A syntaxonomical revision of dry grasslands of the alliances Bromo pannonici-Festucion pallentis, Festucion valesiacae and Koelerio-Phleion phleoidis (class Festuco-Brometea) in the natural biogeographical region of the Western Carpathians and northern Pannonian Basin is presented. A geographically stratified data set of 2686 relevés from the south-eastern Czech Republic, northeastern Austria, Slovakia and northern Hungary was divided into 25 clusters using a modified TWINSPAN algorithm. The proposed classification simplifies and unifies the previous syntaxonomical systems, which differ in these four countries. Main environmental gradients responsible for variation in species composition of theses grasslands were revealed by detrended correspondence analysis and interpreted using indicator values. The major pattern of variation reflects soil nutrient availability and moisture, which are negatively correlated with soil reaction.
The nominal genus Tasactes Faust, 1894, consisting of two originally included nominal species from Myanmar, is rediscovered for the first time since being erected. Adult weevils herein assigned to the taxonomically re-defined Tasactes were abundant in forest floor litter at five localities in China (Yunnan and Sichuan), plus one specimen is available from Shaanxi and three from Nepal. Phylogenetic analysis of a 2,275 bp matrix concatenated from one mitochondrial (COI) and two nuclear markers (ITS2 and 28S) revealed that the monophyletic Tasactes consists of eight evolutionary significant terminal clades, either allopatric (three) or sympatric (two on Cang Shan in Yunnan and three on Mount Emei in Sichuan). The genus Tasactes is nested within the monophyletic Stromboscerini, while the tribe is sister to monophyletic Dryophthorus. The two morphological diagnostic characters of Tasactes, which are unique within the tribe, are the transversely truncated antennal club and conically projecting velvety apex of the club. So defined, Tasactes renders the genus Orthosinus paraphyletic. Considering the taxonomic neglect and uncertainties surrounding nominal Stromboscerini, all herein reported members of this tribe, including the Tasactes, are not assigned to Linnaean species. This paper illustrates the "clogging taxonomy" phenomenon, in which obscure historical names render taxonomic assignment of newly sampled specimens precarious. All the data used herein (localities, sequences, specimen images) are available online in public datasets dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-TASACT1 and dx.doi.org/10.5883/DS-TASACT2., Vasily V. Grebennikov., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Until now, Dryopteris remota was only recorded in the Czech Republic from the Moravian Karst, ca 70 years ago. This record is mentioned in some studies, but references to the data’s origin have always been missing. For this reason it was uncertain whether D. remota was still present in the Czech Republic. Recently, the records from the Moravian Karst were verified by re-examination of original herbarium specimens. In 2002 a specimen of D. remota was found for the first time in Bohemia, close to the village of Ktiš, on a slope of Malý Plešný hill in the foothills of the Bohemian Forest (S Bohemia). At this locality only one plant occurred on the boundary between Lonicera nigra-shrub and spruce-beech-fir forest, on a gneiss outcrop. Determination of the Czech specimens of D. remota was based on comparisons with macro- and micromorphological characters of both Alpine (Upper Austria) and Carpathian (West Ukraine) specimens, as well as descriptions in the literature. A detailed morphological description and comparison with similar taxa are included. A map of its distribution within the Czech Republic as well as a map of the distribution of D. remota worldwide is also presented. It is suggested that D. remota be designated a critically endangered plant species in the Czech Republic.