BACKGROUND Alterations in the intestinal bacterial flora are believed to be contributing factors to many chronic inflammatory and degenerative diseases including rheumatic diseases. While microbiological fecal culture analysis is now increasingly used, little is known about the relationship of changes in intestinal flora, dietary patterns and clinical outcome in specific diseases. To clarify th...

Sierra Nevada mountain range (southern Spain) hosts a high number of endemic plant species, being one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the Mediterranean basin. The high-mountain meadow ecosystems (borreguiles) harbour a large number of endemic and threatened plant species. In this data paper, we describe a dataset of the flora inhabiting this threatened ecosystem in this Mediterra...

The theory of convergence predicts that, given similar selective regimes, both present and past, unrelated ecological communities will show similar attributes. Mild Pleistocene climate, highly infertile soils, and similar fire regimes explain the remarkable convergence between mediterranean-type vegetation from South Africa (fynbos) and Australia (kwongan). Heathlands in the Aljibe Mountains, a...

Serpentine is formed during chemical transformation of ultrabasic magmatic rocks. The characteristics of serpenti ne soi l are its high Mg and low Ca contenI. Various factors have lead to the formation of specific serpentine flora and vegetation. In the serpentine flora both basophi10us and acidophilous plant species are present, and a small number of families and often genera predominate. Most...

The vegetation composition of a post-fke succession in Aleppo pine forests of Anica, Greece, was studied by a synchronic method. The sites form a post-fire chronosequence and have typical Mediterranean climate. Data on the flora of the burned sites, growth and life forms of the various plant taxa, as weU as on vegetation smcture are provided. The burned ecosystems recovered quite rapidly. Durin...

The Mediterranean Basin is the world’s second richest hotspot, and one of most important locations on planet for endemic taxa. However, there no available up-to-date list endemics. Available data are frequently insufficient or outdated. Therefore, this study aimed at delimiting floristic region in Egypt, screening its endemics, determining their habitats, life forms, flowering periods, dispersa...

This study refers to background activity concentrations of (238)U, (226)Ra, (232)Th, (208)Tl, (40)K, and (137)Cs in soil and plants of the Kaštela Bay, Croatia and related plant-soil concentration ratios (CR's). Fourteen different Mediterranean plant species growing in natural conditions have been included and were divided into three major plant groups (grasses and herbs, shrub, tree). Radionuc...

Abstract Allochthonous plant species are considered among the main environmental issues worldwide, being especially accused in Mediterranean basin. The present study aims to update Balearic Alien Flora and discuss its time spatial variation invasiveness. Information regarding allochthonous records of Islands were gathered analysed based on published checklists online databases. For each several...

In mountainous regions, climate warming is expected to shift species' ranges to higher altitudes. Evidence for such shifts is still mostly from revisitations of historical sites. We present recent (2001 to 2008) changes in vascular plant species richness observed in a standardized monitoring network across Europe's major mountain ranges. Species have moved upslope on average. However, these shi...