San Joaquin wooly-threads (Monolopia congdonii; Asteraceae) is a federally-listed, endangered annual plant species from the desert areas of the San Joaquin Valley. Its limited range puts it at risk of extinction if the climate changes in such a way as to hinder its growth and reproduction. The primary aims of the study were to 1) determine how long-lived the seeds of the M. congdonii are, a key determinant of survival of desert annual plant populations through long droughts and 2) determine how severely hotter, drier conditions impact the ability of emerged plants to grow and reproduce. Secondarily, I aimed to test two hypotheses 1) is seed longevity within the genus Monolopia correlated with habitat aridity? 2) do species’ geographic range limits represent their climatic tolerances? In testing the viability of seeds of Monolopia species collected from herbarium specimens and old field collections, I did not find evidence for the predicted pattern of seed longevity. Though, idiosyncrasies in the data suggest possible issues with the longevity of M. congdonii seeds that are collected prematurely and warrant further investigation to develop best practices for seed collections of this species. To test the climatic tolerance of M. congdonii and the relationship between geographic range and climatic tolerance, I grew several desert annual species under three manipulated water treatments. And while, M. congdonii failed to germinate, the other species showed variable tolerance for the drought treatments but this variability was seemingly unrelated to the species’ geographic range. Importantly, Monolopia lanceolata, a close relative of M. congdonii did not show exceptional vulnerability to the drought-stress conditions relative to other co-occuring species. Taken together, the results of this study enable better informed population viability analyses with the end goal of allowing recovery efforts to succeed.

No description available.

Existem vários métodos empregados em estudos fitossociológicos e muitos trabalhos já se propuseram a avaliar o desempenho desses métodos. O primeiro e mais utilizado é o método de parcelas, que sempre é referido nos trabalhos como o melhor e por isso definido como base para comparação com os demais. Por esse motivo, nunca foi avaliado isoladamente. Com o presente trabalho tem-se a oportunidade de avaliar o próprio método de parcelas, comparando seus resultados com os valores paramétricos, uma vez que foi feito um censo da área amostrada e a população estatística é conhecida sem erro amostral. Os dados são de uma parcela permanente instalada em uma área de cerradão (Estação Ecológica de Assis, SP). A parcela possui 10,24 ha e todos seus indivíduos com CAP ≥ 15 cm foram marcados, georreferenciados, medidos e identificados. Foi feita uma tabela de fitossociologia para a parcela que, por se tratar de um censo, representa os valores paramétricos. Foram geradas simulações de levantamentos fitossociológicos por amostragens sistemáticas para quatro tamanhos de parcela quadrada, sendo 10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m e 100 x 100 m, todas com área total amostrada de 1 ha. Para a parcela de 10 x 10 m foram simuladas mais três intensidades amostrais: 75, 50 e 25 parcelas. Para cada situação de amostragem foram simuladas 1.000 amostras e para cada uma dessas amostras foi elaborada uma tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliado o viés das etimativas de densidade e dominância, e a alteração da posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliada também a influência da distribuição espacial das espécies nas etimativas. Por fim, foram feitas algumas análises de atributos de comunidade que são viáveis à partir de levantamentos fitossociológicos, como densidade, área basal, curva de acumulação de espécies, número de espécies amostradas e proporção de espécies e indivíduos por classe de densidade. O método de parcelas de 10 x 10 m foi o que apresentou menor viés para as estimativas, e também menor variação na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia, mas mesmo assim há um alto viés para espécies de baixa densidade e uma grande alteração na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Com relação à distribuição espacial, espécies com densidades intermediárias têm suas estimativas mais influenciadas pela distribuição espacial do que aquelas com baixa densidade - que sempre apresentarão viés - e aquelas com alta densidade - que não apresentam viés devido ao alto número de invivíduos na amostra. As análises de tributos de comunidade mostraram que esses atributos podem ser bem estimados, levando-se em consideração apenas detalhes usuais da escolha de método para qualquer amostragem, como o número de unidades amostrais, seu tamanho e sua distribuição pela área de estudo. / Many methodologies are available for phytosociological studies, and many attempts have been made to evaluate them. The most commonly used method employs sample plots. This technique is always referred to in the literature as the basic approach and, as such, is usually defined as the benchmark to which the other methods are compared. For this reason, it has never been evaluated on its own. This work presents the opportunity to evaluate the plot method itself and compare its results with the parametric values available from a full census of a sampling area in which the complete population data is known and contains no sampling error. Data was taken from a permanent plot located