In the course of two growing seasons (1992 and 1993) there was investigated the zonation of vegetation with reference to soil conditions at the saline grassland in the vicinity of Inowrocław Soda Plants at Mątwy town. In data analysis there were used: classification method - hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis and as well as two ordination techniques: Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA) and Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA). As a result of the classification analysis five vegetation zones were distinguished, related to the following communities: community with Festuca rubra, Potentillo Festucetum arundinaceae, community with Euphorbia lucida and Phragmites australis, Triglochino-Glaucetum maritimae and Puccinellio distantis-Salicornietum brachystachyae. The ordination techniques used in the analysis have demonstrated that out of the measured soil properties the most essential part, in the formation of the grassland vegetation zonation, played the content of chloride ions (which was used here as the main salinity measure), while moisture and pH were of minor importance. All the measured environmental factors accounted for only a low percentage (26.5% in 1992 and 17.2% in 1993) of the total vegetation variation, what might suggest that besides chloride ions another factor might have affected the development of zonation

This study examined shifts over a 35-year period in the phenology of the four most important bumblebee species (Bombus terrestris , B. lapidarius , B. pascuorum and B. hortorum) in Central Europe. The species showed similar temporal trends, significantly advancing components of their main flight period in association with rising temperatures such that, for example, mid-dates of the main flight period advanced by 10-23 days over the study period. Drivers of this change differed between the four species. Trends in, and drivers of, the timing of first queens, first workers and first males were less consistent. Aspects of the phenology of the least common species, B. hortorum , were up to a month earlier than the other species and climatic effects less clear cut. There were some suggestions of differences between species trends. These results stress the importance of considering changes and drivers of change for the Bombus family on a species-specific basis with the need to pay more attention to the life history traits of the study organisms.

Invasive alien species (IAS) is a global problem that largely relates to human activities and human settlements. To prevent the further spread of IAS, we first need to know their pattern of distribution, to determine which constitutes the greatest threat, and understand which habitats and migration pathways they prefer. Our research aimed to identify the main vectors and distribution pattern of IAS of plants in the city environment. We checked the relations between species distribution and such environmental factors as urban soil type and habitat type. We applied data on IAS occurrence (collected in the period 1973–2015) in 515 permanent plots with dimensions of 0.5 × 0.5 km and analyzed by direct ordination methods. In total, we recorded 66 IAS. We found a 27% variance in the IAS distribution pattern, which can be explained by statistically significant soil and habitat types. The most important for species distribution were: river and alluvial soils, forests and related rusty soils, and places of intensive human activities, including areas of urbisols and industriosols. Our results provide details that can inform local efforts for the management and control of invasive species, and they provide evidence of the different associations between natural patterns and human land use.

Abstract. The relief of the Zadroże Dune was described, as well as the comparison was done on its vegetation cover and the flora in its two phases of the development, i.e. before the afforestation of the dune and approximately 60 years after reconstruction of the forest. The first state was described in the paper dated 1949. During that period the dune constituted the first common study area for the research team consisting of ecologists and geographers from the Nicolaus Copernicus University. Our contemporary scientific studies were carried out in 2009. In the comparative analysis, a particular attention was paid to the distribution, the number and the size of heath patches with Arctostaphylos uva-ursi. In the description of the contemporary state of vegetation, the structure and the biomass of tree stands were included. The GIS and GPS technologies were applied in the comparative analysis of the vegetation, in the comparison of the former and contemporary cartographic materials, aerial and satellite images, as well as in the development of a digital elevation model. As a result of comparisons of the vegetation cover, it was found that the surface area of heaths decreased from 59.21 ares in 1948 to 2.96 ares in 2009. As a result of comparisons of the flora, it was found that 7 and 26 species of lichens occurred in 1948 and 2009 respectively, 5 and 42 species of mosses, 0 and 7 species of liverworts, as well as 102 and 204 species of vascular plants. The number of families, within which the species of vascular plants are classified, increased from 31 to 52. The compared floras have only 66 species in common. The percentage contribution of geographical and historical groups has undergone only inconsiderable changes during the 60-year period. Contribution proportions of non-synanthropic spontaneophytes and apophytes has changed slightly. Whereas, the contribution of alien species, mainly kenophytes and ergasiophytes significantly increased. This paper discuss the significance of natural and anthropogenic factors, which brought about this considerable range of transformations in the species composition and in the contribution of alien species.

In this paper, an updated map of the distribution of Solidago ×niederederi, a natural hybrid between S. canadensis and S. virgaurea, in Poland is presented using the ATPOL cartogram method. A compiled list of 55 localities of the hybrid within 40 cartogram units (10-km squares) is provided and its negative impact on S. virgaurea is highlighted.