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Group work assignment, my contribution about my PlantArea           

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Group work assignment, my contribution about my PlantArea           

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Adaptations of Chasmophytes on Andros island (Greece)

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Alexandra D. Voulgari_Adaptations of Chasmophytes on Andros island,Greece - Copy

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Provide a description of plant species living in the most extreme environment of your
PlantArea, with notes in particular on how they manage to survive.

Link to the group padlet:
https://padlet.com/giuliafinotti92/2krpcifrc8p2

Group members: Giulia Finotti, Mónica Patrícia Pinto, Marianna
Georgoulaki, Alexandra Voulgari, Andri Michaelidou, Ágnes Molnár, Fannie Papatoli.

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Theme 5 Threatening factors of plant diversity

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Theme 5 Threatening factors of plant diversity

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STEP 2

Endangered plant species in my PlantArea:
Milkwort (Polygala helenae) is endemic to Cythera island, Greece. It lives only in two areas of this island. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. It is considered a powerful tonic, like ginseng.

Possible reasons threatening the above species: habitat loss, overcollection, habitat fragmentation, fire and grazing.

A business plan of a local volunteer organization that aims to protect it:
- effective protection of its habitat against fire
- effective protection against overgrazing and maintenance of its natural habitat area
- forbiddance of its collection from natural habitat
- to put it in a seed bank
- to put it in botanic gardens
- to create a wild nursery
- organic farming, if it is necessary for commercial reasons
- to unify (creating a “bridge”) its two populations on Cythera island.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygala_helenae

http://floracytherea.blogspot.com/2012/10/blog-post_16.html

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STEP 3                 Comparison of my conservation business plan with the business plan of other learners 

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STEP 3                 Comparison of my conservation business plan with the business plan of other learners 

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Dear co-learners,
I hope we all enjoy this amazing course! I would like you to visit my PlantArea and to post comments, if you wish.

I have read the business plans of other co-learners. I saw that some learners, like me, chose to refer only to one endangered species and to be very specific about the reasons of threatening and the measures proposed in their business plan, while others referred to more than one species and they were a bit more general about threatening reasons and proposed measures of their business plan.

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STEP 1 Using your everyday knowledge, which of the following sentences do you think is true?

Replacing fossil fuels with biofuels is highly controversial since it solves one problem but creates new ones.

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Theme 4                                     step 4b

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Theme 4                                     step 4b

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I choose to describe the: Molnár Ágnes's PlantArea - Danube-Ipoly National Park, https://padlet.com/moha7676/es6kiay1ljrr . In the aforementioned PlantArea there is an enlightening description of a Hungarian national park, with its river, mountains, endemic species and climate description.

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Theophrastus “Enquiry into Plants” and “On the Causes of Plants”. Comment on the content of these works.

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Theophrastus “Enquiry into Plants” and “On the Causes of Plants”. Comment on the content of these works.

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These two botanical works, in which he investigated over 550 species of plants, constitute the most important contribution to botanical science during antiquity and the Middle Ages, the first systemisation of the botanical world.

In book 9 (of 10) of “Enquiry into Plants” he refers to the medicinal uses of plants. It is one of the first herbals describing juices, gums and resins extracted from plants, and how to gather them. Theophrastus described plants by their uses and attempted a biological classification based on how plants reproduced, the first in the history of botany.

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step 3                                         1. Two alcoholic drinks consumed in my PlantArea together with their plant source material

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step 3                                         1. Two alcoholic drinks consumed in my PlantArea together with their plant source material

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Wine produced by grapes

Beer produced by wheat malt & hop flowers (Humulus lupulus)

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step 3                                         2. The main tree species decorated during Christmas 

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step 3                                         2. The main tree species decorated during Christmas 

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The Firs (Abies), a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae, is the tree that is mainly decorated during Christmas in Greece.

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Theme 4, step 4a                    Comparison of my PlantArea with PlantAreas of my co-learners, differences and similarities

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Theme 4, step 4a                    Comparison of my PlantArea with PlantAreas of my co-learners, differences and similarities

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Many of my co-learners chose (like me) to describe a Mediterranean PlantArea, such as Italy, Greece or Portugal, all of which have similar floras; However, there are and others that chose do describe e.g. Hungarian flora, Carpathian basin.

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Theme 3, step 3             Signs of climate change in my PlantArea

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Theme 3, step 3             Signs of climate change in my PlantArea

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The observed tendencies of Grreek climate are mainly resultes of the greenhouse effect-global warming.
longer droughts

https://www.climatechangepost.com/greece/droughts/

uneven storms

https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/29/europe/medicane-zorba-greece-turkey-intl/index.html

flooding

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2019-02/crete-flooding-severe-weather-damage.html

increase of the middle   temperature

https://greece.greekreporter.com/2018/01/18/record-temperatures-hit-greece-in-2017/

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step 3                                          3. Two groups of food plants

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step 3                                          3. Two groups of food plants

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Two groups of food plants in my PlantArea, Greece, are:

Plants of the genus Citrus (e.g. orange tree - Citrus sinensis, lemon tree - Citrus limon, grapefruit tree - Citrus paradise, pergamot orange tree - Citrus pergamis, mandarin orange tree - Citrus reticulate).

Potato plant (Solanum tuberosum).

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step 3                                         4. Two common spices together with their origin

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step 3                                         4. Two common spices together with their origin

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Oregano (Origanum vulgare) is a culinary herb, used for the flavour of its leaves, which can be more flavourful when dried than fresh. It has an aromatic, warm, and slightly bitter taste, which can vary in intensity.

Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of the tree Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves are used in Greek cuisine in order to give flavour to sweets (e.g. baklava).

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Look at the 3 options and choose the one that describes best the Andes issue
correct answer:
2. Tropical Andean trees migrate to higher altitudes where the air is cool enough to support their existence. Due to the fast climatic change they have to move faster in order to remain in equilibrium with their preferred temperatures.

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Theme 3, step 4   Comparing my PlantArea with the ones of other co-learners  

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Theme 3, step 4   Comparing my PlantArea with the ones of other co-learners  

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The majority of my co-learners detected the outcomes of greenhouse effect at their PlantAreas climate as well, with increase of the mean temperatoure, as well as more intense storms, droughts and/or floodings.

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Theme 2  Complexity of plant Biogeography

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Theme 2  Complexity of plant Biogeography

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Location of my Plant Area

My PlantArea is Greece, which is part of the Mediterranean biogeographical region of Europe.

The Mediterranean biogeographical region and the Mediterranean Sea constitute a frontier zone between Europe, Asia and Africa in terms of climate and species.
•The climate is warm with hot summers and mild winters. Arid and desert conditions are increasing and water will become more and more scarce.
•Soils are low in humus, and the erosion risk is great in most areas.
•The number of indigenous species is still the highest in Europe.
•There is also a high number of endemics as well as wild ancestors to cultivated plants.

•Formerly widespread dry grasslands and traditional agro-forestry with dehesa and montados are decreasing, the areas turned to intensive agriculture or abandonned to scrub formation.

•The intensive agriculture, vegetable growing and the large citrus orchards require intensive irrigation.

•The region is the olive oil, fruit and nut production region of Europe.

•Though there is only around 25% forest cover trees are a dominant feature in the landscape.

•Oaks are important, natural old forests are scarce.

•Sclerophyllous (evergreen) trees, shrubs and dwarfshrubs are characteristic, many with aromatic oil contents.

•There are few lakes and bogs, the area covered by mires is reduced.

•Wolf and wildcat have spread, but the Iberian lynx is close to extinction.

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Environmental stress factors that influence plant growth in my PlantArea 

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Environmental stress factors that influence plant growth in my PlantArea 

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Drought

During summer there is very rare raining and high temperatures. As a result, many plants have to face drought.

Floods
Occasionally, heavy raining takes place which leads to floods.

High salt concentration
The plants of the coastal areas have to face high salt concentrations (salt-tolerant plants, halophytes).

Herbivory
There is a lot of grazing in the rural areas of Greece, as the farmers have cows and flocks of goats and sheep.
Snow
There is frequent snowing during winter on high altitude areas of Greece.

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Alexander von Humboldt, father of phytogeography, and his treatise “Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe”

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Alexander von Humboldt, father of phytogeography, and his treatise “Cosmos: A Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe”

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"C o smos"was published in five volumes.

In the first volume, Humboldt  described the physical nature of outer space and the Earth. In the second volume, he described the history of science, applying the ancient Greek view of the orderliness of the cosmos to the Earth, suggesting that universal laws applied as well to the apparent chaos of the terrestrial world.

Cosmos was the scientific bestseller of the age and it had a significant impact on scientific progress. It influenced various scientists and authors throughout Europe and America, including Charles Darwin.

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Mediterranean ecosystem where we find the meadow vegetation made up of evergreen sclerophyllous shrubs with deep root system and leather leaves. Typical plant species of this ecosystem are: wild olives, carob, cumara, laurel, fig, yew, myrtle, oleander and wicker.

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Coniferous and leafy trees in a forest of north Greece.

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Medicinal plant 1: Thymus vulgaris, common thyme

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Medicinal plant 1: Thymus vulgaris, common thyme

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Thymus vulgaris, common thyme
Scientific classification
Kingdom:   Plantae
Clade:   Angiosperms
Clade:   Eudicots
Clade:   Asterids
Order:   Lamiales
Family:  Lamiaceae
Subfamily:  Nepetoideae
Tribe:  Mentheae
Genus: Thymus, L
Type species
Thymus vulgaris L.

Oil of thyme, the essential oil of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris), contains 20–54% thymol. Thyme essential oil also contains a range of additional compounds, such as p-cymene, myrcene, borneol, and linalool. Thymol, an antiseptic, is an active ingredient in various commercially produced mouthwashes such as Listerine. Before the advent of modern antibiotics, oil of thyme was used to medicate bandages.

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Medicinal plant 2: Myrtus communis, common myrtle

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Medicinal plant 2: Myrtus communis, common myrtle

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Myrtus communis, common myrtle, is native to the Mediterranean region in southern Europe.
Scientific classification e
Kingdom:             Plantae
Clade:   Angiosperms
Clade:   Eudicots
Clade:   Rosids
Order:   Myrtales
Family:  Myrtaceae
Subfamily:           Myrtoideae
Tribe:    Myrteae
Genus: Myrtus, L.
Type species
Myrtus communis L.
Species
Myrtus communis L.

Medicinal

Myrtle has been prescribed for fever and pain by ancient physicians since at least 2,500 BC in Sumer.
Myrtle's effects are due to high levels of salicylic acid, the active compound aspirin.

In several countries there has been a tradition for prescribing this substance for sinus infections. A systematic review of herbal medicines used for the treatment of rhinosinusitis concluded that the evidence that any herbal medicines are beneficial in the treatment of rhinosinusitis is limited, and that for Myrtus there is insufficient data to verify the significance of clinical results.