in an area of forested savannah (Assis Ecological Station, SP, Brazil), that comprises an area of 10.24 ha, and all trees over 15 cm girth at breat hight were marked, georeferenced, measured and identified. Phytosociological measures were computed with the values of density and basal area for each species in the census and represent the parametric values. Simulations were made of phytosociological surveys by sistematic sampling with four square plot sizes (10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m, and 100 x 100 m). Additionally, three sampling intensities were simulated for the 10x10m plots (75, 50, and 25 plots). One thousand simulated surveys were performed for each sampling situation, and for each of these surveys phytosociological measures were computed. The bias in the estimates of both density and dominance was evaluated, as well as change in species importance. The influence of spatial pattern on the estimation of phytosociological measures was also evaluated. At last, some analysis of community attributes, that are feasible with phytosociological measures were made, such as density, basal area, species acummulation curves, number of species sampled and propotion of species and individuals per density group. The 10 x 10 m sample plots showed the lowest overall bias and the lowest variation in species importance, but even in this method were observed high bias and high variation. About the spatial distribution, species with very low density showed very large bias, indenpendently of spatial pattern. Spatial pattern had a clear influence on the estimates of intermediate density species, where species with more clustered pattern showed more skewed distribution. And for the species with high density, spatial pattern does not seem to play an importante role. The community attributes analysed can be well estimated with phytosociolocical measures, just taking into consideration some usual methodological details, such as sampling size and plot distributions within the study area.

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.

[Truncated abstract] In south-western Australia a rare plant community occurs on shallow soils overlaying massive ironstone rock. These 'ironstone communities' are open shrublands, which are subject to extremes in drought and solar radiation and support many rare and endemic species. The restricted distribution of many of these species may be related to their high degree of specialisation to this harsh habitat and their inability to respond plastically to different environmental conditions. Indeed, earlier work has shown that ironstone Hakea species (Proteaceae) have a specialist root-system morphology investing mainly in deep roots, thereby increasing their chance of accessing cracks in the rock surface and obtaining water before the onset of summer drought. In this thesis I further examine aspects of specialisation and its possible consequences for species rarity using two ironstone Hakea species and comparing them with two of their widely distributed congeners. In the first experiment (Chapter 2) I explore inherent drought tolerance, independent of root-system morphology, as a further specialisation to the ironstone environment. All species were grown in sand in pots in a glasshouse for 7 months and then droughted for 5 weeks. There was no evidence that the ironstone species had a greater inherent drought tolerance than their common congeners. During drought all species maintained leaf water content of mature leaves by reducing stomatal conductance and osmotically adjusting, though ironstone species tended to OA (osmotic adjustment) more than common species. ... This suboptimal investment of resources may result in a lower competitive ability in shadier environments, and thus could partially explain their restricted distribution. In Chapter 4, I investigated the plasticity of root traits in response to levels of phosphorus supply. South-western Australian soils are phosphorus impoverished and phosphorus is well known to elicit plastic responses in root allocation and architecture. Ironstone species showed less plasticity in total root length, producing similar root length across P treatments, while common species showed an increase in root length with increasing [P]. Other root characteristics were similarly plastic in response to P treatment between species. However, when supplied with increasing [P], ironstone species invested an increasing proportion of roots in the bottom of pots while common species invested more in the top. This differential response in root allocation in response to P may reflect a fundamental trade-off between nutrient and water acquisition, with the ironstone species mainly foraging for water and investing in deeper roots, while the common species invest more in superficial roots to obtain nutrients. In conclusion, the rarity and restricted distribution of the ironstone Hakea species may be related to their specialist root-system morphology as well as a lowered phenotypic plasticity of functional traits. A reduction in plasticity may reduce their competitive ability outside their ironstone habitats, and thus contribute to the restricted distribution of these species. This may also be the case for other rock-outcrop endemics and more generally, for other rare plant species restricted to particular habitats where a lowered phenotypic plasticity in traits relevant to their particular habitat may contribute to their restricted distribution.

