report on Biodiversity in Iraq (CBD) outlines the threats to biodiversity and habitats in Iraq and a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for the protection and conservation of species-rich and biodiverse habitats.

A vascular plant species list and description is provided for the San Pastor Savanna, an isolated area of savanna within the Chiquibul Forest Reserve, Belize. Of the 126 species recorded, 28 are new records for the Chiquibul Forest Reserve with one previously unrecorded for the country. The maintenance of the current vegetation classification under the Belize Ecosystems Map for the San Pastor Savanna is supported. The coarse-textured soils are typical for extremely seasonal climates with some evidence of prolonged inundation during wet periods and dry seasons affected by burning. Although clear floristic affinities exist with other local and regional savanna areas, the San Pastor Savanna has some unique features and its flora includes national endemics. Although it is currently protected as part of the Chiquibul Forest Reserve and this status should be maintained, its inaccessible location makes frequent monitoring by the Forest Department problematic. Through providing a source of water and a source of forage for horses, the San Pastor Savanna plays a pivotal role in supporting the illegal Chamaedorea (xaté) palm leaf harvesting industry. This activity has also adversely impacted local wildlife. Like the nearby Mountain Pine Ridge, the San Pastor Savanna has suffered intense pine beetle (Dendroctonus spp.) attack.

This paper introduces studies of nutrient cycling in disturbed and undisturbed rain forest plots in the upper catchment of Birthday Creek, near Paluma, North Queensland. The catchment is underlain by granite and has soils of comparatively low fertility. Differences between unlogged plots and plots disturbed 25 years previously by selective logging are still apparent. Disturbed plots have soils with higher bulk densities and pH, lower CEC, kjeldahl nitrogen and available phosphorus concentrations, and changed species composition. The data suggest that recovery from selective logging is dependent on soil fertility and intensity of disturbance.

Floristic and structural comparisons and a numerical classification were performed to identify the priority areas for conservation of genetic resources in central Brazil. The main type of woody vegetation, cerrado sensu stricto (savanna woodland with 10–60% tree cover), was sampled under a uniform methodology in six selected sites (total sample of 6 ha) scattered in a physiographic unit called the Pratinha Plateau located between 15–20° S and 46–49° W. A total of 6971 trees belonging to 139 species and 42 families was measured. Each site had a combination of 50–80 species and approximately 30 families but only 22 species from 14 families were common to all sites. Similarity decreased with distance, indicating the existence of geographical gradients as the physical characteristics were relatively uniform and the soils were dystrophic at all sites. The most dissimilar sites, in the localities of Patrocínio-MG and Paracatu-MG were recommended for the establishment of conservation units. The already existent conservation units arc all clumped in the Federal District and are not enough to protect the genetic heritage of the plateau. Floristics and phytosociological surveys based on land system zoning were recommended as useful tools in planning conservation areas at a regional level to preserve the maximum biodiversity.

The floristic composition of campo limpo úmido, a moist savanna grassland vegetation of the cerrado biome, is still little described, even though its herbs and subshrubs form a major component of the cerrado vegetation. The objective of this study was to characterize the floristic richness of the herbaceous and subshrub layer of a moist grassland at the Água Fria Farm, Alto Paraíso, Goiás State (14°04′8.83″S, 47°30′33.1″W). The principal use of such grasslands is to graze cattle; in addition, local people collect vast numbers of selected species of wild plants to sell for the decorative dried plant trade, or for their medicinal qualities. Little is known, however, about the sustainability of this extractivism. A survey of a 21 ha area, with intensive quarterly collections of herbarium specimens, was made from April 2000 to March 2001. Despite the small size of the study site it proved to be very rich floristically. A total of 207 species in 90 genera and 33 families was registered in the area. Thirty-one species not yet recorded in the checklist of the flora of the cerrado biome were found in this study, plus three that seem to be new to science. The richest families were Cyperaceae (30 species), Poaceae (28), Xyridaceae (23), Eriocaulaceae (20), Asteraceae (18), and Orchidaceae and Melastomataceae with 10 species each. These results suggest the need for more research on the moist grassland to provide overall estimates for the plant species richness of this widespread vegetation type and as a basis to help guide conservation and management policies.

A species checklist is presented for a stretch of the seasonally flooded Macal River in the Cayo District of Belize, together with preliminary phytosociological data for the primary riverine communities. A total of 229 species were recorded in the seasonally flooded riparian zone, representing 7% of the flora of Belize. Results of quantitative sampling indicate that Inga vera subsp. vera dominates the river corridor. Other important woody associates include Cuphea calophylla, C. utriculosa, Calyptranthes bartlettii, C. lindeniana, Lindenia rivalis, Pleuranthodendron lindenii, Calliandra tergemina and Nectandra salicifolia. One of the most significant threats to riparian vegetation in the region is the Chalillo Dam upstream of the study site. The current work provides baseline floristic and ecological data for this threatened riparian habitat and documents the structure and composition of vegetation that exists downstream from the dam before its construction.

