Reconhecida pela sua megadiversidade, mas também pelo alto nível de desmatamento e perda de espécies que vem ocorrendo nas últimas décadas, a Mata Atlântica é um dos biomas mais ameaçados do planeta, recebendo a denominação de hotspot mundial. As abelhas exercem papel fundamental para a manutenção da vegetação por meio da polinização e o conhecimento sobre a composição do táxon contribui para ações de conservação. Abelhas da tribo Euglossini podem atuar como bioindicadoras da qualidade ambiental e exercem uma estreita relação com determinadas plantas, principalmente da família Orchidaceae, sendo fundamentais para a perpetuação de muitas espécies desta família. A tribo Euglossini apresenta riqueza de espécies nas florestas tropicais decaindo em direção às latitudes altas. Este estudo propôs investigar e reconhecer a fauna de Euglossini presente na região norte do estado de Santa Catarina, no sul do Brasil, a partir de coletas mensais em seis localidades, distribuídas ao longo de um gradiente altitudinal entre o nível do mar e 800 metros, nos municípios de Joinville e São Francisco do Sul. Duas localidades são constituídas por morros remanescentes de Mata Atlântica, inseridos na malha urbana de Joinville, com extensões de aproximadamente 390 e 525 hectares. As demais localidades compõem áreas contínuas de floresta na costa litorânea e Serra do Mar. Em cada local houve um dia de coleta por mês nos períodos de setembro/2013 até abril/2014 e de setembro/2014 até abril/2015. As iscas odoríferas disponibilizadas foram: benzoato de benzila, cineol, eugenol e vanilina. Nos últimos seis meses do estudo foi testada uma nova fragrância à base de menta: o mentol. O estudo registrou 794 machos de Euglossini dos gêneros Eufriesea, Euglossa e Eulaema, distribuídos em dez espécies válidas e uma potencialmente nova. As localidades com maiores riquezas foram os remanescentes no Morro do Finder e Morro do Boa Vista, e as maiores diversidades ocorreram na Vila da Glória e Mutucas. As espécies Eufriesea violacea Blanchard 1840, Euglossa annectans Dressler 1982 e Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 foram registradas nas seis localidades estudadas. Ef. violacea, Eg. annectans Eg. stellfeldi representaram 91,56% da comunidade amostrada, sendo 66,87% somente da primeira espécie. O cineol atraiu 299 abelhas, o eugenol 190 e vanilina 165, mas em relação à riqueza, os mais atrativos foram o benzoato de benzila, cineol e vanilina, com seis espécies cada. O mentol mostrou eficácia, atraindo 75 abelhas de quatro espécies. A distribuição das abelhas em relação a variação altitudinal demonstrou que as maiores riqueza e abundância ocorreram entre o nível do mar e 200 metros de altitude com diminuição do número de indivíduos e espécies acima desta cota. Interações entre as abelhas e oito espécies de orquídeas foram registradas a partir de polinários aderidos às abelhas. Apesar da ocupação humana no entorno dos fragmentos da área urbana, os Morros do Finder e do Boa Vista apresentaram bom estado de conservação para a comunidade de Euglossini. Novos esforços e utilização de outras metodologias podem enriquecer os dados obtidos contribuindo para uma melhor caracterização ambiental da região. A partir dos dados existentes na literatura sobre a tribo Euglossini em Santa Catarina, nota-se uma riqueza significativa nos municípios de Joinville e São Francisco do Sul. / Recognized for its megadiversity, but also the high level of deforestation and species loss that has occurred in recent decades, the Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes on the planet, getting the global name hotspot. Bees play a crucial role in the maintenance of vegetation through pollination and knowledge about the taxon composition contributes to conservation actions. The tribe Euglossini can act as bioindicators of environmental quality and exert a close relationship with certain plants, particularly the orchid family, being fundamental to the perpetuation of many species of this family. The tribe Euglossini has a species richness in tropical forests which decreases in the higher latitudes. This study aimed to investigate and identify the Euglossini fauna present in the northern state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, from monthly collections in six locations distributed along an altitudinal gradient between sea level and 800 meters, in the cities of Joinville and São Francisco do Sul. Two locations are composed of remnants of Atlantic Forest hills, situated in the urban area of Joinville, with extensions of approximately 390 and 525 hectares. Other locations comprise continuous areas of forest on the coastline and Serra do Mar. At each site there was one collection day per month in the period from September / 2013 to April / 2014 and