Floral diversity

According to the OECD s proposition, this section will consider floral diversity of both domestic and wild species. 

As far as biodiversity of domestic floral species is concerned, research results concentrate on measuring the parameters crop rotation diversity, number of cultivated crops and grassland composition. Hausheer et al. (1998), evaluated crop rotations on 110 organic, integrated and conventional farms in a Swiss pilot farm project and determined the following situations on organic farms. 

More diverse rotations with more crops average for organic farms 4.5 different crops 

A higher number of crops, including perennials, vegetables, and herbs  

Furthermore, the analysis of 317 Swiss organic arable farms showed that 75.7% of the farms cultivated more than six crops, while 87.5% cultivated more than 4 crops in their rotation (Freyer 1997). A 14% higher diversity of organie arable land use after conversion is calculated for Brandenburg, Germany, using the Shannon index (Piorr, H.P. et al. 1997). 

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Indigenous perennial grasses in the American West, on the other hand, were heavily influenced by the unique conditions of bison grazing. Heavy grazing and trampling by these massive herds not only maintained floral diversity on the... 

The reviewed research results indicate that organic farming provides more positive effects on wildlife conservation and landscape than conventional farming systems on a per area unit of land used for agriculture. While data on faunal and floral diversity allow an rmambiguous and positive assessment, the available information on habitat diversity and landscape can only lead to the conclusion that organic farming has the potential to provide positive effects. 

Floral diversity Faunal diversity Habitat diversity Landscape... 

Many wild and cultivated plants are visited not only by honey bees (Apis mellifera in particular) but also by non-Apis bees which facilitate their fruit and seed setting. These Hymenoptera are represented by more than 20000 species throughout the world, belonging to nine families Colletidae, Oxaeidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae, Melittidae, Fideliidae, Megachilidae, Anthophoridae, and Apidae [1]. This fauna is a natural resource which often sustains a prominent role in the pollination of crops and the maintenance of floral diversity, especially when honey bees are absent or not efficient. Many researchers have long emphasized the contribution of... 

Endress, P. K. (1992). Evolution and floral diversity the phylogenetic surroundings oi Arabidopsis and Antirrhinum. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 153 (supplement), S106-S122. 

In this chapter, we present a newflower from the Early Cretaceous (Early-Middle Albian) Puddledock locality, Virginia, USA. We also formally describe a second lauralean floral structure from the same locality that was briefly considered in an earlier publication (Crane et al., 1994). Both taxa have features characteristic of extant Laurales, but provide new evidence of the floral diversity among lauralean lineages from the Early Cretaceous and thereby contribute to a better understanding of the early evolution of the order. 

Ree, R H. (2005). Phylogeny and the evolution of floral diversity in Pedicularis (Orobanchaceae). Interrmtional Journal of Plant Sciences, 166, 595-613. 

Sweeney, P W. (2008). Phylogeny and floral diversity in the genus Garcinia (Clusiaceae) and relatives. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 169,1288-1303. 

The ontogenetic basis for floral diversity in the Baeckea sub-group. Kew Bulletin, 55,593-613... 

This chapter has four principal aims. First, we provide an overview of the main areas of seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTE) in Mexico and Central America. Second, we summarize studies of floral diversity in these areas. Third, as an exemplar, we examine in detail the flora of one of the best studied areas of Mexican SDTF, the Chamela-Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve. Finally, we examine the distributions of the species comprising the Chamela flora, which to some extent allows us to make biogeographical generalisations about Mexican SDTF. 

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