The main water body at Hope Bay, Boeckella Lake, was sampled at four sites for phytoplankton during summer 1991 to assess the influence of nutrients from nearby penguin rookeries on both phytoplankton density and composition. The site located at the base of the rookeries had total phosphorus values comparable to those reported from the most eutrophic Antarctic lakes. During the ice-free period most of the Chlorophyceae and Cyanophyceae recorded were concentrated at this site. Phytoplankton density increased strongly in the area opposite to the rookeries where ice began to form; an under-ice bloom of Ochromonas aff. ovalis (Chrysophyceae) was observed in this area.

During January-March, 1991, the distribution and floristic composition of the phytoplankton around Elephant Island, Clarence Island and the northern end of King George Island were determined in relation to physical oceanographic conditions and to proximity of the shelf-break and continental slope. The study area included 180 stations, and c. 5400 km of transects providing continuous measurements of salinity, temperature, beam attenuation, and chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations in surface waters. The richest phytoplankton areas (2-4 μg chl a 1-1) were generally found associated with a strong salinity front, extending north of King George Island to north of Elephant and Clarence Islands. Data on the phytoplankton community suggest that shelf waters were charaterized by low biomass and a nanoplankton population, while in and just north of the front the biomass increased and there was a shift to a diatom-dominated microplankton population. This is thought to be related to increased stability of the water column just north of the front. The salinity front ran more or less parallel to the continental shelf-break, but its exact position varied during the period of study. It was generally associated with transition water (Type II) or with Weddell-Scotia Confluence water (Type III).

Floristic and phytogeographical information is presented in the first of three papers on the flora of Lesvos (East Aegean, Greece). The taxa included here are dicotyledons and belong to families in alphabetical order from Aceraceae to Guttiferae. Of the 92 taxa (79 species, 12 subspecies and one variety) presented, two are new for Greece, five are new for the Aegean islands as a whole, four are new for the East Aegean Islands and 13 are new for Lesvos. New distribution localities on the island are also given for some interesting taxa. Furthermore, the presence of 13 taxa, reported by previous authors without specific collection data, is confirmed. Critical comments are made on 22 taxa whose presence needs confirmation or is considered doubtful or wrong. Chorological, ecological and taxonomic comments are made for the more interesting cases and distribution maps for certain taxa in Greece or Lesvos are given. Finally, the threats and conservation status of some rare and interesting taxa are briefly discussed.

The Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC) comprises the 40,000km2 high-altitude range of hills, mountain peaks and escarpment plateau bordering the eastern interior of southern Africa. Renowned for its species-rich flora and high levels of endemism, the DAC is here shown to support over 2800 specific and infraspecific native taxa, with c.16% of the angiosperm taxa being endemic, the latter equalling the flora of KwaZulu-Natal. Comparisons of the DAC's largest families and genera are made with those of the Cape Floral Region and KwaZulu-Natal, and the largest families are also compared with those of the Afromontane and Pondoland regions. In addition, comparisons are made between the high-altitude floras of southern and south-central Africa on the basis of their Cape element.

A floristic inventory and preliminary vegetation classification were made for the tracts of savanna and associated wetland vegetation in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) in Belize. A total of 258 species were recorded, representing c.7% of the Belizean flora. Of these, 148 species are characteristic of the drier savanna systems, while 47 show a preference for hydrologic savanna and wetland areas. Only 57 species (22% of RBCMA savanna flora) are woody, with the savanna tree flora comprising 15 species. The flora of the RBCMA was found to be fairly typical of the savannas of the Central American and Caribbean region. Savanna systems are generally poorly represented in conservation areas in Central America, and due to the diverse range of structural and ecological formations of this vegetation type found within the RBCMA, and its relatively diverse flora, this reserve constitutes an important protected area.