September / 2014 to April / 2015. The available scent baits were: benzyl benzoate, cineol, eugenol and vanillin. In the last six months of the study a new mint-based fragrance was tested : menthol. The study recorded 794 Euglossini males of the genera Eufriesea, Euglossa and Eulaema, distributed in ten valid species and one potentially new species. The localities with the greatest richness were in Morro do Finder and Morro do Boa Vista, and the largest diversity occurred in the Vila da Glória and Mutucas. The species Eufriesea violacea Blanchard 1840, Euglossa annectans Dressler 1982 e Eulaema nigrita Lepeletier, 1841 were recorded in the six studied locations. Ef. violacea, Eg. annectans and Eg. stellfeldi represented 91.56% of the sampled community, with the first species making up 66.87% of that figure. The cineole attracted 299 bees, eugenol 190 and vanillin 165, but in relation to richness, the most attractive were the benzyl benzoate, cineole and vanillin, with six species each. The menthol was effective, attracting 75 bees from four species. The distribution of bees in relation to altitudinal variation showed that the greatest richness and abundance occured between sea level and an altitude of 200 metres, with a decrease in the number of individuals and species above this altimetry quota. Interactions between bees and eight species of orchids were recorded from pollinaria adhered to the bees. Despite the surrounding human occupation of urban fragments, Morros Finder and Boa Vista showed good conditions for the community of Euglossini. New efforts and using other methodologies can enrich the data, contributing to a better environmental characterization of the area. From the literature data on the tribe Euglossini in Santa Catarina, there is a significant richness in the cities of Joinville and São Francisco do Sul.

The Orchidaceae is characterized by a remarkably diverse range of life forms and some of the most highly specialized interactions with soil fungi and insect pollinators found in the flowering plants. Many species are rare or threatened with extinction either directly through loss of habitat or over-collection or, indirectly through debilitation or loss of mycorrhizal association or pollinator capacity. Australian temperate terrestrial orchids represent one of the most threatened groups in the Australian flora with many taxa clinging to existence in urban and rural bushland remnants, road verges and unprotected bushland. The aim of this study is to research and develop integrated conservation based on critical aspects of terrestrial orchid biology and ecology, towards the recovery of the rare and endangered Western Australian terrestrial orchid Caladenia huegelii. This study identified key aspects involved in an integrated conservation approach and research focused on conservation genetics, mycorrhizal interactions and in situ and ex situ conservation strategies for this species. Using polymorphic microsatellite molecular markers, high levels of genetic diversity were found within remnant populations of C. huegelii, while weak differentiation was observed among populations over the species geographic range. These results indicate historic genetic exchange between C. huegelii populations, a possible consequence of the sexually deceptive pollination strategy and the capacity for widespread seed dispersal. Symbiotic germination studies revealed compatibility barriers to C. huegelii germination with the orchid possessing a highly specific orchid-mycorrhizal association relative to common sympatric congeners. These results were reflected in a phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences, revealing C. huegelii associates with only one endophyte species within the fungal family Sebacinaceae across its geographic range. Large scale in situ seed baiting demonstrated that endophytes compatible with C. huegelii were limited in distribution relative to common and widespread orchid species, a feature for C. huegelii that may be a major contributing factor in limiting the distributional range of the species. Detailed, within site seed baiting methods identified hotspots for mycorrhizal fungus compatible with C. huegelii that were unoccupied by the orchid. These mycorrhizal hotspots where used to investigate the effect of endophyte presence on survival of transplanted mature plants and seedling outplants. The in situ survival of glasshouse propagated seedlings was further optimized by incubating seedlings in growth containers before transfer to soil and outplanting seedlings in their second growing season. The findings of this study will substantially advance the recovery of C. huegelii and provide benchmark knowledge for similar projects with other rare and threatened terrestrial orchid species.

