A new species, Cephalaria anamurensis (Caprifoliaceae) is described and illustrated from south Anatolia, Turkey. The species grows on steppe and stony places in Anamur (C4 Mersin province) in south Anatolia. Diagnostic morphological characters from closely similar taxa are discussed. The geographical distribution of the new species and two closely related species in Turkey are mapped.

the study of soil seed bank provides useful information on management and restoration of natural ecosystems. in the arid environments, some perennial plants may cause accumulation of seed bank under their canopy, thereby protecting them against the livestock herbivory and the other environmental factors. this study was conducted with objective to investigate effect of perennial plants on densit...

The early MIS 3 (55-40 Kyr BP associated with Middle Palaeolithic archaeology) bird remains from Pin Hole, Creswell Crags, Derbyshire, England are analysed in the context of the new dating of the site's stratigraphy. The analysis is restricted to the material from the early MIS 3 level of the cave because the upper fauna is now known to include Holocene material as well as that from the Late Gl...

Black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) alter shortgrass-steppe landscapes in ways that are expected to affect other mammals. I sampled rodent populations at 31 sites on the Pawnee National Grasslands, Colorado, including 18 active colonies, 6 colonies that had been unoccupied for .6 years (inactive), and 7 grassland sites without prairie dogs (controls). Rodents were livetrapped for 4...

Pinus-Juniperus L. (Piñon-juniper) woodlands of the western United States have expanded in area nearly 10-fold since the late 1800's. Juniperus occidentalis ssp. occidentalis Hook. (western juniper) dominance in sagebrush steppe has several negative consequences, including reductions in herbaceous production and diversity, decreased wildlife habitat, and higher erosion and runoff potentials. Pr...

Vegetation phenology has been used in studies as an indicator of an ecosystem’s responses to climate change. Satellite remote sensing techniques can capture changes in vegetation greenness, which can be used to estimate vegetation phenology. In this study, a long-term vegetation phenology study of the Greater Khingan Mountain area in Northeastern China was performed by using the Global Inventor...

in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, shrubs may act as fertility islands but theireffect may vary depending on their morphology and ecological impacts. this research wasaimed to study effect of three shrubs scariola orientalis, astragalus heratensis, and rosapersica on soil properties and on the microclimate conditions (temperature, luminance, andsoil moisture) of their understory in the steppe ra...

BACKGROUND Methane (CH(4)) uptake by steppe soils is affected by a range of specific factors and is a complex process. Increased stocking rate promotes steppe degradation, with unclear consequences for gas exchanges. To assess the effects of grazing management on CH(4) uptake in desert steppes, we investigated soil-atmosphere CH(4) exchange during the winter-spring transition period. METHODOL...

BACKGROUND Global climatic change is generally expected to stimulate net primary production, and consequently increase soil carbon (C) input. The enhanced C input together with potentially increased precipitation may affect soil microbial processes and plant growth. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To examine the effects of C and water additions on soil microbial properties and plant growth, we...