PNRP 41(1)
Materials on the flora of bryophytes and the biota of lichens SUMMARY Although research on bryophyte flora and lichen biota in the Kampinos National Park has been conducted for many years, the distribution of representatives of these groups of organisms in this area is still not well known. This requires continuation of research. The study aimed to inventory the bryophytes and lichens of a part of the Grabina forest district, where the windthrow occurred in 2017. Many new initial, epigeic microhabitats were created within the site, and the resources of deadwood increased significantly. The inventory of lichens and bryophytes was conducted in 2018-2021. Their result was the finding of 84 species, including 4 liverworts, 40 mosses, 39 lichens, and one lichenicolous fungus. 11 species are partially protected and 5 have been recorded on the national red lists. A new site of the invasive moss species – Campylopus introflexus was also found. The highest number of lichen species was registered on the bark of living trees, while the most bryophyte species were recorded in terrestrial habitats. Additionally, 5 further lichen taxa were recorded along the fire road leading to the forest (outside the windthrow study area): C. arbuscula subps. mitis, C. cornuta, C. furcata, C. gracilis and C. rangiferina (Cladonia arbuscula subps. mitis and C. rangiferina are partially protected).
Specificity of xerothermic grasslands SUMMARY The Suwałki Landscape Park (NE Poland) is characterized by a great variety of geomorphological features and a climate different from other regions of Poland. Xerothermic vegetation occurs in the Park, but its physiognomy and species composition is considered specific and characteristic only for this region. Compared to the southern grasslands, the proportion of species characteristic of Festuco-Brometea is not large, in favour of mesophilic grassland species. Plant communities were classified into two associations: Anthyllidi-Trifolietum montani and Hieracio pilosellae-Thymetum pulegioidis. The most common grassland species are Achillea millefolium, Agrimonia eupatoria, Agrostis capillaris, Anthyllis vulneraria, Galium verum, Medicago falcata, Pilosella officinarum, Pimpinella saxifraga and Thymus pulegioides. The most important threats to these habitats are land-use change and habitat fragmentation. Grassland species decline through the forest succession, therefore encroachment of woody vegetation can also lead to the decline of these ecosystems. The knowledge on the species composition distinctiveness of Suwalki Landscape Park xerothermic vegetation is crucial for both assessing the state of conservation and designing site-specific management of these ecosystems. Therefore, monitoring and proper design of grassland conservation plans, accounting for their specificity, is necessary to maintain these ecosystems.
Soil diversity in forest research plots SUMMARY Soil survey works in the forest research plots in a regular grid of 500 x 500 m were provided in 2021 in the eastern part of the Tatra National Park (TNP) which complemented the previously conducted research in the western part of TNP. The results confirmed the specificity of the soil cover in this area resulting from slightly different soil-forming factors in the eastern part of TNP in comparison to the western part of TNP, particularly the diversity of the parent materials. In the eastern part of the TNP the percentage of soils developed from calcareous parent material (rendzinas) was much lower and the percentage of brown-earths was lower, while the percentage of podzolic soils, alluvial soils and gleyzemic soils was higher than in the western part. Similarly to the western part, a very large diversity of soils and the habitat conditions they form, have been shown. The studied soils were different in terms of chemical properties due to the presence or absence of carbonates, while regardless of the substrate, the soils generally showed such specific high-mountain features as high content of poorly transformed organic matter, shallow soil profile and high content of rock fragments.
The state of knowledge of Aculeata (Hymenoptera) SUMMARY This publication presents previously unpublished data concerning new species and sites of Aculeata in Przedbórz Landscape Park. The 89 species new to this Park were discovered. The number of known Aculeata increased to 215 species (20.1% of the national fauna). The 40 species (18.6%) of Aculeata community in the Park have a status of being endangered. The most endangered taxa belong to the DD category (data deficient) and VU category (vulnerable species). The greatest number of endangered species was found in the family Crabronidae (8) and family Vespidae (7). The relatively high segment of endangered species in the Aculeata community indicates a need for protection of their habitats, such as: xerothermic and sand grasslands, peat bogs, natural forests that are rich in decaying timber and wooden buildings in the countryside. The fifteen species of bees (Apiformes) occurring in Przedbórz Landscape Park are under partial species protection.
On the size of the swan mussel SUMMARY The swan mussel Anodonta cygnea is one of the largest freshwater invertebrates in Poland, but in the literature, there is relatively little data about its size. Conducting research on the occurrence of freshwater molluscs in various environments in Poland in the years 1972-2020, we noted, among others, the sizes of living A. cygnea and their empty shells. The study covered in total 110 lakes, 22 rivers, 27 oxbow lakes, 4 dam reservoirs, 5 ponds and the Vistula Lagoon. The presence of A. cygnea in various reservoirs was relatively frequent. For example, 63% of the examined oxbow lakes, 40% of the studied lakes, but only 18% of the studied rivers were inhabited by this species. The share of A. cygnea among all collected bivalves of the Unionidae family was usually very small (less than 10%), although there were situations where it was much larger. The largest alive A. cygnea (maximum length 160 mm) was found in the unmanaged pond near Kałuszyn town. The largest empty shell of A. cygnea, 173 mm long, was found also in this pond. The bivalves found in oxbow lakes were also large. The largest specimen, 155 mm long, was found in one of the oxbow lakes of the Bug River. From among the lakes, the largest bivalves (maximum length 145 mm) were found in the Masurian Lake Oświn. A. cygnea in rivers was much smaller (maximum length 112 mm). The ponds and oxbow lakes as well as the vast Lake Oświn are very shallow and silted; such environments are preferred by A. cygnea, which is under protection and threatened by extinction.
SHORT FLORISTIC, FAUNISTIC AND MICOBIOTIC NOTES
Hymenaphorura pseudosibirica (Stach, 1954) (Collembola, Onychiuridae) – SUMMARY Hymenaphorura pseudosibirica (Stach, 1954) described from the Aggtelek Cave in Hungary, quoted from Pukevní Cave in the Czech Republic (Rusek 1966) and in the beech forest in Slovak Karst National Park (Kostúrová, Kováč 2003) has been found for the first time in Poland, in the Pieniny National Park: Male and female, on slope of Pańska Skała (Fig. 1), between Ligarki and Kosarzyska Glades, exp. S-E, N49 24 57.9 E20 25 17.6, 720 m a.s.l., Fagetum carpaticum abietosum, litter, 7.09.2018, coll. W.M. Weiner. The one significant morphological difference with the description of the species (Stach 1954, Pomorski 2000) is the number of chaetae in the male ventral organ (MVO) – ca. 30 chaetae (Fig. 4) in the specimen from Pieniny vs. 15 chaetae specimens from Aggtelek. The species may be classified as troglophilous. |