Magistro darbe tiriami Neries regioninio parko vabzdžiai , įtraukti į Raudonąją knygą. Darbo objektas- niūriaspalvis auksavabalis (Osmoderma eremita Sc.) , gencijoninis melsvys (Makulinea alcon D.& S.), Darbo tikslas- ištirti kai kurių vabzdžių , įtrauktų į Raudonąją knygą, paplitimą ir gausumą Neries regioniniame parke. Darbo metodai - duomenys buvo renkami naudojantis P.Ivinskio ir J.Rimšaitės bestuburių monitoringo metodika . Darbo rezultatai. Atlikus tyrimus ir įvertinus nustatyta , kad niūriaspalvis auksavabalis (Osmoderma eremita) labiau mėgsta senus , drevėtus , gerai apšviestus medžius. Labiausiai jam tinkamas ąžuolas. Gencijoninis melsvys (Makulinea alcon D.& S.), dažniausiai aptinkamas pietiniuose , gerai apšviestuose šlaituose ,kur vyrauja žema žolinė danga. Būtina sąlyga- augalai melsvieji gencijonai (Gentiana cruciata) ir Myrmica genties skruzdėlės Norint užtikrinti palankias sąlygas niūriaspalviam auksavabaliui , būtina išsaugoti kertines miško buveines ir senus , drevėtus medžius. Norint išsaugoti gencijoninį melsvį būtina prižiūrėti populiacijai tinkamus upių šlaitus ,neleidžiant užaugti aukštai žolinei dangai ir krūmams. / In the master’s of science work the Neris regional park’s insects included in the Red Book are being researched. The object of the work is Osmoderma eremite Sc. and gentian lycaena (Makulinea alcon D.& S.). The objective of the work is to research the diffusion and abundance of some insects included in the Red Book in the Neris regional park. The methods of the work. The data had been collected by using P. Ivinskis and J. Rimšaite methods of invertebrates‘ monitoring. After the research was carried out and the facts estimated, it was established that Osmoderma eremite prefers old, hollow and well-lighted up trees. Oak tree is the most suitable one. Gentian lycaena ( Makulinea alcon D. & S.) is most frequently discovered in southern, well-lighted up slopes where low grass prevails. Gentiana cruciata and ants of Myrmica genus are an indispensable condition. If one wishes to ensure auspicious conditions for Osmoderma eremite Sc., it is necessary to preserve the most important for them forestry habitats and old hollow trees. If one wishes to preserve gentian lycaena, it is necessary to look after river slopes suitable for the population not allowing to grow tall grass and bushes.

Existem vários métodos empregados em estudos fitossociológicos e muitos trabalhos já se propuseram a avaliar o desempenho desses métodos. O primeiro e mais utilizado é o método de parcelas, que sempre é referido nos trabalhos como o melhor e por isso definido como base para comparação com os demais. Por esse motivo, nunca foi avaliado isoladamente. Com o presente trabalho tem-se a oportunidade de avaliar o próprio método de parcelas, comparando seus resultados com os valores paramétricos, uma vez que foi feito um censo da área amostrada e a população estatística é conhecida sem erro amostral. Os dados são de uma parcela permanente instalada em uma área de cerradão (Estação Ecológica de Assis, SP). A parcela possui 10,24 ha e todos seus indivíduos com CAP ≥ 15 cm foram marcados, georreferenciados, medidos e identificados. Foi feita uma tabela de fitossociologia para a parcela que, por se tratar de um censo, representa os valores paramétricos. Foram geradas simulações de levantamentos fitossociológicos por amostragens sistemáticas para quatro tamanhos de parcela quadrada, sendo 10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m e 100 x 100 m, todas com área total amostrada de 1 ha. Para a parcela de 10 x 10 m foram simuladas mais três intensidades amostrais: 75, 50 e 25 parcelas. Para cada situação de amostragem foram simuladas 1.000 amostras e para cada uma dessas amostras foi elaborada uma tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliado o viés das etimativas de densidade e dominância, e a alteração da posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Foi