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A botanical survey of the vegetation of Strzelecki National Park, on south-western Flinders Island, Tasmania
(lat. 40° 13' S; long. 148° 06' E) resulted in 313 vascular plant taxa, being recorded. Of these, 16 are introduced. Of the native flora, 9 are currently considered threatened according to the Tasmanian Threatened Species Protection Act 1995. Some of these occur on the calcareous rocks and soils on the western coastal fringe of the Park.
There is low species diversity in large areas, for reasons that include extensive ground disturbance by pigs, very high fire frequency in some areas and the depauperate nature of island floras.
There were also 137 species of liverworts and mosses recorded for the Park. Most plant habitats on Flinders Island are represented in the Park. The flora retains an interesting rainforest and wet forest element which shares floristic similarities with rainforest gullies in mainland south-eastern Australia, with the Tasmanian north-eastern highlands, and even with western Tasmania. There are also some affinities with the dry Bass Strait and southern Australian floras. The pattern and composition of the vegetation is strongly shaped by several factors. Extensive fires have been promoted by fuel accumulation and deliberate burning on the Park perimeter. Topography strongly influences the vegetation (Mt Strzelecki is 756 m high) due to the degree of exposure to strong winds and protection from fire. Cloud capping of the mountain increases the potential moisture available. Wind is a large local factor in vegetation structure. Controls on vegetation at any given site are also responsive to aspect, bedrock depth and other factors.
Eleven vegetation mapping communities are defined, the Park being important for the reservation of several of these. The Park is characterised by the presence of rainfall and evapotranspiration extremes and the vegetation varies accordingly, with rainforest patches in fire protected niches of the mountains and dry heathland on the coastal areas. Strong westerly winds combined with the abruptly rugged mountainous topography have caused some violent localised destruction of forest and scrub canopies by wind.
Orange lily Lilium bulbiferum subsp. bulbiferum occurs in the mountains of Western and Central Europe. Within almost the entire area of distribution, it is considered to be rare and endangered. The main purpose of the present study is to analyse the variability of environmental conditions of sites of the orange lily that are considered natural on its north-eastern border of occurrence. Using vegetation databases from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia and our material collected during field work in the Western Carpathians and the Sudetes, we analysed the variability of species composition within communities with the occurrence of L. bulbiferum subsp. bulbiferum. The classification was performed using a modified TWINSPAN algorithm in the JUICE software. Ecological analysis was performed on the basis of Ellenberg indicator values with a Zelený-Schaffers modified permutation test. In general, the findings indicate that in the study area there are at least seven plant communities, within three separate classes, with the occurrence of the orange lily. All vegetation units distinguished here are semi-natural communities, which are maintained through extensive and traditional agricultural practices. Microclimatic conditions, which indicate a narrow ecological tolerance of the species to light availability and temperature, may have a crucial effect on the distribution of L. bulbiferum subsp. bulbiferum on the north-eastern border of its range in Europe. These factors significantly reduce the possibility of penetration of the species into forest or scrub communities. On the other hand, owing to far wider ranges of tolerance to moisture conditions and soil reaction than previously considered typical of the species, the orange lily can occur in different light-demanding communities, from acidic pastures up to calcareous thermophilous grasslands. An almost exclusive presence of L. bulbiferum subsp. bulbiferum in semi-natural habitats suggests that active management and protection are crucial to protect its full genetic variation on the European continent.