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A new association of perennialnitrophilous vegetationfrom North-Western IberianPeninsulaJoão Honrado a b , Paulo Alves a b , Ângela Lomba b

, Isabel Rocha b , João Torres b , Santiago Ortiz c &Francisco Barreto Caldas a ba Departamento de Botânica, Faculdade de Ciênciasda Universidade do Porto , Rua do Campo Alegre1191, P-4150-181 , Porto E-mail:b Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade eRecursos Genéticos , Universidade do Porto , Rua doCampo Alegre P-1191, 4150-181 , Portoc Laboratório de Botánica, Facultade de Farmacia ,Universidade de Santiago de Compostela , CampusUniversitario, s/n, E-15782 , Santiago de CompostelaPublished online: 27 Apr 2013.

To cite this article: João Honrado , Paulo Alves , Ângela Lomba , IsabelRocha , João Torres , Santiago Ortiz & Francisco Barreto Caldas (2004) Anew association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation from North-WesternIberian Peninsula, Acta Botanica Gallica: Botany Letters, 151:4, 393-399, DOI:10.1080/12538078.2004.10515442

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/12538078.2004.10515442

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Acta Bot. Gallica, 2004, 151 (4), 393-399.

A new association of perennial nitrophilous vegetation from North­Western Iberian Peninsula

by Joao Honradoe·2), Paulo Alves(1•2), Angela Lombae), Isabel Rochae), Joao Torrese), Santiago Ortize) and Francisco Barreto Caldase ·2)

(1) Departamento de Bottinica, Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo

Alegre 1191, P-4150-181 Porto Ohonrado@fc.up.pt)

(2) Centro de lnvestiga~ao em Biodiversidade e Recursos Geneticos, Universidade do Porto, Rua do

Campo Alegre P-1191, 4150-181 Porto

(3) Laborat6rio de Botanica, Facultade de Farmacia, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela,

Campus Universitario, sin, E-15782 Santiago de Compostela

arrive le 24 mai 2004, accepte le I aozit 2004

Abstract.- A new phytosociological association of perennial nitrophilous vege­tation is described from submediterranean mountain areas of North-Western Iberian Peninsula. Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum henninii ass. nova (class Artemisietea vulgaris) is physiognomically predominated by Scrophularia henni­nii and its individuality is based on the two nominal taxa (Scrophularia henninii and Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum), both endemic to the North­Western Iberian Peninsula. In this paper, the new association is fully characteri­sed and distinguished from other perennial nitrophilous vegetation types in the territory in terms of its floristic composition, synecologic requirements, syntaxo­nomy, chorology and biogeography.

Key words : Iberian Peninsula - nitrophilous vegetation - phytosociology -Scrophularia henninii.

Resume.- On decrit une nouvelle association phytosociologique de vegetation nitrophile perenne des regions submediterraneennes du nord-ouest de Ia Peninsula lberique. La physionomie du Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum her­minii ass. nova (classe des Artemisietea vulgaris) est dominae par Scrophularia herminii et l'originalite de !'association se trouve dans ses taxons eponymes (Scrophularia henninii et Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum), deux ende­miques du nord-ouest de Ia Peninsula iberique. On caracterise et isole cette nou­velle association de toutes les autres associations de vegetation nitrophile perenne du territoire par des caracteres floristiques, synecologiques, syntaxo­nomiques, chorologiques et biogeographiques.

Mots c/es : Peninsula ib6rique- phytosociologie - Scrophularia henninii- vege­tation nitrophile.

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I. INTRODUCTION

Nitrophilous vegetation, usually predominated by herbaceous (perennial and/or annual) plants, is one of the most common and diverse vegetation types in landscapes with mode­rate or strong human influence.

Phytosociological class Artemisietea vulgaris includes both temperate and Mediterranean perennial nitrophilous vegetation, usually predominated by heliophilous megaphorbs (Rivas-Martinez et a/., 2002). In temperate and submediterranean areas of North-Western Portugal, three associations belonging to this type of vegetation have pre­viously been reported, all of which are typical of lowland (sub-)coastal areas (Honrado et a/., 2002): Echio rosu/ati-Picridetum echioidis (in road edges and waste areas), Agropyretum pycnanthi (in nitrified damp areas within coastal dune systems) and Inulo crithmoidis-Eiymetum pycnanthi (in halophytic vegetation mosaics within estuaries).

