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- Zamora, Juan Carlos, et al.
(author)
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Considerations and consequences of allowing DNA sequence data as types of fungal taxa
- 2018
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In: IMA Fungus. - : INT MYCOLOGICAL ASSOC. - 2210-6340 .- 2210-6359. ; 9:1, s. 167-185
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nomenclatural type definitions are one of the most important concepts in biological nomenclature. Being physical objects that can be re-studied by other researchers, types permanently link taxonomy (an artificial agreement to classify biological diversity) with nomenclature (an artificial agreement to name biological diversity). Two proposals to amend the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), allowing DNA sequences alone (of any region and extent) to serve as types of taxon names for voucherless fungi (mainly putative taxa from environmental DNA sequences), have been submitted to be voted on at the 11th International Mycological Congress (Puerto Rico, July 2018). We consider various genetic processes affecting the distribution of alleles among taxa and find that alleles may not consistently and uniquely represent the species within which they are contained. Should the proposals be accepted, the meaning of nomenclatural types would change in a fundamental way from physical objects as sources of data to the data themselves. Such changes are conducive to irreproducible science, the potential typification on artefactual data, and massive creation of names with low information content, ultimately causing nomenclatural instability and unnecessary work for future researchers that would stall future explorations of fungal diversity. We conclude that the acceptance of DNA sequences alone as types of names of taxa, under the terms used in the current proposals, is unnecessary and would not solve the problem of naming putative taxa known only from DNA sequences in a scientifically defensible way. As an alternative, we highlight the use of formulas for naming putative taxa (candidate taxa) that do not require any modification of the ICN.
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| 3. |
- Biurrun, Idoia, et al.
(author)
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Benchmarking plant diversity of Palaearctic grasslands and other open habitats
- 2021
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In: Journal of Vegetation Science. - Oxford : John Wiley & Sons. - 1100-9233 .- 1654-1103. ; 32:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Journal of Vegetation Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association for Vegetation Science.Aims: Understanding fine-grain diversity patterns across large spatial extents is fundamental for macroecological research and biodiversity conservation. Using the GrassPlot database, we provide benchmarks of fine-grain richness values of Palaearctic open habitats for vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens and complete vegetation (i.e., the sum of the former three groups). Location: Palaearctic biogeographic realm. Methods: We used 126,524 plots of eight standard grain sizes from the GrassPlot database: 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, 100 and 1,000 m2 and calculated the mean richness and standard deviations, as well as maximum, minimum, median, and first and third quartiles for each combination of grain size, taxonomic group, biome, region, vegetation type and phytosociological class. Results: Patterns of plant diversity in vegetation types and biomes differ across grain sizes and taxonomic groups. Overall, secondary (mostly semi-natural) grasslands and natural grasslands are the richest vegetation type. The open-access file ”GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks” and the web tool “GrassPlot Diversity Explorer” are now available online (https://edgg.org/databases/GrasslandDiversityExplorer) and provide more insights into species richness patterns in the Palaearctic open habitats. Conclusions: The GrassPlot Diversity Benchmarks provide high-quality data on species richness in open habitat types across the Palaearctic. These benchmark data can be used in vegetation ecology, macroecology, biodiversity conservation and data quality checking. While the amount of data in the underlying GrassPlot database and their spatial coverage are smaller than in other extensive vegetation-plot databases, species recordings in GrassPlot are on average more complete, making it a valuable complementary data source in macroecology. © 2021 The Authors.
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| 4. |
- Dengler, Juergen, et al.