Spiranthes parksii Correll is an endemic terrestrial orchid to the Post Oak Savannah of East Texas and is currently listed as federally endangered. The construction of Twin Oaks landfill, approximately 20 km east of College Station, TX, will destroy an estimated 379 S. parksii individuals and 44.7 ha of its habitat. Research has been funded to mitigate for this loss and includes documenting demographics, life cycle, local and landscape habitat, and on-site transplantation of S. parksii. Results found that S. parksii was highly variable between years at Twin Oaks and might be due to seasonal rainfall in rosette and early flowering growth. It was also found variable in its production of a rosette and influorescence from year to year. Individual plants were found to occur farther from drainages in higher count years, probably due to soil moisture, although further research should be conducted to confirm this hypothesis. A significant difference (p = 0.026) was found for percent canopy cover > 2 m above 1 m x 1 m quadrats with and without S. parksii, with a mean of 55 percent with S. parksii and 97 percent without S. parksii. A Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination revealed three different combinations of herbaceous species that occur with S. parksii, which were driven by the presence of three dominant bunch grasses of the Post Oak Savannah: Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium laxum var. sessiliflorum, and Andropogon ternarius. A close to significant difference (p = 0.07) was found for the leaf litter depth between quadrats with and without S. parksii, with a fewer number of stacked leaves with S. parksii. Analysis of aerial images indicated woody encroachment on Twin Oaks from 1958 to 2004 in areas that have not been mechanically cleared. Additionally, S. parksii was found to persist in an open savannah landscape and likely occurred in the same locations and more widespread in 1958 than are currently found. Transplantation of S. parksii was documented to be successful by a soil-intact method. While a bare-root method showed success with S. cernua, no conclusions can be made of its success for S. parksii due to a low sample size (n = 10).

Ce mémoire visait à déterminer si la platanthère à gorge frangée (Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis), une orchidée, est une espèce indicatrice de l’intégrité écologique des tourbières ombrotrophes. Les indicateurs d’intégrité écologique sont des outils indispensables pour évaluer efficacement les composantes d’un écosystème. Les résultats indiquent que l’abondance de la platanthère est fortement liée à l’indice de qualité floristique (FQAI). Le FQAI est aussi un excellent prédicateur de la présence de l’espèce, avec un taux de succès à 87%. D’autre part, l’abondance de l’orchidée est négativement affectée par les activités anthropiques et la matrice environnante. D’un point de vue descriptif, les habitats renfermant une grande abondance d’orchidées sont caractérisés par une faible microtopographie de surface et un recouvrement important de bryophytes et d’éricacées de petite taille. Globalement, ce mémoire a montré que la platanthère renferme un potentiel pour être indicatrice de l’intégrité écologique des tourbières ombrotrophes au Québec. / The aim of this study was to evaluate whether White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis var. blephariglottis) can be used as an indicator of Sphagnum bog integrity. Ecological indicators of integrity are important tools as it is impossible to monitor efficiently all components of an ecosystem. Results indicate that White Fringed Orchid abundance is highly linked with floristic quality assessment index (FQAI). FQAI is also a good predictor of presence of the species, with an accuracy of 87%. On the other hand, orchid abundance is negatively affected by anthropogenic activities and the environmental matrix. Similarly, peatlands having low edge effect are characterized by higher orchid abundance than those more influenced by edges. From a descriptive perspective, high orchid abundance habitat is characterized by low surface microtopography, high bryophyte and small ericaceous covers. Globally, this study has shown that White Fringed Orchid has potential to evaluate ecological integrity in Sphagnum bogs in Québec.

The survey presented in this thesis focused on germination of six orchid species in the Protected landscape area White Carpathians; specifically Platanthera bifolia, Neottia ovata, Anacamptis pyramidalis, Gymnadenia conopsea subsp. conopsea, Traunsteinera globosa, Orchis militaris on restored medows of various age. As the control, two National Protected Areas (Zahrady pod Hájem and Čertoryje) were used. The initial stage of germination was detected on both restored and control meadows. The advanced stage of germination (protocorm) was recorded in three species (GC, NO, PB) on restored meadows, and in all species on kontrol meadows. The other aim of the thesis was to determine via molecular methods, which species of mycorrhizal fungi are associated with the model orchid species.