The occurrence of a monodominant tropical forest dominated by the tree species Brosimum rubescens Taub. (Moraceae) in the transition zone between the cerrado region and the Amazonian rain forests along the Araguaia valley in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil is reported. A 6000m2 (40×150m) area located in the central portion of a forest (14°50′47″S, 52°08′37″W) on the Eldorado Farm in Nova Xavantina was sampled to determine the structure, phytosociology and soil properties. A total of 44 tree species was found in the forest, with a Shannon diversity index (H′) of 2.37 and the Pielou evenness index (J′) of 0.63. These values were similar to those reported by other workers in an Amazonian monodominant forest dominated by Peltogyne gracilipes. Average tree density equal or greater than (≥) 5cm dbh was 1066ha−1 and basal area 37.46m2 ha−1. Dead standing individuals represented 7.03% of the total density and lianas 8.12%. The main families were Moraceae, Rubiaceae, Burseraceae, Hippocrateaceae and Leguminosae–Caesalpinioideae. The species with the highest importance value indices were B. rubescens (124.55), Amaioua intermedia var. brasiliana (32.97), Cheiloclinium cognatum (22.41), Tetragastris balsamifera (19.58) and Protium pilosissimum (16.64). Brosimum rubescens alone accounted for 85.5% of the individuals ≥30cm dbh, 80.35% of those ≥20cm dbh, 57.33% of those ≥10cm dbh, and 35.85% of those ≥5cm dbh. The forest was composed of upper, middle and lower storeys. Diameter distribution was unbalanced for the community and for the main species, suggesting that establishment has been episodic. The surface soil was acid, with high exchangeable Al levels and low fertility, as is the case for most cerrados and Amazonian forests. The availability of K was in the range of adequacy, as compared with most native soils. However, concentrations of available Mg in the soil was higher than that of available Ca, with Mg/Ca ratios above three, unlike most cerrados and Amazonian forests, but similar to the soils of many monodominant tropical forests reported in the literature. Soils were characterized by high concentrations of available Fe. Besides the high Mg/Ca ratios, a high proportion of K as compared with the bivalent cations Ca and Mg, and toxicities of Fe and Mn due to strong acidity could be factors influencing the occurrence of species in this forest.

Changes in floristic composition and structure in a cerrado sensu stricto area were studied over a 9-y period. A sample of 19 (20-m × 50-m) permanent plots was assessed at 3-y intervals from 1985 to 1994, when all stems ≥ 5 cm at 0.30 m above the ground level were measured. There was little change in species composition over the period. Changes in density and basal area of the whole community were in the range of 5% over the 9 y. These parameters fluctuated over the years with the greatest differences found in the comparisons of 1991, 2 y after an accidental fire reached the site, with other years. The changes in density and basal area were greater than in several tropical forests, probably due to disturbances such as fire occurring at 3 to 5-y intervals. The nearly constant density and basal area suggested a highly resilient community.

Lower montane rainforest and upper montane forest on the slopes and summit of Gunung Sinombayuga, Dumoga Bone National Park, North Sulawesi, were described by general botanical collection and quantitative sampling. The lower montane forest was dominated by the families Fagaceae, Myrtaceae, Icacinaceae and Escalloniaceae. The upper montane forest, dominated by Fagaceae and Cunoniaceae, represented 75-year-old coppice regeneration. It was less diverse than the lower montane forest and lower in stature, with a smaller basal area per hectare and a higher proportion of multi-stemmed trees. The tree flora of the montane forest is poorly known, and rich in undescribed species.

Mount Giting-Giting is an ultramafic mountain on Sibuyan Island, Romblon Province, Republic of the Philippines. It was studied along the Mayo's Peak Ridge which had rainforest from about 200m up to c. 1550m. The grassland and scrub vegetation from 1550m to the summit (2050m) of Giting-Giting was not explored. The mean annual rainfall at the base of the mountain was c.2100mm which included a dry season around February and March. There was a notable increase in wind speed with altitude and there was about one hurricane (called a cyclone in the Philippines) per year. Analyses showed that the soils are acid ( 4.4–5.5), and have relatively low concentrations of Olsen extractable phosphorus (0.22–2.07μg g−1), low exchangeable potassium (0.04–0.41mEq 100g−1), and relatively low (for ultramafic soils) Mg/Ca quotients (0.31–2.87) and exchangeable nickel (1.0-23.8μg g−1). Coupled plots (of 0.25 or 0.04ha) were studied at altitudes from 325m to 1540m. All trees ≥ 10cm dbh were enumerated and structural features of the trees and smaller plants were quantified. The forests were all of fairly small stature (maximum tree height 24m) but dense (up to 2180 trees ha−1 in Lower Montane Forest (LMF) and up to 880 ha−1 in Upper Montane Forest (UMF)). While different taxa could be readily recognized, specific determinations were often impossible from the mainly sterile specimens. The LMF was species rich with up to at least 111 species of tree (≥ 10cm dbh) per 0.25-ha plot. There was no family clearly dominant in the two lower plots at 325m and 385m (where the Dipterocarpaceae were probably reduced by logging). At 770m and 860m the Dipterocarpaceae accounted for 12.9% and 14.7% of the basal area respectively. There was a surprisingly high representation of the Sapotaceae (25.9% of the basal area) at 1240m. At 1540m, the Araucariaceae (Agathis sp.) dominated one plot (37.1% of the basal area) and the Myrtaceae the other (72.4%).