The phytosociological database Polish Vegetation Database collects relevés of all vegetation types in Poland. The database was established in 2007 and is located at Department of Biodiversity and Plant Cover Protection, University of Wrocław (<a href="http://synbiot.uni.wroc.pl" target="_blank">http://synbiot.uni.wroc.pl</a>). On March 2012, the database included 40000 relevés collected between 1927 and 2011. Most of relevés was taken from published papers and represents almost all types of habitats of Poland. Large groups of relevés represent meadows and pastures (<em>Molinio-Arrhnehteretrea</em>), broadleaf forests (<em>Querco-Fagetea</em>), arable land communities (<em>Stellarietea</em>), coniferous forests (<em>Vaccinio-Piceetea</em>) and eutrophic reed communities (<em>Phragmitetea</em>). In comparison to other countries in Central Europe, Polish Vegetation Database currently belongs to medium-sized databases, with full functionality and accessibility. The present article describes its development, basic operational information and how it can be used in analysis of vegetation in Poland.

The contents and composition of essential oils obtained from Heracleum sosnowskyi and Heracleum mantegazzianum (Apiaceae) were examined. essential oils were investigated by the GC/MS method. The composition of hogweeds’ essential oils was examined in order to determine toxic compounds that could have a direct influence on the health of people and animals living in close proximity to both species. It was found that the essential oils, except for derivatives of coumarins, contain numerous toxic compounds, e.g. isobutyl isobutyrate, isoamyl butyrate, hexyl hexanoate, 1-hexadecanol etc. No significant differences were found in the chemical composition of the examined seed samples of Heracleum, which confirms the suggestions that the species can be closely related

In this article we present and discuss the main factors that threaten natural populations of Cypripedium calceolus (lady’s slipper orchid) in Europe, and we propose conservation strategies and directions for protective actions of its population on a regional scale. European C. calceolus populations have decreased significantly in the last two decades, in both number and size. A key result of the present study is an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Natura 2000 network across the European Union (EU) countries. Northern and/or mountainous countries present higher percentages of potentially suitable areas within the Natura 2000 network. Finland and the United Kingdom are the exceptions to this rule. It is predicted that, due to global warming, the coverage of niches suitable for C. calceolus will decrease in countries in which now-healthy colonies exist. However, as plant species can occur in micro-sites with suitable environmental conditions (e.g., microclimate, vegetation, soil factors) which cannot be predicted as suitable at coarser spatial resolutions, conservation efforts should be focused on management of local healthy populations. For the effective protection of C. calceolus in Natura 2000 sites, the participation of experts in botany, including orchid biology, is necessary at several stages.

Abstract:The Polish Vegetation Database (GIVD ID EU-PL-001) was created in 2007 at the Department of Biodiversity and Plant Cover Protection, University of Wroclaw. Its aim is to collect all the phytosociological data from the territory of Poland. The database includes mainly vegetation records collected during the last century using the Central European phytosociological method. The sources of the Polish Vegetation Database are mainly published records from regional studies carried out in the territory of Poland. The database also contains unpublished data, mainly from South-western Poland. The largest group of data represents the vegetation of dry and wet grasslands, 40.6% of the total sources of the database, followed by forest and shrub communities (25.6%), anthropogenic vegetation (24.4%), water and peat bogs (8.6%), and other types of vegetation (0.8%). The database aims to support the regional and national synthesis for the classification of vegetation, and studies of biodiversity and vegetation transformation in the Polish plant communities. Data collected in the database is also an important source of information about the distribution of plant communities and valuable habitats of the Natura 2000 Project. Information stored in the database is the basis for assessing the habitat preferences and large-scale patterns of plant species richness or geographical distribution. It will also become the basis for testing new research methods and techniques used in the nature conservation and monitoring of environmental changes.Keywords: plant community; phytosociological record; Poland; relevé. GIVD Database ID: EU-PL-001Last update: 2012-07-20 Polish Vegetation DatabaseScope: The aim of the Polish Vegetation Database is to gather all phytosociological relevés from the territory of Poland. Status: completed and continuing

Pilularia globulifera is a subatlantic European fern threatened with extinction. In Poland, it reaches the eastern border of its continuous range. Up to the end of the 20th century, it was observed here in 21 stands; only 2 of them existed by the second half of the century, so the species was categorized as critically endangered. Five new locations have been found in western and northwestern Poland during the last 10 years. Abundant and permanent populations grow in 3 locations, while 2 stands were ephemeral. All the current stands are situated in anthropogenic habitats with spontaneous vegetation, in oligotrophic to eutrophic waters. One of the new localities is about 280 km distant from the eastern range of the limit known previously. Pilularia forms its own plant community Pilularietum globuliferae, enters plots of Ranunculo-Juncetum bulbosi and occurs in mesotrophic to eutrophic rushes of Eleocharis palustris, Phragmites australis, Typha angustifolia and Equisetum fluviatile. Specimens are vigorous and regularly produce sporocarps