1/ Pladias database on plant diversity in the Czech Republic
Using ecoinformatics approaches we integrated all available data on flora and vegetation for the national territory in a single database, updated them, linked them with newly collected data. We interfaced the database with international databases and made it available to a broader scientific community and the public in an online portal. The integration of the so far isolated information sources enabled us to address some of the fundamental questions of plant community ecology and macroecology.
- Kaplan, Zdeněk, Koutecký, P., Danihelka, Jiří, Šumberová, Kateřina, Ducháček, M., Štěpánková, Jitka, Ekrt, L., Grulich, V., Řepka, R., Kubát, K., Mráz, P., Wild, Jan, Brůna, Josef. Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 6. Preslia. 2018, Roč. 90, č. 3, s. 235-346. ISSN 0032-7786.
- Loiola, P. P., de Bello, Francesco, Chytrý, M., Götzenberger, Lars, Carmona, C. P., Pyšek, Petr, Lososová, Z. Invaders among locals: Alien species decrease phylogenetic and functional diversity while increasing dissimilarity among native community members. Journal of Ecology. 2018, 106(6), 2230-2241. ISSN 0022-0477 doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12986
- Wild, Jan, Kaplan, Zdeněk, Danihelka, Jiří, Petřík, Petr, Chytrý, M., Novotný, Petr, Rohn, M., Šulc, Václav, Brůna, Josef, Chobot, K., Ekrt, L., Holubová, D., Knollová, I., Kocián, P., Štech, M., Štěpánek, Jan, Zouhar, V. Plant distribution data for the Czech Republic integrated in the Pladias database. Preslia, in press.
- Divíšek, J., Chytrý, M., Beckage, B., Gotelli, N. J., Lososová, Z., Pyšek, Petr, Richardson, D. M., Molofsky, J. Similarity of introduced plant species to native ones facilitates naturalization, but differences enhance invasion success. Nature Communications. 2018, 9, 4631 (doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06995-4).
2/ Overlooked plant half and its functions
Ecologists aiming at understanding plant strategies focused on several important plant traits that are easily measurable and have clear function: leaf quality determines growth rate, seed mass investments into reproduction and plant height competitive ability. Function of belowground plant organs in growth, reproduction and competition, however, remains overlooked. We provided a concept for study of these traits and description for large number of species to enhance belowground research.
- Klimešová, Jitka, Martínková, Jana, Herben, Tomáš. Horizontal growth: An overlooked dimension in plant trait space. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 2018, Roč. 32, JUN 2018, s. 18-21. ISSN 1433-8319.
- Klimešová, Jitka, Martínková, Jana, Ottaviani, Gianluigi. Belowground plant functional ecology: Towards an integrated perspective. Functional Ecology. 2018, Roč. 32, č. 9, s. 2115-2126. ISSN 0269-8463.
- Klimešová, Jitka. Temperate herbs: an architectural analysis. Praha: Academia, 2018. ISBN 978-80-200-2760-3.
- Doležal, Jiří, Dvorský, Miroslav, Boerner A., Wild, Jan, Schweingruber F. 2018. Anatomy, Age and Ecology of High Mountain Plants in Ladakh, the Western Himalaya. Springer, 620 p.
Importance of belowground horizontal stems for a plant in competition, multiplication, nutrient acquisition, and resprouting after disturbance.
3/ Small genome contributes to invasiveness of plants
By intercontinental comparison of native and invasive populations of Phragmites australis, we revealed a distinct relationship between genome size and invasiveness at the intraspecific level. Relative to native populations, the European populations that successfully invaded North America had a smaller monoploid genome that was associated with plant traits favouring invasiveness. This finding can be applied to screen potentially invasive populations wherever they grow in mixed stands with native.
- Pyšek, Petr, Skálová, Hana, Čuda, Jan, Guo, Wen-Yong, Suda, J., Doležal, Jan, Kauzál, Ondřej, Lambertini, C., Lučanová, Magdalena, Mandáková, T., Moravcová, Lenka, Pyšková, Klára, Brix, H., Meyerson, L. A. Small genome separates native and invasive populations in an ecologically important cosmopolitan grass. Ecology. 2018, Roč. 99, č. 1, s. 79-90. ISSN 0012-9658.
- Guo, Wen-Yong, Lambertini, C., Pyšek, Petr, Meyerson, L. A., Brix, H. Living in two worlds: evolutionary mechanisms act differently in native and introduced range of an invasive plant. Ecology and Evolution. 2018, Roč. 8, č. 5, s. 2440-2452. ISSN 2045-7758.