The subject of this diploma thesis was the research of vegetation at localities in the Protected Landscape Area Bohemian Paradise. There were choosen areas: Natural Monument Podloučky and Protected Area Fialník, where grows an orchid Gymnadenia conopsea subsp. montana. There were made 60 phytocenological samples, and described: biotop, altitude, slope, huminidy and exposure. There were found four orchid species in the localities. Phytocenological samples were compared with each other. It has been shown that differences between localities are greater than the differences between orchid and non-orchid samples. Significant differences were also found in comparing the coverage in the floor between locations and abundace of species in each floor.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:51:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 01 - capa_abstract.pdf: 60769 bytes, checksum: 7bb9d45d4373809fdd703200fc0ce609 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-10-03 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / In nature, species of Orchidaceae are always associated with mycorrhizal fungi. However, diversity of fungi associated to the orchids is little studied. Fungus-plant specificity has been observed and its comprehension is very important to establish programs for the simbiotic propagation of orchids. The objective of this work was to study the diversity and specificity of Rhizoctonia-like fungi associated to four populations of Epidendrum secundum, growing at three localities in the Totem Deitado Mountain, at State Park of Serra do Brigadeiro, in Minas Gerais. Segments of healthy roots were collected from two populations growing at campo garminóide , near rocky outcrop, and another one growing at campo garminóide by a escrube area, localized at 1700 m above the sea level, and the last was growing at campo graminóide on a rocky outcrop, localized at 1580 m of altitude. Twenty six isolates, all belonging to the Epulorhiza, were obtained by transferring cortical root fragments to the isolation medium. In general, the colony aspect of the isolates, the morphology, and width of monilioid cells were different among isolates from different localities, but similar in the population. The multivariate analyses of morphological characteristics using Tocher optimization, UPGMA, and graphic dispersion by canonic variables, separated the 26 isolates in, respectively, six, two, and three groups, showing similarities among most of all isolates from population I, II, and IV, and, also, among isolates from population III, and M61, from population II. Epulorhiza spp., isolated from E. secundum, supported seed germination of this plant species, but efficiency to promote protocorm development varied even among the isolates that presented morphological similarities. Results from this work show that there is high diversity of mycorrhizal fungi in Epulorhiza associated to E. secundum in this region and confirm the high specificity of this orchid to this fungal genus. / Na natureza, as espécies da família Orchidaceae estão associadas a fungos micorrízicos, entretanto, a diversidade de fungos associados às orquídeas é ainda pouco conhecida. Especificidade nessa associação fungoplanta vem sendo observada, sendo sua compreensão fundamental para o desenvolvimento de programas para propagação simbiótica das orquídeas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar a diversidade e a especificidade de fungos micorrízicos rizoctonióides associados a quatro populações de Epidendrum secundum crescendo em três locais de um campo de altitude localizado na sub-serra Totem Deitado, no Parque Estadual da Serra do Brigadeiro, em Minas Gerais. Raízes saudáveis foram coletadas de duas populações crescendo sobre campo graminóide próximo a afloramento rochoso e uma sobre campo graminóide próximo a escrube, em altitude aproximada de 1700 m, e a última em uma pequena mancha de campo graminóide sobre afloramento rochoso, em altitude aproximada de 1580 m. Vinte e seis isolados fúngicos, todos pertencentes ao gênero Epulorhiza, foram obtidos a partir da transferência asséptica de fragmentos do tecido cortical de raiz colonizada para o meio de isolamento. De modo geral, os aspectos da colônia dos isolados, a morfologia e a largura das células monilióides evidenciaram diferenças entre os fungos isolados de diferentes locais, mas semelhanças foram observadas entre aqueles isolados de um mesmo local. A análise de agrupamento utilizando as características morfométricas, pelas técnicas de otimização de Tocher, UPGMA e de dispersão gráfica pelas variáveis canônicas separaram os 26 isolados em, respectivamente, seis, dois e três grupos, evidenciando as semelhanças entre a maioria dos isolados da população I, II e IV, e também entre os isolados da população III e o isolado M61 da população II. Os fungos Epulorhiza spp., isolados de E. secundum, induzem a germinação das sementes desta planta, mas apresentam diferenças na eficiência em promover o desenvolvimento dos protocórmios, mesmo entre os fungos que apresentam grandes semelhanças morfológicas. Os resultados deste trabalho mostram existir uma grande diversidade de fungos micorrízicos do gênero Epulorhiza associados a E. secundum nesta região e confirmam a existência da especificidade entre esta espécie de orquídea e este gênero de fungo.