Regeneration Ecology of the Rare Plant Species Verbascum dingleri: Implications for Species Conservation

Petros Ganatsas, Marianthi Tsakaldimi, Christos Damianidis, Anastasia Stefanaki, Theodoros Kalapothareas, Theodoros Karydopoulos and Kelly Papapavlou
Additional contact information
Petros Ganatsas: Laboratory of Silviculture, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 262, University Campus, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Marianthi Tsakaldimi: Laboratory of Silviculture, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 262, University Campus, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Christos Damianidis: Laboratory of Silviculture, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 262, University Campus, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Anastasia Stefanaki: Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, 2332 AA Leiden, The Netherlands
Theodoros Kalapothareas: Laboratory of Silviculture, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 262, University Campus, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Theodoros Karydopoulos: Laboratory of Silviculture, Department of Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, P.O. Box 262, University Campus, GR54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Kelly Papapavlou: EXERGIA S.A. Voukourestiou 15, GR-106 72 Athens, Greece

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: Verbascum dingleri Mattf and Stef. is a Greek endemic plant species belonging to the family of Scrophulariaceae that only occurs in northeastern Greece, east of the city of Kavala. Knowledge of species distribution, habitat requirements, reproduction, ecology, and population characteristics is limited in the literature. In this study, habitat characteristics, population counts, fruit and seed diversity, and germination were studied for the first time. The results indicate that the species geographical distribution is very restricted, lying in the Mediterranean floristic zone at a low altitude (100–200 m asl) and on very shallow soils. The habitat of this species is characterized by the Csa climate type, with a mean annual precipitation of 602 mm and a mean annual temperature of 14.6 °C. The species occurs in the area lying between the geographical coordinates 40°58′16.59″ N, 24°27′54.93 E, and 41°05′7.2″ N, 24° 47′17.2″ E. The species thrives in degraded shrub communities, dominated by the shrub species Paliurus spina-cristi Mill., Olea europea L. ssp. europaea , and Quercus coccifera L. Only a very small number of individuals were found (less than 200) at a density considered too small for long-term persistence of the species. The fruits of the species contained a high number (mean value 58.2) of minute seeds. The seeds exhibited high germination (up to 80.0% in laboratory and up to 30% in ambient conditions). We conclude that in situ and ex situ species conservation and habitat restoration are feasible through the introduction of seedlings produced from seeds collected from local populations.

Keywords: endangered plant; ex situ conservation; plant reintroduction; seed germination; seedling propagation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3305/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/12/3305/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:12:p:3305-:d:240093

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().