avaliada também a influência da distribuição espacial das espécies nas etimativas. Por fim, foram feitas algumas análises de atributos de comunidade que são viáveis à partir de levantamentos fitossociológicos, como densidade, área basal, curva de acumulação de espécies, número de espécies amostradas e proporção de espécies e indivíduos por classe de densidade. O método de parcelas de 10 x 10 m foi o que apresentou menor viés para as estimativas, e também menor variação na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia, mas mesmo assim há um alto viés para espécies de baixa densidade e uma grande alteração na posição das espécies na tabela de fitossociologia. Com relação à distribuição espacial, espécies com densidades intermediárias têm suas estimativas mais influenciadas pela distribuição espacial do que aquelas com baixa densidade - que sempre apresentarão viés - e aquelas com alta densidade - que não apresentam viés devido ao alto número de invivíduos na amostra. As análises de tributos de comunidade mostraram que esses atributos podem ser bem estimados, levando-se em consideração apenas detalhes usuais da escolha de método para qualquer amostragem, como o número de unidades amostrais, seu tamanho e sua distribuição pela área de estudo. / Many methodologies are available for phytosociological studies, and many attempts have been made to evaluate them. The most commonly used method employs sample plots. This technique is always referred to in the literature as the basic approach and, as such, is usually defined as the benchmark to which the other methods are compared. For this reason, it has never been evaluated on its own. This work presents the opportunity to evaluate the plot method itself and compare its results with the parametric values available from a full census of a sampling area in which the complete population data is known and contains no sampling error. Data was taken from a permanent plot located in an area of forested savannah (Assis Ecological Station, SP, Brazil), that comprises an area of 10.24 ha, and all trees over 15 cm girth at breat hight were marked, georeferenced, measured and identified. Phytosociological measures were computed with the values of density and basal area for each species in the census and represent the parametric values. Simulations were made of phytosociological surveys by sistematic sampling with four square plot sizes (10 x 10 m, 20 x 20 m, 50 x 50 m, and 100 x 100 m). Additionally, three sampling intensities were simulated for the 10x10m plots (75, 50, and 25 plots). One thousand simulated surveys were performed for each sampling situation, and for each of these surveys phytosociological measures were computed. The bias in the estimates of both density and dominance was evaluated, as well as change in species importance. The influence of spatial pattern on the estimation of phytosociological measures was also evaluated. At last, some analysis of community attributes, that are feasible with phytosociological measures were made, such as density, basal area, species acummulation curves, number of species sampled and propotion of species and individuals per density group. The 10 x 10 m sample plots showed the lowest overall bias and the lowest variation in species importance, but even in this method were observed high bias and high variation. About the spatial distribution, species with very low density showed very large bias, indenpendently of spatial pattern. Spatial pattern had a clear influence on the estimates of intermediate density species, where species with more clustered pattern showed more skewed distribution. And for the species with high density, spatial pattern does not seem to play an importante role. The community attributes analysed can be well estimated with phytosociolocical measures, just taking into consideration some usual methodological details, such as sampling size and plot distributions within the study area.

