These thematic issues of the renowned review Plant Diversity and Evolution (formerly Botanische Jahrbücher) gather 23 papers together, from Polish and German authors, surveying different aspects in the floristic and landscape ecology of Pomerania, a Baltic province whose the eventful last 70 years caused irreversible changes in population – especially farming one – leading to deep environmental alterations. They originated from a first revival symposium on “Flora, Vegetation and Landscape in Pomerania”, held in September 2007 at Szczecin, Poland. Despite the apparent scattering of papers, dealing mainly with fungi, lichens and plants (but excluding algae), the authors concern for generalization of their results is obvious.

An unexpected and puzzling insight is yielded in the concluding paper of the first volume by Herbichowa & Herbich, who compared the impact of protection on the vegetation changes in four reserves leading either to a restoration of a typical vegetation much faster than planned (Staniszewskie Błoto Reserve), or conversely to a damage, due to an eutrophisation by migrating birds such as cranes – Grus grus – (Białogóra Reserve). So both landscape maintenance and preservation of threatened taxa may be get only by an accurate knowledge of the unsettled “OEconomia Naturae”, already suspected by Linnaeus as soon as 1749 along the northern coasts of the Baltic sea, thus allowing efficient and subtle interventions. The number of the cited references is to be appreciated, considering the long floristical and phytosociological tradition in eastern Europe. A historical study is anyway tackled for the North-West Poland by M. Ziarnek in the second volume. Nevertheless comparisons might be usefully broadened to similar landscapes recognized near the northwestern coasts of our continent. Especially the same pattern of marshes, sometimes including some halophytes, and often subject to peculiar farming practices too, occurs in France (Brittany, Normandy, e.g., southern Cotentin, see the phytosociological works by the late Prof. J.-M. Géhu, as well as those of Michel Provost), and indeed in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, all places which might be connected, at least loosely, by bird migrations.

Thus these special issues are a nice and many facetted introduction to concrete and even experimental ecology applied to the maintenance and restoration of natural environments, and may be of interest for a very wide readership. They encompass so many fields that they suggest much innovative tricks in plant ecology. They provide too a fine editorial model which might be applied to similar programs in Europe, and probably outside. Moreover the most demonstrative cases should be fruitfully set out in school textbooks, fully illustrating the agreement between ecological and mere economical concerns, a major challenge for our century.

Thierry Deroin

ADANSONIA sér. 3, 2014, 36 (1)