Scrophularia herminii and Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum are two endemic taxa restricted to the North-Western corner of the Iberian Peninsula (Ortiz, 1990; Ortega & Devesa, 1993 ). In a recent study of mountain vegetation in North-Western Portugal (Honrado, 2003), these two taxa have been shown to predominate in very particular plant communities characteristic of mountain rural villages; this peculiar vegetation type is des­cribed here as a new association within class Artemisietea vulgaris.

II. STUDY AREA

The study area included the mountainous territories of North-Western Portugal, particu­larly those belonging to the westernmost area of the Juresian sector (Peneda-Geres range and nearby mountains and plateaux; Fig. 1 ).

Mountains of North-Western Portugal form a disjunct, predominantly granitic massif, with the highest peaks reaching altitudes over 1,500 meters a.s.l. The climate is classified as Temperate Submediterranean (Honrado, 2003), with a short dry period in summer. The temperature regime is quite oceanic, including both mesotemperate and supratemperate belts; total annual precipitation is frequently above 2,500 mm (hyper-humid to ultra-hyper­humid ombrotypes; Honrado, op. cit.). Typical woodland vegetation types in the territory are predominated by Quercus robur, Q. pyrenaica and/or Betula celtiberica; however, sera) shrubby formations with Cytisus sp. pl., Ulex sp. pl. and Erica sp. pl. are usually dominant in the landscape.

Human occupation in these mountains is represented in the form of small rural villages, mostly located in sheltered valleys or in plateaux, between 600 and 1,200 meters a.s.l.; nitrophilous plant communities described in this paper are mostly found near old houses and in waste areas along roads and rural tracks connecting the villages and surrounding cultivated fields.

III. METHODS

The floristic and syntaxonomic characterisation of plant communities has been performed according to the concepts and methods of classical phytosociology, thoroughly revised in the literature for the last two decades (Gehu & Rivas-Martinez, 1981; Alcaraz, 1996; Aguiar & Honrado, 2001; Rivas-Martinez, 2002; Honrado, 2003). In short, phytosociolo-

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Fig. 1.- Biogeography of North-Western Portugal. 1) Galician-Portuguese sector: 1A) Miniensean district, 1 B) Alvao-Marao district, 1 C) Beiraduriensean district; 2) Juresian sector. Adapted from Costa et at. (1998) and Rivas-Martfnez eta/. (2002).

Fig. 1.- Biogeographie du nord-ouest du Portugal. 1) Secteur Galicien-Portugais : 1 A) District Miniense, 1 B) District de Alvao-Marao, 1 C) District Beiraduriense ; 2) Secteur Juresien. Adapte de Costa eta/. (1998) et Rivas-Martfnez et at. (2002).

gical releves were performed in representative formations with widely repeatable (i.e. stable) physiognomy, ecology and floristic composition. Releves were later surveyed for similarity and classified within the syntaxonomic scheme of Rivas-Martinez et a/. (200 1, 2002).

The nomenclature of plant taxa is according to standard iberian floras (Castroviejo eta/. ( 1986-2001) for published volumes, and Franco ( 1971, 1984) and Franco & Rocha Afonso

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( 1994, 1998, 2003) for other groups), except in the case of Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum (Ortiz, 1990).

Both syntaxonomical nomenclature for higher syntaxa (classes, orders and alliances) and biogeographic units are according to Rivas-Martinez et al. (2002).

IV RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A. Floristic composition, synecology and syntaxonomy Table I includes nine releves showing the typical species composition of Geranio lusi­

tanici-Scrophularietum herminii ass. nova (syntype: releve n. 4). The most frequent cha­racteristic taxa are Scrophularia herminii (usually dominant), Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum, Silene latifolia, Tanacetum parthenium, Ballota nigra subsp. foetida and Echium lusitanicum; occasional (co-)dominance of Ballota nigra subsp.foetida seems to be related to drier biotope conditions. This species combination is similar to no other within the class, leaving no doubt regarding the individuality of this new association (Table II). According to our data (Table 1), the total number oftaxa in a Geranio-Scrophularietum formation ranges from II to 27, with a mean of 16,9. Fifteen characteristic species were identified from a total of 54 taxa in the table; the mean number of characteristic taxa!rele­ve is 5,4.

