Land-use induced soil carbon stabilization at the expense of rock derived nutrients: insights from pristine Andean soils.

Soils contain significantly more carbon than the atmosphere, hence we should understand how best to stabilize it. Unfortunately, the role of human interventions on soil organic carbon (SOC) persistence in the Anthropocene remains vague, lacking adequate sites that allow unbiased direct comparisons of pristine and human influenced soils. Here we present data from a unique study system in the High Andes that guarantees pristineness of the reference sites by physical inaccessibility through vertical cliffs.

Plastid genomes reveal evolutionary shifts in elevational range and flowering time of (Oleaceae).

Species of are economically important ornamental trees, yet information regarding their plastid genomes (plastomes) have rarely been reported, thus hindering taxonomic and evolutionary studies of this small but enigmatic genus. Here, we performed comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses on plastomes of 16 of the 28 currently accepted species, with 11 plastomes newly sequenced. Phylogenetic studies identified four main lineages within the genus that are here designated the: "Caucasian " (corresponding to .

Comparative analysis of the complete plastid genomes in Prunus subgenus Cerasus (Rosaceae): Molecular structures and phylogenetic relationships.

Prunus subgenus Cerasus (cherry) is an economically important group that distributed in temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. However, shared interspecific morphological traits and variability across taxa of Cerasus are among the impediments to taxonomic efforts to correctly delimit taxa. This is further complicated by a lack of genetic information on these taxa, with no focused genomic or phylogenetic studies being done on Cerasus.

Evolutionary patterns of nucleotide substitution rates in plastid genomes of .

Molecular evolution, including nucleotide substitutions, plays an important role in understanding the dynamics and mechanisms of species evolution. Here, we sequenced whole plastid genomes (plastomes) of , , , and and compared them with 14 other plastomes to explore their evolutionary relationships using 67 shared protein-coding sequences. While many previously identified evolutionary relationships were found, our findings do not support previous research which retrieve subg.

A phylogeny of species near supporting the recognition of two new genera, and (Poaceae, Pooideae, Agrostidinae) from Europe.

Based on a molecular DNA phylogeny of three plastid (, intron, and ) and nuclear ITS regions investigating 32 species of Agrostidinae, we describe two new genera, with a single species and with four species; provide support for five species in a monophyletic ; and include a small sample of 12 species of a monophyletic s.s. (including the type and most species of ), that separates into two clades corresponding to A.

Re-instatement of (Rosaceae), based on morphometric analysis.

(≡), previously considered a synonym of (≡) in the , is re-instated here and shown to be distinct from , based on morphometric analysis, coupled with herbarium and field investigation. We also present for the first-time full descriptions, distributional records and notes for and .

New records and key to (Pooideae, Poaceae) from the Flora of Southern Africa region and notes on taxa including a diclinous breeding system in .

Four species of L. are newly reported for sub-Saharan Africa and southern Africa, L., Azn.

(Poaceae): A common new species in the complex from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism, southern Africa, with key and notes on taxa in the complex including the overlooked .

We present taxonomic notes on the complex from southern Africa that includes description and illustration of the new species from the Drakensberg Mountain Centre of Floristic Endemism of South Africa and Lesotho. can be differentiated from s.l.

and (Agrostidinae, Poaceae) from páramos of Boyacá, Colombia: synoptic taxonomy including a key to Colombian species.

We present taxonomic notes, including updated species descriptions and images, for the nine species of and one species of found in páramos of Departamento Boyacá, Colombia (, , , , A. cf. imberbis, , s.

New combinations and updated descriptions in (Agrostidinae, Poaceae) from the Neotropics and Mexico.

Based on morphological study and corroborated by unpublished molecular phylogenetic analyses, five grass species of high-mountain grasslands in Mexico, Central and South America, , , , , and , are transferred to and bring the number of species of this genus recognized in the New World to ten. The name is lectotypified and epitypified. We provide an updated genus description for , and updated species descriptions, images, and notes on the new combinations.

Functional androdioecy in the ornamental shrub Osmanthus delavayi (Oleaceae).

Androdioecy is one of the rarest sexual systems among plants, characterized by males co-occurring with hermaphrodites. Osmanthus delavayi (Oleaceae), an ornamental shrub from southern China, is known to have both male and hermaphrodite individuals, but little is known regarding the breeding system of this species and whether it is functionally androdioecious, and how this potentially evolved. In this study, we explore the characteristics of the breeding system of O.

Páramo s.l. (Poaceae): An updated list and key to the species known or likely to occur in páramos of NW South America and southern Central America including two new species, one new variety and five new records for Colombia.

(syn. ), as traditionally circumscribed, is one of the most speciose genera from páramo grasslands of northwest South America and southern Central America and often dominates these high-elevation habitats. However, it remains difficult for researchers to accurately identify the species due to a lack of floristic treatments for most of the countries containing páramo, with the distribution of many species still very poorly known.

The Complete Plastid Genome of Magnolia zenii and Genetic Comparison to Magnoliaceae species.

is a critically endangered species known from only 18 trees that survive on Baohua Mountain in Jiangsu province, China. Little information is available regarding its molecular biology, with no genomic study performed on until now. We determined the complete plastid genome of and identified microsatellites.

Relict high-Andean ecosystems challenge our concepts of naturalness and human impact.

What would current ecosystems be like without the impact of mankind? This question, which is critical for ecosystem management, has long remained unanswered due to a lack of present-day data from truly undisturbed ecosystems. Using mountaineering techniques, we accessed pristine relict ecosystems in the Peruvian Andes to provide this baseline data and compared it with the surrounding accessible and disturbed landscape. We show that natural ecosystems and human impact in the high Andes are radically different from preconceived ideas.

An updated checklist and key to the open-panicled species of Poa L. (Poaceae) in Peru including three new species, Poa ramoniana, Poa tayacajaensis, and Poa urubambensis.

We provide an updated checklist and key to the 30 Poa species with open panicles from Peru which includes previously circumscribed Dissanthelium and Aphanelytrum species, new taxon records, and three undescribed species. Poa compressa, Poa grisebachii, and Poa leioclada are recorded from Peru for the first time. A number of species are placed in synonymy: Poa carazensis, Poa ferreyrae and Poa tovarii are synonymized under the name Poa fibrifera; Poa adusta (tentatively) and Poa pilgeri are synonymized under Poa candamoana; Poa superata is synonymized under Poa grisebachii; and Poa paramoensis is synonymized under Poa huancavelicae.

Elevational patterns of Polylepis tree height (Rosaceae) in the high Andes of Peru: role of human impact and climatic conditions.

We studied tree height in stands of high-Andean Polylepis forests in two cordilleras near Cuzco (Peru) with respect to variations in human impact and climatic conditions, and compared air and soil temperatures between qualitatively defined dry and humid slopes. We studied 46 forest plots of 100 m(2) of five Polylepis species at 3560-4680 m. We measured diameter at breast height (dbh) and tree height in the stands (1229 trees in total), as well as air and soil temperatures in a subset of plots.