First Survey of the Vascular and Cryptogam Flora on Bulgaria's Ancient Mounds.

This work represents the first study of the floristic diversity on Bulgaria's ancient mounds. The objective of this research was to assess the importance of the mounds for the preservation of the native vascular and cryptogam flora. Our sampling design included 111 ancient mounds distributed throughout the country. We recorded a total of 1059 vascular plants, 58 bryophytes and 61 lichen taxa. Despite their small area, the mounds were shown to preserve nearly a quarter of the Bulgarian flora. The vegetation cover on the mounds included 61% perennials indicating a long-term persistence and stability. The majority (98%) of the established vascular plants were native species. Although the conservation significance of the vascular plant species were not common, we recorded 2 critically endangered, 9 endangered and 14 Balkan endemics during the present study. The lichen Arthopyrenia salicis was recorded for the first time in Bulgaria and a new locality of the rare bryophyte Ceratodon conicus was discovered. The established compositional difference between plots from the northern and southern slopes of the mounds (88.95%) is a testament to the high local habitat diversity. The prevalence of species characteristic for Festuco-Brometea suggests that the mounds preserve fragments of native grasslands and steppes. The variation in cover of agricultural and other human modified areas in the mounds' immediate surroundings did not substantially affect their species richness. We argue that the ancient mounds should be taken into consideration in future green space planning.

Global patterns of vascular plant alpha diversity.

Global patterns of regional (gamma) plant diversity are relatively well known, but whether these patterns hold for local communities, and the dependence on spatial grain, remain controversial. Using data on 170,272 georeferenced local plant assemblages, we created global maps of alpha diversity (local species richness) for vascular plants at three different spatial grains, for forests and non-forests. We show that alpha diversity is consistently high across grains in some regions (for example, Andean-Amazonian foothills), but regional 'scaling anomalies' (deviations from the positive correlation) exist elsewhere, particularly in Eurasian temperate forests with disproportionally higher fine-grained richness and many African tropical forests with disproportionally higher coarse-grained richness. The influence of different climatic, topographic and biogeographical variables on alpha diversity also varies across grains. Our multi-grain maps return a nuanced understanding of vascular plant biodiversity patterns that complements classic maps of biodiversity hotspots and will improve predictions of global change effects on biodiversity.

Influence of the Land Use Type on the Wild Plant Diversity.

Studies on the impact of agricultural practices on plant diversity provide important information for policy makers and the conservation of the environment. The aim of the present work was to evaluate wild plant diversity across the agroecosystems in two contrasting regions of Bulgaria; Pazardzhik-Plovdiv (representing agroecosystems in the lowlands) and Western Stara Planina (the Balkan Mountains, representing agroecosystems in the foothills of the mountains). This study conducted a two-year assessment of plant diversity in different types of agricultural and forest ecosystems, representing more than 30 land use types. Plant diversity, measured by species number, was affected by the land use type only in Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region. More pronounced was the effect of the groups of land use types on the diversity, measured by the mean species number per scoring plot. Climatic conditions, measured by 19 bioclimatic variables, were the most important factor affecting plant species diversity. Six bioclimatic variables had a significant effect on the plant diversity, and the effect was more pronounced when the analysis considered pooled data of the two regions. The highest plant diversity was found on grazing land with sparse tree cover, while the lowest one was in the land use types representing annual crops or fallow. The study also established a database on weed species, relevant to agriculture. A number of common weeds were found in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv region, while the most frequent species in the Western Stara Planina region were indigenous ones. Overall, the natural flora of Western Stara Planina was more conserved; eleven orchid species with conservation significance were found in the pastures and meadows in that region. The present study is the first attempt in Bulgaria to characterize the plant diversity across diverse agroecosystems representing many different land use types and environmental conditions. The results can contribute to nature conservation, biodiversity, and the sustainable use of plant resources.

Improvement of the Quality and the Shelf Life of the High Oxygen Modified Atmosphere Packaged Veal by Superficial Spraying with Dihydroquercetin Solution.

The improvement of quality and the shelf life of veal by combination of 80%O2/20%CO2 modified atmosphere packaging and superficial spraying with 0.02% dihydroquercetin solutions was studied. The control samples C, air packaged only, D, air packaged sprayed by 0.02% dihydroquercetin solution, MAP, modified atmosphere packaging only, BMAP, modified atmosphere packaging sprayed by 0.02% butylated hydroxytoluene solution, and DMAP, modified atmosphere packaging sprayed by 0.02% dihydroquercetin solution, were measured. The best results were obtained in modified atmosphere packaging sprayed by 0.02% dihydroquercetin solution. Comparisons with control samples were expressed as reduction in acid value with 27.72%, peroxide value with 64.74%, 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) with 65.71%, and the pH with 6.18%. The acid and peroxide values, TBARS, and pH were decreased linearly in response when applying the combination of 80%O2/20%CO2 modified atmosphere packaging and superficial spraying with 0.02% dihydroquercetin solutions (P < 0.05). The changes of amino nitrogen content of modified atmosphere packaging veal were not influenced statistically significantly by 0.02% dihydroquercetin solution (P > 0.05). According to results obtained it was concluded that 80%O2/20%CO2 modified atmosphere packaged veal stored at 0 ± 0.5°C after 0.02% dihydroquercetin solution treatment can preserve its quality and shelf life to 15 d postmortem.