Environmental drivers of plant assemblages: are there differences between palustrine and lacustrine wetlands? A case study from the northern Apennines (Italy)
Mountain wetlands are among the most vulnerable habitats in the Mediterranean basin. Their conservation requires knowledge of plant species assemblages and their environmental drivers. In this study, we investigated what the main environmental factors driving species composition in mountain wetlands are. Differences in environmental control and floristic composition between palustrine and lacustrine wetlands were explored. We used a dataset of 168 vegetation plots (releves), sampled at 45 mountain wetlands in the northern Apennines (central Italy). Direct ordination showed that water depth, geology type and altitude were the main factors responsible for species distribution. The most important gradient was linked to soil moisture, with hygrophilous species increasing with moisture levels. Indicator Species Analysis underlined a clear distinction in the distribution of aquatic plants between wetland subsystems. Geology and rainfall affected species assemblages in lacustrine and palustrine subsystems. Indirect ordination and Generalized Additive Models revealed that plant species and their attributes significantly changed in the wetland subsystems with an increase in hydrophytes with increasing rainfall in palustrine wetlands and a decrease in thermophilous species along an altitudinal gradient in lacustrine wetlands. Management and conservation guidelines for northern Apennines wetlands are suggested.
1.Univ Siena, Dept Life Sci, Via PA Mattioli 4, I-53100 Siena, Italy 2.Univ Florence, Dept Biol, Via G La Pira 4, I-50121 Florence, Italy 3.Masaryk Univ, Dept Bot & Zool, Kotlarska 2, CZ-61137 Brno, Czech Republic 4.Repub Carabinieri Biodiversita Pratovecchio, Via Dante Alighieri 41, Pratovecchio Stia, AR, Italy 5.Ufficio CTO Firenze, Comando Reg Carabinieri Forestali Toscana, Piazza Edison 11, Florence, Italy 6.Ist Istruz Super Camaiti, Via San Lorenzo 18, I-52036 Pieve Santo Stefano Arez, Italy 7.Univ Florence, Nat Hist Museum, Univ Museum Syst, Bot, Via G La Pira 4, I-50121 Florence, Italy
Recommended Citation:
Angiolini, Claudia,Viciani, Daniele,Bonari, Gianmaria,et al. Environmental drivers of plant assemblages: are there differences between palustrine and lacustrine wetlands? A case study from the northern Apennines (Italy)[J]. KNOWLEDGE AND MANAGEMENT OF AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS,2019-01-01(420)