Nomenclatural novelties in Ann. Bot. Fennici 43(5). — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 400.
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Conti. F. & Peruzzi, L. 2006: Pinguicula (Lentibulariaceae) in central Italy: taxonomic study. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 321–337.

A morphometric and taxonomic study of Pinguicula in central Italy was carried out. Six allopatric units occur in this area, all belonging to sect. Pinguicula: P. fiorii Tammaro & Pace, P. vulgaris L. subsp. vulgaris and four new taxa: P. vulgaris subsp. anzalonei Peruzzi & F. Conti subsp. nova, P. vulgaris subsp. ernica Peruzzi & F. Conti subsp. nova, P. vulgaris subsp. vestina F. Conti & Peruzzi subsp. nova and P. vallis-regiae F. Conti & Peruzzi sp. nova. A key to the Italian species and subspecies of Pinguicula is provided.

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Hellström, K., Huhta, A.-P., Rautio, P. & Tuomi, J. 2006: Search for optimal mowing regime — slow community change in a restoration trial in northern Finland. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 338–348.

Mowing is frequently used for restoring plant communities in abandoned meadows which were previously managed by cattle grazing and mowing. The aim of this study was to search for the most optimal mowing treatment maximising plant species richness in a dry-mesic meadow in northern Finland. In an earlier restoration attempt at the same study site, traditional mowing in mid to late August was applied for five years (1993–1997). Because this first attempt had negligible effects on plant community structure, a new five-year experiment was conducted (1998–2003) in order to test for the effects of different mowing regimes (early mowing in June, late mowing in August, late mowing + soil disturbance in August, and untreated control plots). In spite of considerable species turnover at the level of individual plots, the treatments had no statistically significant effect on species turnover and species richness per plot. Mowing did not suppress the cover of tall herbs. Late mowing even favoured the early flowering Geranium sylvaticum. Restorative mowing is ineffective against tall competitors if the propagule input from the neighbourhood remains high. Early mowing and late mowing + soil disturbance, which most strongly decreased vegetation height, tended to favour competitively inferior small herbs. A reason for a slow response in species richness may lie in seed limitation as only one new species appeared during the study. To enhance species richness, mowing could be combined with propagule addition in cases where the local species pools of meadow species have been exhausted.

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Juslén, A. 2006: Phylogeny of Vetaformaceae, Lepicoleaceae and Herbertaceae (including Mastigophoraceae) inferred from chloroplast trnL-F, nuclear ITS2, and morphology. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 349–362.

Phylogenetic relationships of Vetaformaceae, Lepicoleaceae, and Herbertaceae (including Mastigophoraceae) were reconstructed using chloroplast region trnL-F, nuclear ITS2, and 27 morphological characters. Forty-five species were included in the analysis, of which 37 belong to the ingroup. The data sets were analyzed simultaneously with direct optimization, as implemented in the program POY. The results confirm the sister relationships of Vetaformaceae and Lepicoleaceae as well as of Herbertaceae and former Mastigophoraceae. Within Lepicolea the species are divided into two sister clades. Herbertus runcinatus is sister to the rest of the genus. A clade of H. oldfieldianus, South American species and a species from the Azores form a separate lineage. The rest of the Herbertus species are grouped together but many unresolved nodes remain.

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Ruokolainen, L. & Salo, K. 2006: The succession of boreal forest vegetation during ten years after slash-burning in Koli National Park, eastern Finland. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 363–378.

The almost complete elimination of fire from forest management practises in Scandinavia has made post-fire succession rare and, consequently, generated conservation problems. The importance of fire in conjunction with slash-and-burn cultivation has been recognised as a management strategy. It is a potential tool for managing forest structure and regeneration processes in nature reserves. In this study we observed the first decade of vegetation succession after slash-burning. Prior to the study, most trees at the study site were felled and burned. The monitoring was carried out in three burned areas of different age and an unmanaged control forest. In addition to describing the responses of different plant species and plant functional groups to fire, multivariate methods were applied to illustrate community level changes. The results indicated succession processes at each hierarchy level in the recovering community. In general, the community switched from pioneer bryophyte mass abundances to graminoid dominance within ten years. Moreover, plant diversity seemed to have increased due to slash-burning. A total of 88 plant taxa (i.e. vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) were observed in the sample plots during the study period, as compared with the 44 taxa observed in control plots. We concluded that slash-burning is an appropriate method for mimicking natural fires, at least from a botanical perspective, and may therefore be a forest renewal practise worth considering in special areas.

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Szczecinska, M., Sawicki, J., Polok, K., Holdynski, C. & Zielinski, R. 2006: Comparison of three Polygonatum species from Poland based on DNA markers. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 379–388.

Four categories of DNA markers were used to determine genetic similarity of three species of Polygonatum, i.e. P. multiflorum, P. odoratum and P. verticillatum, occurring in Poland. Four populations per species, represented by ten plants per population, were collected in north-eastern Poland. In this study 111 RAPD and 35 semi-random ISJ markers were detected. Moreover the application of primers complementary to bacterial sequences IS6110 and katG gene enabled the detection of 9 and 34 markers, respectively. Each of the four marker categories gave species-specific bands. The highest conservativeness was observed for sequences of the katG gene. The degree of genetic similarity between P. multiflorum and P. odoratum was 0.57, and between these taxa and P. verticillatum 0.40 and 0.37, respectively. Most of the primers applied in the study enabled molecular species identification, and three of them turned out to be section-specific markers. The taxa showed no considerable intraspecific diversity, and the populations of P. verticillatum were almost identical. The results are consistent with the commonly accepted division of the genus Polygonatum into sections Polygonatum and Verticillata.

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Yue, C.-L., Jin, S.-H., Chang, J. & Jiang, H. 2006: Response of photosynthesis in Shaniodendron subaequale to soil water status. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 389–393.

The Chinese endemic and endangered Shaniodendron subaequale (Hamamelidaceae) is restricted to a narrow distribution area, where drought frequently occurs. In order to find out soil water demand of the species, we studied its photosynthesis and other ecophysiological traits in response to soil water availability. The results showed that, when relative water content was 60%, S. subaequale had the maximal photosynthetic rate and highest light saturation point. Below 60% of soil water holding capacity, mean photosynthesis rate, mean transpiration rates, mean water use efficiency and mean stomatal conductance remarkably decreased with decreasing soil water content. Significant reduction of S. subaequale leaf area followed that of soil water content, but at the same time the chlorophyll content increased. The study indicated that relatively wet soil was more favourable for S. subaequale. Separation of its actual water niche from an optimal water niche can partly account for its endangered status.

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Tyler, T. 2006: On the typification and application of Hieracium diaphanum Fr., with remarks on the diagnostic characters of allied species from southern Sweden. — Ann. Bot. Fennici 43: 394–399.

A lectotype for Hieracium diaphanum Fr. (1819) is designated and it is compared with similar species from southern Sweden, i.e. H. pseudodiaphanum (Dahlst.) Johanss., H. jonsbergense T. Tyler, H. hemidiaphanum (Dahlst.) Brenner, H. dalicum Johanss. and H. subglaucovirens Zahn ex Johanss. & Sam. It is concluded that the name H. diaphanum (s. stricto) does belong to a very rare species hitherto only known from two sites in the province of Småland (S Sweden) whereas the correct name for the most widespread Nordic species of this group is H. pseudodiaphanum (Dahlst.) Johanss.

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