Historical finds of deer fern (Blechnum spicant) from the territory of Ukraine

Study Extent

Blechnum spicant (L.) Roth is a Holarctic mountain-plain species with a disjunctive area. This species is the only representative of the Blechum L. genus in the Ukrainian and European flora. The common relic area consists of three separate parts: European-Submediterranean, Eastern Asian (Japan and China), and North American (the Pacific Ocean Coast) (Meusel et al., 1965). There is the Eastern border of the European part of the area in Ukraine. According to references and herbarium samples, B. spicant grows in the Carpathians, Western Forest-Steppe, and Crimea (Opredelitel…, 1987; Вашека, Безсмертна, 2012; Екофлора України, 2000; Єна, 2012). But detailed data about this species' distribution and their populations' traits are absent. Such insignificant records prompted the current study to research and revise the locations of B. spicant in Ukraine, assess the state of species' populations, and analyze the ecological features of species.

Sampling

We examined herbarium specimens of B. spicant deposited in 55 scientific institutions in Ukraine, Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, russia, Romania, and the Slovak Republic (acronyms follow Thiers (2016+)): BP, BRA, BRNU, BUC, CHER, CL, CWU, DNZ, DSU, GJO, GZU, I, IAGB, IASI, KHER, KO, KRA, KRAM, KW, KWHU, KWHA, LE, LWS, LWKS, LW, MELIT, MSU, MSUD, PR, PRC, PWU, SAV, SLO, SOF, UU, W, WA, WABG, WRSL, WU, YALT. Also, we examined additional material from other regional herbaria (acronyms non-officially confirmed in the international database): Iasi Museum of Natural History (Romania), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), Lviv National Forestry Engineering University (Ukraine), Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University (Ukraine), Volyn Museum of Local Lore (Ukraine), Rivne National University of Water and Nature Management (Ukraine), Rivne Natural History Museum (Ukraine), Volodymyr Hnatyuk Ternopil National Pedagogical University (Ukraine), Kryvyi Rih Botanical Garden (Ukraine), T. H. Shevchenko Chernihiv State Pedagogical University (Ukraine), Kamianets-Podilsky Ivan Ohienko University (Ukraine), Vasyl Stefanyk Prykarpatskyi University (Ukraine), Ferenz Rakoczy II Transcarpathian Institute (Ukraine). Colleagues from many scientific institutions (Austria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovak Republic) assisted to evaluate some specimens from their herbaria collections. Besides, we checked electronic resources, such as the virtual herbarium management system JACQ (https://herbarium.univie.ac.at/database/collections.htm). The locations of the studied species are indicated in accordance with the present administrative divisions of Ukraine and the current topology. Based on our analysis results of the literature data and herbarium specimens of the mentioned institutions, we made a map of Blechnum spicant distribution in Ukraine, showing confirmed and erroneous records. We used Quantum GIS 3.16.5 Hannover (https://www.qgis.org/uk/site/) to create the maps and charts. We discovered a new locality of mountainous species on the plain during the floristic investigations in "Tsumanska Pushcha" National Nature Park (Lutsk District, Volyn Region, Ukraine). Also, we provided the geobotanical description of those localities. The area of the geobotanical description plots was 10 × 10 m. The geographical coordinates were stated in the decimal system, according to open data from Google Maps. We determined the approximate age of young trees by the number of annual rings of the lateral branches of the 1st tier.

Quality Control

Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy of data provided within the dataset.

Method steps

1. Field research and species indetification.
2. Studying of literature resources.
3. Investigating of museum collections.
4. Georeferencing.
5. Organizing of a dataset.

The dataset consists of records of deer fern - Blechnum spicant (L.) Roth.

1. Plantae
   rank: kingdom
2. Tracheophyta
   rank: phylum
3. Polypodiopsida
   rank: class
4. Polypodiales
   rank: order
5. Blechnaceae
   rank: class
6. Blechnum
   rank: genus
7. Blechnum spicant
   rank: species

The dataset consists of records made within Lviv, Zakarpattia, Volyn, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi regions of Ukraine as well as Autonomous Republic of Crimea.