Increased temperatures due to anthropogenic-induced climate change may raise the threat of extinction for taxa with sessile life histories (e.g., plants) in the near future. Linking climate change models to demographic models may provide useful insights into the potential effects of environmental changes on rare plants, and therefore aid in their current and future conservation. Population demographers generally agree that mechanistic models from a reductionist perspective are necessary to test assumptions in population drivers. For the first study, I assessed the climate vulnerability of a rare plant species, Pyrrocoma radiata, with a mechanistic model of four climatically-similar populations. I used environmentally-driven demographic models to estimate vital rates and population sizes from a nonlinear, nonparametric regression with local climate variables. I assessed the utility of this environmentally-correlated, stage-structured population matrix model compared to a stationary model of independent and identically-distributed environmental stochasticity. I then simulated future population projections based on climate conditions predicted by General Circulation Models (GCMs) under opposing emission scenarios. The second study hopes to answer population-level questions using a traditionally community-level method, non-metric multidimensional scaling, which considers correlation structure between response variables and can be used to find environmental correlates of the ordination axes. Demographic data on a threatened perennial, Astragalus tyghensis, were collected from five sites in the Tygh Valley, OR. I considered correlation structure between demographic vital rates to find environmental correlates of the ordination axes. The search for an environmental driver of population vital rates was successful for the two study species. Previous year dry dormant season precipitation likely affects the fertility rates a year later in P. radiata populations, and dry growing season reference evapotranspiration rates positively correlated with a growth gradient in A. tyghensis. Based on predicted precipitation, P. radiata is expected to rapidly decline by 2050, but this may be due to biases in the two GCMs and reliance on only one environmental factor. The NMS ordination adequately captured most of the variation in transition elements for the years and populations from A. tyghensis demographics. I provided support to the claim that model predictions can improve with the inclusion of mechanistic relationships. The inclusion of abiotic drivers in models used to predict population trends is supported by our study and may enhance predictive power in population viability assessments under changing climates. / Graduation date: 2013

Το Εθνικό Θαλάσσιο Πάρκο Ζακύνθου περιλαμβάνει τη θαλάσσια έκταση και τις νησίδες του Κόλπου του Λαγανά, τις παραλίες ωοτοκίας της θαλάσσιας χελώνας Caretta caretta (Γέρακας, Δάφνη, Σεκάνια, Καλαμάκι, Ανατολικός Λαγανάς και Μαραθονήσι) και μια ζώνη γης, που περιβάλλει αυτές, τον υγρότοπο της Λίμνης Κερίου και τις Νήσους Στροφάδες. Ιδρύθηκε με κύριο σκοπό τη διατήρηση και την προστασία των σημαντικότερων παραλιών ωοτοκίας στη Μεσόγειο της θαλάσσιας χελώνας Caretta caretta και του θαλάσσιου και χερσαίου χώρου που τις περιβάλλει. Η συνολική έκταση της χερσαίας περιοχής του Ε.Θ.Π.Ζ. είναι περίπου 45km². Η περιοχή μελέτης περιλαμβάνει το σύνολο σχεδόν της χερσαίας έκτασής του (εκτός από τις νήσους Στροφάδες), μέρος της οποίας συγκαταλέγεται στο έργο οικοτόπων, Φύση 2000, στην Ελλάδα (Κωδικός Περιοχής: GR 2210002). Η χλωρίδα της χερσαίας περιοχής του Εθνικού Θαλάσσιου Πάρκου Ζακύνθου είχε μελετηθεί κατά το παρελθόν στα πλαίσια της Ειδικής Περιβαλλοντικής Μελέτης για τον κόλπο του Λαγανά (ΥΠΕΧΩΔΕ, 1997), όπου καταγράφηκαν 173 taxa. Επιπροσθέτως, έρευνες που αφορούν στη καταγραφή της χλωρίδας της Ζακύνθου και αναφέρονται λιγότερο ή περισσότερο και σε περιοχές που απαρτίζουν το Ε.Θ.Π.