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T13:53:12Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 727392 bytes, checksum: 517cdc64095df68fed6389220058244a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005-07-11 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The nutrition of ornamental plants plays an important role in the production of quality seedlings and flowers. In general, studies focusing on nutrition of such plants are rare, particularly for orchids, which represent a wide field for new research. On this background, our study investigated mainly: the performance of in vitro-grown orchid plants in different chemical media compositions; the effect of the addition of organic and/or chemical fertilizers; and lime addition to the growth medium. In vitro cultivation was evaluated regarding the plant response to different mineral doses and compositions in the medium. The Knudson C medium and that of Novais or NPK fertilizers were used as nutrient sources for this purpose. Two studies were realized in the experiments in pots: one tested different organic fertilizers (a commercial and another homemade one, the latter composed of castor bean meal, bonemeal and ashes) or mineral fertilizers (Peter s or Ca nitrate), applied individually or jointly. The second tested the application of lime doses to the growth medium of plants of the genus Epidendrum. Results obtained in vitro showed that the simple use of NPK fertilizers in culture medium for orchids is feasible; maximal seedling growth was achieved with doses of 5 g L -1 . The simultaneous application of homemade organic and Peter s fertilizers led to a significant increase in plant growth, while separate applications of the two fertilizers did not result in significant differences between them. The commercial organic fertilizer provoked B toxicity symptoms in the plants, as demonstrated in the tissue analysis. Lime application resulted in a higher total dry matter yield and number of leaves per plant. There was however no significant difference in plant height, resulting in plants with shorter internodes, which indicates a probable Zn deficiency. / A nutrição de plantas ornamentais é um importante fator para a obtenção de mudas e flores de qualidade. De modo geral, estudos de nutrição para essas plantas são escassos, em particular para as orquídeas, que apresentam um amplo campo para novas pesquisas. Sendo assim, os principais objetivos deste trabalho foram: estudar o comportamento de plantas de orquídeas cultivadas in vitro, submetidas a diferentes composições químicas de meios; estudar o efeito da adição de fertilizantes orgânicos e, ou, químicos e a de calcário no substrato de cultivo. Para os cultivos in vitro, foram realizados estudos com o objetivo de avaliar as respostas das plantas a diferentes doses e composições minerais no meio, sendo, para isso, utilizados os meios Knudson C e de Novais, ou fertilizantes NPK como fontes de nutrientes. Em experimentos em vasos, foram realizados dois estudos: um testando diferentes fertilizantes orgânicos (um comercial e outro doméstico, sendo o último composto por torta de mamona, farinha de ossos e cinzas), ou, minerais (Peters® ou nitrato de Ca), aplicados individualmente ou em conjunto, e um outro testando de doses de calcário no substrato de cultivo de plantas do gênero Epidendrum. Os resultados obtidos in vitro mostraram ser viável a simples utilização de fertilizantes NPK no meio de cultivo para orquídeas, sendo o crescimento máximo das mudas obtido com a dose de 5 g L-1. A aplicação simultânea dos fertilizantes orgânico doméstico e Peters® levou a um significativo aumento no crescimento das plantas, sendo que a aplicação isolada destes dois fertilizantes não resultou em diferenças significativas entre eles. O fertilizante orgânico comercial proporcionou sintomas de toxicidade por B nas plantas, comprovados pela análise de tecidos. A aplicação de calcário resultou em incremento na produção de matéria seca total e no número de folhas de plantas, entretanto, sem diferenças significativas em termos de altura de plantas, o que resultou em plantas com entre-nós mais curtos, indicando uma provável deficiência de Zn.