Scrophularia herminii communities described here colonize fresh, nitrified soils in upper mesotemperate and supratemperate areas, usually near houses and in waste areas along roads or rural tracks. Depending on specific ecological location of samples, frequent companion taxa belong to classes Epilobietea angustifolii (megaphorbic vegetation of woodland clearings and fringes; e.g. Digitalis purpurea), Galio-Urticetea (shade-loving megaphorbic vegetation of woodland fringes; e.g. Urtica dioica, Lamium macula tum), Molinio-Arrhenatheretea (meso-hygrophilous perennial meadows; e.g. Dactylis glomera­fa subsp. lusitanica, Mentha suaveolens, Rumex obtusifolius) or Stellarietea mediae (annual nitrophilous vegetation; e.g. Capsella bursa-pastoris, Sonchus oleraceus, Stellaria media). In recently colonised biotopes, Urtica dioica and Lamium maculatum are usually dominant, shaping basal communities that antecipate the full establishment of the associa­tion.

From a syntaxonomic point of view, Geranio-Scrophularietum herminii is here included in the temperate Eurosiberian alliance Arction lappae, mostly due to bioclimatic, biogeo­graphic and synecological reasons, since most of the taxa which are usually indicated as characteristic of that alliance (cf. Loidi eta/., 1997; Rivas-Martinez eta/., 2002) are absent from the new association. Therefore, the two nominal taxa, both endemic to North-Western Iberian Peninsula, are here considered characteristic taxa of the alliance.

B. Biogeographic remarks So far, Geranio-Scrophularietum herminii has mostly been observed in temperate sub­

mediterranean mountains of North-Western Portugal (Peneda-Geres, Alviio-Mariio, Montemuro), in both Galician-Portuguese and Juresian phytogeographical sectors, where it seems to be restricted to altitudes over 500 meters a.s.l. However, considering the distri­bution of the two nominal taxa (Ortiz 1990; Ortega & Devesa 1993), this new association is probably also present in the neighbouring spanish region of Galicia, as well as in sub­mediterranean areas of the Serra da Estrela (Central Portugal).

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Table II.- Comparison of floristic composition between Artemisietea vulgaris associations in North-western Portugal. Physiognomically dominant taxa are indicated in bold.

Tableau 11.- Comparaison de Ia composition floristique des associations de Ia classe des Artemisietea vulgaris du nord-ouest du Portugal. Les taxons dominants du point de vue physionomique sont soulignes en gras.

Agropyretum lnu/o- Echio- Geranio-

pycnanthi Elvmetum pycnanthi Picridetum echioidis Scrophularietum herminii

Elymus athericus Elymus athericus Picris echioides Scrophu/aria herminii

Halimione portulacoides A triplex pros/rata Cirsium vulgare Geranium pyrenaicum subsp. lusitanicum

Beta maritima Echium rosu/atum Silene latifi>lia

lnula crithmoides Lava/era cretica Ballota foetida

Matricaria maritima Tanacetum parthenium Tanacetum parthenium

According to both floristic and bioclimatic characteristics, we believe that Geranio­Scrophularietum herminii is a biogeographic geovicariant association of Malva mauritia­nae-Rumicetum obtusifolii, a meso-supratemperate community type of Eurosiberian territories of Northern Spain. Within the territory, meso-supratemperate Scrophularia her­minii communities replace, in similar biotopes, lowland thermophilous formations of Echio rosulati-Picridetum echioidis and several associations within class Galio-Urticetea (cf. Honrado eta/., 2002).