Ζ αποτελούν οι εργασίες των Margot & Reuter (1839 & 1841), Bornmüller (1928) και Ronniger (1941), στις οποίες αναφέρονται 150 φυτικά taxa. Εφόσον, τα τελευταία χρόνια, δεν υπάρχει μια ολοκληρωμένη εργασία, θεωρήθηκε σκόπιμη η πλήρης καταγραφή της χλωρίδας της συγκεκριμένης προστατευόμενης περιοχής με τη συλλογή φυτικών δειγμάτων από κάθε τύπο οικοτόπου. Επιπρόσθετα, ολόκληρη η Ζάκυνθος χαρακτηρίζεται από πλούσια χλωρίδα και βλάστηση, ενώ χαρακτηριστικό είναι το γεγονός ότι απαντώνται σε αυτήν 34 ελληνικά ενδημικά φυτικά taxa, εκ των οποίων τα τέσσερα (Asperula naufraga, Limonium phitosianum, Limonium zacynthium και Micromeria browiczii) αποτελούν αποκλειστικά ενδημικά taxa της νήσου. Έτσι, θεωρήθηκε χρήσιμη η βίο-παρακολούθηση αυτών των taxa, προκειμένου να αξιολογήσουμε την κατάσταση διατήρησής τους με τη χρήση των νέων κριτηρίων της IUCN (2012). Η βίο-παρακολούθηση πραγματοποιήθηκε στα τρία από τα τέσσερα taxa, λόγω μη έγκαιρου εντοπισμού του είδους Asperula naufraga, με την κατάλληλη τοποθέτηση μόνιμων δειγματοληπτικών επιφανειών 25m² για κάθε taxon και τη μελέτη της χωρικής τους κατανομής και της αναπαραγωγικής βιολογίας τους. Σύμφωνα με τα αποτελέσματα, η χλωρίδα του Εθνικού Θαλάσσιου Πάρκου Ζακύνθου συνίσταται από 559 taxa, από τα οποία τα 236 αποτελούν νέες αναφορές για την περιοχή μελέτης. Οι οικογένειες με την υψηλότερη α ποικιλότητα είναι κατά σειρά οι Asteraceae (72 taxa), Fabaceae (67 taxa) και Poaceae (42 taxa), γεγονός που αντικατοπτρίζει την επικρατούσα κατάσταση στον ελληνικό χώρο. Επιπλέον, αναδείχτηκε ο έντονος μεσογειακός χαρακτήρας της χλωρίδας της υπό εξέταση περιοχής με την κυριαρχία των θεροφύτων στο βιολογικό φάσμα και των μεσογειακών στοιχείων στο χωρολογικό φάσμα. Ωστόσο, το μεγάλο ποσοστό συμμετοχής των κοσμοπολιτικών-υποκοσμοπολιτικών στοιχείων και των αλλόχθονων taxa στην χλωρίδα της περιοχής, υποδεικνύει την έντονη ανθρωπογενή επίδραση που φαίνεται να έχει ενταθεί κατά τα τελευταία χρόνια. Τέλος, καταγράφηκαν 12 ελληνικά ενδημικά taxa στην περιοχή, από τα οποία τα δύο (Limonium phitosianum και Limonium zacynthium) αποτελούν αποκλειστικά ενδημικά taxa για τη Ζάκυνθο. Η παρακολούθηση του είδους Micromeria browiczii καθόρισε το εύρος εξάπλωσής του (ΕΟΟ) στα 117km² και την έκταση κάλυψης στα 1,6 km². Το μέγεθος του πληθυσμού του εκτιμήθηκε στα 5.250 άτομα, ενώ η ΣΑΕ του είδους είναι πολύ χαμηλή (30%). Το Limonium zacynthium έχει εύρος εξάπλωσης 171,3 km² και έκταση κάλυψης 0,3 km². Το μέγεθος του πληθυσμού του εκτιμήθηκε στα 1.168 άτομα και η ΣΑΕ του είδους βρέθηκε αρκετά υψηλή (64,2%). Τέλος, το Limonium phitosianum έχει εύρος εξάπλωσης 93,5 km² και έκταση κάλυψης 0,17 km². Το μέγεθος του πληθυσμού εκτιμήθηκε στα 2.470 άτομα και η ΣΑΕ βρέθηκε πολύ υψηλή (79,1%). Βάσει των διαθέσιμων στοιχείων και τα τρία είδη κατατάσσονται στην κατηγορία Κρισίμως Κινδινεύον (CR) (IUCN, 2012), κυρίως λόγω της περιορισμένης χωρικής τους κατανομής, ωστόσο η αύξηση των σειρών δεδομένων σε θέματα παρακολούθησης αποτελεί απαραίτητο στοιχείο για να διαφανεί η τάση του πληθυσμού κάθε είδους και για την ανάλυση της βιωσιμότητας των πληθυσμών τους σε μεταγενέστερο στάδιο. / The National Marine Park of Zakynthos (N.M.P.Z.) includes the marine area and islands of the Bay of Laganas, nesting beaches of the sea turtle Caretta caretta (Gerakas, Daphne, Secania, Kalamaki, Laganas and Marathonisi East) and a belt land that surrounds them, the wetland of Keri Lake and the Strophadia Islands The founding of this National Marine Park began with the fundamental purpose of conservation and protection of important nesting beaches of the Mediterranean sea turtle Caretta caretta and the marine and terrestrial space surrounding them. The total land area of Marine Park is approximately 45km ². The study area includes almost the entire land area (excluding Strophadia Islands). A part of this area is included in the project of network Natura 2000 in Greece (Region Code: GR 2210002). The flora of the land area of the National Marine Park of Zakynthos had been studied previously in the context of the Special Environmental Study for the Laganas Gulf (Ministry of Environment, 1997) and had recorded 173 taxa. In addition, the work of Margot & Reuter (1839 & 1841), Bornmüller (1928) and Ronniger (1941 ), which listed 212 plant taxa, constitute a previous research related to the flora of Zakynthos and also referred in areas of the