Orientador: Kathia Fernandes Lopes Pivetta / Coorientador: Ricardo Tadeu de Faria / Banca: Roberto Jun Takane / Banca: Claudia Fabrino Machado Mattiuz / Banca: Marcelo Vieira Ferraz / Banca: Antonio Baldo Geraldo Martins / Resumo: Sophronitis cernua e Brassavola flagellaris são orquídeas epífitas, nativas do Brasil. O cultivo in vitro é uma técnica que permite produzir grande número de indivíduos, entretanto ocorrem muitas perdas durante o período de aclimatização (ex vitro). Em razão disto, este trabalho teve como objetivo estudar o efeito da suplementação do meio de cultura Murashige e Skoog com paclobutrazol, no crescimento e desenvolvimento de plântulas de Sophronitis cernua e Brassavola flagellaris (in vitro), visando aumentar a taxa de sobrevivência das plântulas ex vitro. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi inteiramente casualisado. Foram quatro tratamentos (três concentrações de paclobutrazol: 0,5; 1,0 e 1,5 mg i.a. L-1 e controle) e 10 repetições com 12 plântulas. Após cultivo em meio sem suplementação, as plântulas foram inoculadas nos tratamentos, onde permaneceram por mais 90 dias. Após este período, cinco repetições foram separadas para as análises destrutivas e as outras cinco foram transplantadas para bandejas contendo fibra de coco (S. cernua) e mistura de fibra de coco e esfagno (B. flagellaris). Verificou-se que as diferentes concentrações de paclobutrazol promoveram alterações nas características morfológicas das plântulas das duas espécies. Para S. cernua foi verificada redução do número de folhas, área foliar, massa seca e comprimento da parte aérea; aumento no diâmetro e massa seca de raízes e redução na taxa de sobrevivência das plântulas. Para B. flagellaris houve incrementos no acúmulo de massa seca de todas as partes (exceto na maior concentração para parte aérea), no número de folhas, na área foliar (0,5 mgL-1), no diâmetro no comprimento de raízes e no número de raízes; redução no número de brotos e comprimento da parte aérea e maiores taxas de sobrevivência da plântulas / Abstract: Sophronitis cernua and Brassavola flagellaris are orchids epiphytes, native of Brazil. The in vitro propagation is a technique that allows to produce large numbers of plants, however many losses occur during the period of acclimatization (ex vitro). For this reason, this work aimed to study the effect of supplementation of the Murashige and Skoog medium with paclobutrazol on growth and development of plants of Sophronitis cernua and Brassavola flagellaris (in vitro) to increase the survival rate of seedlings ex vitro. The experimental design was completely randomized. There were four treatments (three concentrations of paclobutrazol: 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 mg ai L-1 and control) and 10 repetitions with 12 plants. After cultivation in medium without supplementation, the seedlings were inoculated on treatments, where they remained for another 90 days. After this period, five replicates were separated for destructive analysis and the other five were transplanted into trays containing coir (S. cernua) and a mixture of coconut fiber and sphagnum moss (B. flagellaris). It was found that paclobutrazol induced changes in the morphological characteristics of both species. To S. cernua: reducing the number of leaves, leaf area, dry weight and shoot length and increase in diameter and dry mass of roots. Reduction in the rate of seedling survival. To B. flagellaris: increases in dry mass of all parties, except at the highest concentration (aerial part), the number of leaves, leaf area (0.5 mgL-1), diameter, length of roots and more roots. Reduction in the number of shoots and shoot length. Highest survival rates of seedlings / Doutor

Food preference of small rodents to consume the roots of wild plants with the emphasize on their impact to bulbs of orchid Dactylorhiza majalis has been studied on three localities during years 2002 - 2007. There were selected ten couples of plants in each plots, one individual of couple plants was protected by tin triangle. Indicated plants have been measured in the beginning (high, length and wide of the leaves and flower number) and at the end of growing period (number of capsules). Small mammals were snaptrapped for three nights in the autumn. On each locality four rows of 25 snap traps were situated, two rows through orchid plots and two without orchids. In years 2004 {--} 2007 the food preference was ascertained on studied sites. Roots of Daucus carota (as a control in year 2004) and roots of Selinum carvifolia (as control in years 2005 - 2007) and roots of tested plant were put into one rectangle "bait" of size 15 x 6 centimeters from gauze. These 50 "baits" were placed among 100 traps on each locality, every other trap, during snaptrapped of small mammals. Browsing was classified by six number scale. During years 2005 - 2007 food preference of Microtus arvalis under laboratory conditions of Science Faculty of South Bohemia University was achieved with the roots of the same species as we used during food preference on plots. During years 2006 -2007 bulbs of Dactylorhiza majalis from laboratory condition and a few idividuals from endengered meadows by revitalization of pond were added. During yeas 2006 and 2007 the contain of stomach from Microtus arvalis and Microtus agrestis, catched during autumn, was studied. Bulb destruction by small rodents during years 2002 - 2007 was not confirmed. But Microtus arvalis preferred bulbs of Dactylorhiza majalis under laboratory conditions and roots of Selinium carvifolium and Lysimachia vulgaris boths in laboratory and wet meadows. Destruction of orchid bulbs and more preferred roots of wild plants by small rodents could occur probably only in outbreaks of their population cycle. I did not observe this on studied plots. In mount of stomach from Microtus arvalis only 3% underground supply organs of plants; rest of stomach contain was consisted of aboveground green part of plants. This result was expexted, because small rodents prefere during vegetation period green part of plants.