C. Syntaxonomic scheme ARTEMISIETEA VULGARIS Lohmeyer, Preising & Tiixen ex von Rochow 1951

ARTEMISIENEA VULGARIS Rivas-Martinez, Bascones, T.E. Diaz, Fernandez-Gonzalez & Loidi in Rivas-Martinez, T.E. Diaz, F. Fernandez-Gonzalez, J. Izco, J. Loidi, M. Lousa & A. Penas 2002

Artemisietalia vulgaris Lohmeyer in Tiixen 194 7 Arction lappae Tiixen 1937

Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum herminii J. Honrado, P. Alves, A. Lomba, I. Rocha, J. Torres, S. Ortiz & F.B. Caldas ass. nova Malva mauritianae-Rumicetum obtusifolii Oberdorfer & Tiixen in Tiixen & Oberdorfer 1958 [not present in the territory]

Dauco-Melilotion Gors 1966 Echio rosulati-Picridetum echioidis P. Alves & J. Honrado in J. Honrado, P. Alves, H.N. Alves & F.B. Caldas 2002

Agropyretalia repentis Oberdorfer, Miiller & Gors in Oberdorfer, Gors, Korneck, Lohmeyer, Miiller, Philippi & Seibert 1967

Agropyrion pungentis Gehu 1968 Agropyretum pycnanthi Corillion 1953 corr. Bueno 1997 Inulo crithmoidis-E/ymetum pycnanthi Gehu ex lzco, J. Guitian & J.M. Sanchez 1993

Acknowledgements - The authors thank the Peneda-Geres National Park for all the support in the course of this study.

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Table I, Tableau 1.- Geranio lusitanici-Scrophularietum herminii ass. nova (Arction lappae, Artemisietalia vulgaris, Artemisietea vulgaris). The names of all taxa (species and sub-species) are indicated in the binomial form (Les noms de tous les taxons (especes et sous-especes) sont indiques sous Ia forme binomiale}.

Releve n. I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Altitude (m) 1030 1120 1050 990 850 980 650 550 1000 N. of taxa II II II 14 14 17 18 19 25 Characteristic taxa Scrophularia herminii 2 2 3 2 Geranium pyrenaicum lusitanicum 3 2 I 2 3 2 Silene lat({olia + I I I + Tanacetum parthenium + 2 2 I 2 Ballota foetida 2 Echium lusitanicum + 2 Achillea mill~fo/ium + Conyza albida I Verbascum crass(fO/ium + Artemisia verlotiorum 2 Cirsium vulgare Echium rosulatum Lactuca virosa Scrophularia scorodonia Senecio jacobaea +

Companion taxa Urtica dioica 2 I Dac(vlis glomerata lusitanica 2 Digitalis purpurea + + Lamium maculatum + Capsel/a bursa-pastoris + + Mentha suaveo/ens I 2 + Rumex obtus({olius 2 Senecio lividus + Sonchus oleraceus + + Stel/aria media + Galium aparine + Rubus sp. 2 Bromus sterilis + Chaerophyllum temulentum Chelidonium majus Geranium lucidum + Hordeum murinum Malva neglecta Plantago major + + Poa trivia/is Ranuncu/us repens + Sisymbrium officinale + Sonchus asper + + Taraxacum gr. ojficinale + + Anthriscus caucalis 2 Centaurea rivularis + Chamaemelum nobile Echium plantagineum Erodium cicutarium + Erodium moschatum Galinsoga parviflora Holcus lanatus Hypochoeris radicata Lavatera cretica 2 Mercurialis ambigua 2 Pentaglottis sempervirens 2 Plantago lanceolata + Trifolium repens 2 Verbena officina/is 2

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Localities: I - Melga~o: Castro Laboreiro. Coriscadas. 29TNG7055. 2 - Melga~o: Seara, 29TNG7232. 3 - Melga~o: Teso. 29TNG7154. 4- Melga~o: Curveira, 29TNG7051. 5 - Montalegre: Tourem, 29TNG9140. 6- Montalegre: Sezelhe. St' Luzia. 29TNG9329. 7- Ponte da Barca: Germil. 29TNG6126. 8 - Cinffies: Ferreiros de Tendais. 29TNF7945.

399

9 - Melga~o: between Cainheiras and Castro Laboreiro. 29TNG7053.

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