N.M.P.Z. Since, in recent years, there was no comprehensive work, it was considered appropriate to fully record the flora of the protected area by collecting plant samples from each habitat type. Additionally, the entire Zakynthos is characterized by a rich flora and vegetation, while it is important the fact that 34 Greek endemic plant taxa occur in this region, four of them (Asperula naufraga, Limonium phitosianum, Limonium zacynthium and Micromeria browiczii) are exclusively endemic taxa of island. Thus, the bio-monitoring of these taxa was considered useful, in order to evaluate their conservation status using the new criteria of IUCN (2012). The bio-monitoring took place in three of the four taxa, due to the failure in time of localization and identification of the species Asperula naufraga. Permanent sample surfaces had been placed with proper placement. These surfaces were 25m ² for each taxon and we studied their spatial distribution and their reproductive biology. According to the results of this study in the National Marine Park, the flora of this area consists of 559 taxa. 236 of these taxa are new records for the study area. The families with the highest diversity in order are Asteraceae (72 taxa), Fabaceae (67 taxa) and Poaceae (42 taxa), reflecting the status of Greek area. Moreover, the strong Mediterranean character of flora of this area designated with the dominance of therophytes in the biological spectrum and the dominance of Mediterranean elements in chorological spectrum. However, the large proportion of cosmopolitan, semi-cosmopolitan elements and alien taxa in the flora of our area indicates a strong anthropogenic influence which seems to have increased in recent years. Finally, there are 12 Greek endemic taxa in the area, two of them (Limonium phitosianum and Limonium zacynthium) are exclusively endemic for Zakynthos. By monitoring Micromeria browiczii, the extent of occurrence (EOO) estimated 117km ² and the area of occupancy (AOO) 1,6 km ². Population size was estimated at 5.250 mature individuals, while the R.R.S. (Relative Reproductive Success) of the species was very low (30%). EOO of Limonium zacynthium is 171,3 km ² and AOO is 0,3 km². The population size was estimated at 1.168 mature individuals and the R.R.S. of the species was found quite high (64.2%). Finally, Limonium phitosianum has EOO 93,5 km ² and AOO 0,17 km ². The size of the population was estimated at 2.470 mature individuals and R.R.S. was found very high (79.1%). Based on the available data, these three species classified as Critical endangered (CR) (IUCN, 2012), mainly because of their limited spatial distribution. However, the increase of datasets in monitoring is an essential element to indicate the trend of population of each species and to analyze the viability of their populations at a later stage.

To assess the status of a rare plant species, we must first understand the factors that affect the size of populations and their numbers. In this thesis, I study processes affecting plant species prosperity on local scale (paper 1), factors influencing species distribution in landscape and ability of species to colonize new habitats (paper 2) and species traits responsible for gene flow between established populations (paper 3). Since I work with rare plants, I also aim to turn theoretical knowledge into practical recommendations for nature conservation (paper 4) to help effectively preserve rare and endangered species. In the first 3 papers, I work with two rare fern species restricted to serpentine rocks, Asplenium adulterinum and A. cuneifolium, in a study system covering 10 × 10 km. I found that both species are long living (several decades) and in the study region, populations are in a good state and slowly growing. Even very small populations (10 individuals) have quite high chance to survive. In both fern species, I found dispersal limitation, which might be surprising regarding huge production of small spores in ferns (paper 2). The species differ in ploidy and thus, also mating system. A. adulterinum is tetraploid and its main breeding system is intragametophytic selfing. A. cuneifolium is...