Sven Jelaska

The aim of this study was to investigate responses of ant and carabid assemblages and their morpho-ecological traits to habitat differences within natural temperate forests in Medvednica Nature Park. Toquantify ha bitat differences in examined areas, both structural heterogeneity of the vege tation and taxonomic diversity of plants were measured on six plots. Habitat complexity was quantified using four habitat characteristics wit hin the site: tree canopy cover; shrub canopy cover; ground herbs and leaf lit ter cover. Ants and carabids were sampled using pitfall traps. Ant species richness and abundance, unlike carabid species richness were positively correlated with habitat complexity, especially with leaf litter cover on plots. The responses of insects morpho-ecological traits to habitat were recor ded, with more large bodied carabids present in more complex site and higher abundance of opportunist ant species in more open sites with low complexity of vegetation. Higher dominance...

Here we present the methodology used for terrestrial biodiversity analysis and site selection in Phase B of the UNDP/GEF COAST project. The analysis was focused on the problem of biodiversity evaluation in four Croatian counties stretching from sea level to the highest mountain in Croatia. Data on habitats, vascular flora, and fauna (mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, ground beetles, and underground invertebrates) were collected and analyzed for each of the four counties. Emphasis was given to the richness of endangered species and the rarity of endemic species. Based on the spatial analyses of habitat, fauna, and flora data, four to six areas were selected from each county and ranked according to their biodiversity importance. Overlap between areas important for richness and those important for rarity was highest for data on flora (65.5%) and lowest for data on fauna (16.7%). When different data sets were compared, the lowest overlap was between flora and fauna (17.1%) and largest between fauna and habitats (23.9%). Simultaneous overlap among all three data sets was found in just 6.5% of the overall selected areas. These results suggest that less specific data, with respect to taxa threat status, could better serve as surrogate data in estimating overall biodiversity. In summary, this analysis has demonstrated that Dalmatia is a region with a high overall biodiversity that is important in a broader European context.

In order to develop the floristic map of Medvednica Nature Park, already existing data on the distribution of the genus Daphne were collected from literature and herbarium sources. Field observations were also carried out. Three species were recorded: Daphne blagayana Freyer, Daphne laureola L. and Daphne mezereum L. All recorded species have the IUCN status of endangered or low risk species. For the three species of the genus Daphne in Medvednica Nature Park, 159 localities were found and 124 (78%) of the localities were geocoded. The distribution of the species is presented on maps using a Central European grid for floristic mapping (MTB).

At the end of year 2000, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Physical Planning of the Republic of Croatia started the project ''Mapping the habitats of Republic of Croatia''. Three-year project was carried out by Oikon Ltd. Institute for Applied ecology from Zagreb, and finished at the beginning of year 2004. On the terrestrial part of Croatian territory data source for mapping were classified and interpreted Landsat ETM+ satellite images with the minimum mapping area of 9 ha, as well as results of intensive fieldwork. The spring and the autumn set of satellite images were simultaneously used. In the first step, each Landsat ETM+ scene was classified using supervised classification on the basic land-cover units. In the second step, each land-cover unit (on the each scene) was classified on the subunits using unsupervised classification supported by the optimisation of the number of clusters. Finally, the results of unsupervised classification were interprete...

The flora research in Medvednica Nature Park has shown the presence of four species of the genus Impatiens: Impatiens balfourii Hooker f., I. glandulifera Royle, I. noli-tangere L. and I. parviflora DC. The species I. noli-tangere is the most widespread in the Park, while the other three species are registered for the first time. Distribution mapping was done by using the basic units of the Central European grid for floristic mapping (MTB).

Background and Purpose: Biological invasions are considered among the main factors of global changes and the identification of future invaders may help in taking effective steps to prevent their dispersal and/or establish-ment. For some Australian Acacia species, especially Acacia dealbata Link, an invasive status has been already described in some European countries. The aim of this work was surveying the actual spatial pattern of Australian acacias across the eastern Adriatic, and, by applying GIS techniques, to learn more about their ecology and distribution. Materials and Methods: We carried on two field surveys during the flowering season of the year 2014, and recorded the locations of Acacia spe-cies, their flowering state, floral characteristics, and the insects present on the inflorescences. We georeferenced any plant detected, and collected soils samples under the plant crowns and in close natural or semi-natural areas. Results and Conclusions: Very few species were recorde...

The aim of this study was to investigate responses of ant and carabid assemblages and their morpho-ecological traits to habitat differences within natural temperate forests in Medvednica Nature Park. Toquantify ha bitat differences in examined areas, both structural heterogeneity of the vege tation and taxonomic diversity of plants were measured on six plots. Habitat complexity was quantified using four habitat characteristics wit hin the site: tree canopy cover; shrub canopy cover; ground herbs and leaf lit ter cover. Ants and carabids were sampled using pitfall traps. Ant species richness and abundance, unlike carabid species richness were positively correlated with habitat complexity, especially with leaf litter cover on plots. The responses of insects morpho-ecological traits to habitat were recor ded, with more large bodied carabids present in more complex site and higher abundance of opportunist ant species in more open sites with low complexity of vegetation. Higher dominance...

Today, vegetation of a given area may be strongly influenced by human-driven introduction of alien species. Biological invasions are considered among the main factors of global changes (Mooney & Hobbs 2000) and the identification of future invaders may help in taking effective steps to prevent their disperasal and/or establishment (Mack et al. 2000). At European level, an increasing attention is given to invasive alien species (IAS) and to the development of methods for documenting the reasons for successes and failures of alien species (COST Action TD1209 ALIEN Challenge 2013-2017). Australian Acacia show different status of invasiveness in Europe: several species display an invasive status in some Mediterranean countries, but not in others. Flora Croatica Database (FCD) contains Acacia dealbata, A. saligna and A. retinoides, with just 12 records of their locality, prior to this survey. At present, these species are not indicated as invasive in Croatia. Two of them, A. dealbata and...

Background and Purpose: Biological invasions are causing serious problems in the environment, often resulting in significant modifications of the landscape structure and ecosystem functioning. J.P. Grime's theory on CSR strategies of plants indicate whether plant species is a good competitor, adapted to disturbance or to limited resources. The goal of this study was to find which CSR strategy (if any) prevails among invasive plants in Croatia. Materials and Methods: Data on CSR strategies were not available, or not consistent, for all invasive plants in Croatia, hence we have allocated CSR strategies to 15 invasive taxa, using the methodology based on several plant traits, which resulted in assignment of CSR type to 57 invasive plants. Distributional records of those 57 taxa in Croatia from the Flora Croatica Database were used to analyse the occurrence of invasive plants among three biogeographical regions (Alpine, Continental and Mediterranean). Results and Conclusions: In tot...