Biodiversity of woody plants in subalpine grasslands of E. Macedonia in NE Greece
The present paper is referred to the biodiversity of the woody plant species of the subalpine grasslands of E. Macedonia. A list of 43 species and 6 subspecies, which are classified to 12 families, is presented. The biological and chorological spectra as well as and information for their habitats are given. Moreover, for most of these woody plants ecological indicators and elements are given, which are related to their phytosociology.
Using improved varieties of cool-season grasses in order to increase the winter forage production
Forage production in the Mediterranean zone is in limited supply during autumn and winter while animals’ demand is almost constant throughout the year. For reducing the imbalance between supply and demand it would be beneficial to use improved varieties of cool-season grasses whose production during the critical period is outstanding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the production and quality of an improved and the base population of Dactylis glomerata cv. Chrysopigi during winter. The improved population exceeded the base population in dry matter production during the four years of experiment. The increased forage production due to selection did not affect the forage quality, which was high for both the improved and the base population.
Yearly changes in the growth of overstory and understory vegetation in a young Pinus brutia plantation with different tree spacing
The yearly changes in the growth of the overstory and understory vegetation in a young Pinus brutia plantation were studied for 12 years (1983-1995) in a semi-arid Mediterranean environment with cold winters in northern Greece. The plantation was established in 1970 at three spacings: 2×2 m, 3×3 m and 4×4 m or 2500, 1250 and 625 plants ha-1, respectively. Two understory treatments were applied: 1) herbaceous vegetation cut at the end of the growing season to simulate grazing and 2) no cutting (control). Herbage production and tree diameter were measured every year. Spacing and cutting treatments produced significant differences in herbage production in the first years of the experiment, but later disappeared. The same course was followed by the old dry matter and the branches and needles, that fell on the ground. Cutting treatments produce significant differences in tree diameter only in medium and low spacing during the 12 years of the experiment.
Development of a Greek Phalaris aquatica L. cultivar for improvement of rangelands
Phalaris aquatica L. is a very productive and drought resistant perennial grass suitable for animal grazing in areas with a dry Mediterranean-type climate. In an effort to develop improved Phalaris aquatica cultivars adapted to dry conditions, a breeding program was initiated in the Forest Research Institute. It was based on a collection of 80 plants selected from representative regions of Greece (phenotypic selection), according to their leafness, number of flowering stems and late in the season flowering. The plants were transplanted and maintained in an isolation field located in Serres, Macedonia. Morphological and cytogenetic studies of these plants were performed in 1986. In 1989 two progeny tests were established, one for HS families and another for clone evaluation. After two years of measurements (1991 and 1992) genetic parameters for herbage production and number of flowering stems per plant were estimated. In this paper the last step for the development of a synthetic cultivar with a good balance between increased herbage yield and stems number is presented. This is the selection of 16 plants out of the original 80 with the best general combining ability for these traits in order to become the parents of the synthetic cultivar, named “Sarisa”. The procedure for the production of the breeder seed is also presented and the future plans are discussed.
The application of functional growth analysis in annual range plants
The functional growth analysis was applied in height data of mixed- and pure-stands of the annual legumes Trifolium purpureum Loisel. and T. angustifolium L. recorded from repeated measurements. Specifically, the non-linear and dynamic functional model of Brain was fitted, and the biological meaning of its parameters was detected. Comparisons between the mean values of the parameters were made in order to draw conclusions concerning the type of interference that appeared in the above stands under combined treatments of irrigation and clipping.