(author)
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GrassPlot - a database of multi-scale plant diversity in Palaearctic grasslands
- 2018
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In: Phytocoenologia. - : Schweizerbart. - 0340-269X. ; 48:3, s. 331-347
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- GrassPlot is a collaborative vegetation-plot database organised by the Eurasian Dry Grassland Group (EDGG) and listed in the Global Index of Vegetation-Plot Databases (GIVD ID EU-00-003). GrassPlot collects plot records (releves) from grasslands and other open habitats of the Palaearctic biogeographic realm. It focuses on precisely delimited plots of eight standard grain sizes (0.0001; 0.001;... 1,000 m(2)) and on nested-plot series with at least four different grain sizes. The usage of GrassPlot is regulated through Bylaws that intend to balance the interests of data contributors and data users. The current version (v. 1.00) contains data for approximately 170,000 plots of different sizes and 2,800 nested-plot series. The key components are richness data and metadata. However, most included datasets also encompass compositional data. About 14,000 plots have near-complete records of terricolous bryophytes and lichens in addition to vascular plants. At present, GrassPlot contains data from 36 countries throughout the Palaearctic, spread across elevational gradients and major grassland types. GrassPlot with its multi-scale and multi-taxon focus complements the larger international vegetationplot databases, such as the European Vegetation Archive (EVA) and the global database " sPlot". Its main aim is to facilitate studies on the scale-and taxon-dependency of biodiversity patterns and drivers along macroecological gradients. GrassPlot is a dynamic database and will expand through new data collection coordinated by the elected Governing Board. We invite researchers with suitable data to join GrassPlot. Researchers with project ideas addressable with GrassPlot data are welcome to submit proposals to the Governing Board.
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| 6. |
- Tornevi, Andreas, et al.
(author)
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Effekter på luft och hälsa i områden utsatta för rök från skogsbränder : med fokus på Jämtland Härjedalen 2018
- 2021
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Denna studie syftar till att följa upp episoden med skogsbrandrök som drabbade Östersund och Jämtland Härjedalen sommaren 2018, samt att belysa vilka erfarenheter man har från andra länder om nivåer för exponering och risker.Tyvärr hade ingen av regionens tätorter kontinuerliga partikelmätningar sommaren 2018. En spridningsmodell vid SMHI användes för att beskriva spridning av rök från skogsbränderna 2018, samt en jämförbar period 2017 (då antalet bränder var färre), med fokus på fina partiklar (PM2.5) och sot-partiklar. Utifrån halt- och befolkningsskikt användes befolkningsviktade dygnsmedelhalter som mått på exponeringen i respektive kommun. Statistik över dagligt antal akuta besök för problem från andnings-organen vid sjukhuset i Östersund och regionens olika vårdcentraler och mottagningar, samt över antalet samtal till sjukvårdsupplysningen 1177 om andningsproblem, användes för att studera eventuella akuta hälsoeffekter inom respektive kommuns befolkning.Enligt beräkningarna förekom befolkningsviktade dygnsmedelhalter på upp till 97 μg/m3. I verkligheten förekom sannolikt, under kortare tid och avgränsade platser, betydligt högre halter. När brand-röksepisoder definierades som dygn med PM2.5>20 μg/m3 beräknades den sammanviktade relativa ökningen av akuta besök gällande astma till 68% (RR=1.68, 95% KI:1.09-2.57). För diagnoser gällande nedre luftvägar totalt observerades en ökning med 40% (RR=1.4, 95% KI:1.01-1.92). I genomsnitt innebar brandröksepisoder en ökning av halten PM2.5 med 28 μg/m3 i jämförelse med referensdygnen.Analyserna av förhöjda partikelhalter i Jämtland-Härjedalen under brandröksperioden sommaren 2018 tyder på att en ökning av akuta problem gällande de nedre luftvägarna kan förväntas från dygns-medelhalter på 20-40 μg/m3 av PM2.5 med ursprung i huvudsak från bränder. För information och varningar under pågående exponering för PM2.5 i skogsbrandrök torde de kriterier för korttidshalter som finns i USA och Kanada vara tillämpliga även för Sverige. Om haltbidraget från branden förväntas bli omkring 60-90 μg/m3 av PM2.5 under 1 timme eller längre bör känsliga grupper uppmanas att begränsa sin exponering.
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