Bryophyte communities of Mediterranean Europe: a first approach to model their potential distribution in highly seasonal rivers

Vieira, Cristiana; Aguiar, Francisca C.; Portela, Ana Paula; Monteiro, J.L.F.; Raven, Paul; Holmes, Nigel; Cambra, Jaume; Flor-Arnau, Núria; Chauvin, Christian; Loriot, S.; Feret, Thibaut; Dörflinger, Gerald; Germ, Mateja; Kuhar, Urška; Papastergiadou, Eva; Manolaki, Paraskevi; Minciardi, Maria Rita; Munné, Antoni; Urbanič, Gorazd; Ferreira, Maria Teresa

doi:10.1007/s10750-016-2743-5

Cited by 14 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Geographical location was also identified as one of the major factors influencing macroinvertebrate communities, which should be taken into consideration in the assessment of river typology based on biotic elements. Some differentiation of vegetation between adjacent physiographic units was detected by Wiegleb et al (2015) in northwest Germany, but on the other hand, the limited role of ecoregional criteria in explaining the macrophyte distribution has been revealed by other studies, for instance Jusik et al (2015) in Poland, Vieira et al (2016) in Mediterranean Europe as well as BaattrupPetersen et al (2006BaattrupPetersen et al ( , 2008, who have undertaken relevant multivariate analyses of the macrophyte sites recorded across several European ecoregions. In the case of macroinvertebrate distribution patterns, the apparent impact of a geographical factor was detected in headwater streams by Astorga et al (2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

et al. 2017

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The aim of the study was to compare the patterns of development of macrophytes and macroinvertebrates in different types of reference mountain rivers. The study is based on reference river sites surveyed throughout the mountains in Poland and Slovakia in two European ecoregions (9-Central Highlands, 10-The Carpathians). A wide range of environmental variables were estimated, including water chemistry, hydromorphology, geology, and the spatial factor. Based on the Jaccard index, macrophyte and macroinvertebrate variation was confirmed between four mountain and upland river types. It was found that the biological diversification is mainly influenced by geological and associated chemical factors. In the case of macroinvertebrates, additionally, the importance of the spatial factor was revealed (difference between ecoregions). Finally, the habitat preferences of various taxa were identified. It was found that extreme mountain conditions can sometimes distort bioindicative response, as was detected in the case of macroinvertebrates in the highest mountain sites. We concluded that consideration of two groups of organisms enables more comprehensive and reliable monitoring than assessment based on a single group, especially when standard bioindicative methods can be distorted by extreme local conditions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

et al. 2017

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“…For instance, Vieira et al . () reported the coexistence of several boreal, oceanic, temperate and Mediterranean bryophyte elements in European Mediterranean‐type streams. The occurrence of bryophyte species with distinct biogeographical affinities in the same watercourse might be explained by the wide distribution ranges and potentially high dispersal ability of many European bryophyte species (Kyrkjeeide et al ., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…discharge pattern, freshwater biota is highly constrained by hydrological regimes, frequently overriding the importance of geomorphological factors in determining bryophyte community establishment, composition and persistence. In this context, and considering that bryophytes are susceptible to significant alterations in stream flow (Vieira et al, 2016a), hydrological regime can be regarded as a major environmental driver of bryophyte community structure in seasonal headwater streams. Additionally, the importance of turbulent currents is associated with the need to enhance the acquisition of CO 2 for bryophytes to photosynthesis (Proctor, 2014), even in the studied shallow streams.…”

Section: Environmental Determinants Of Bryophyte Community Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The wide biogeographical spectrum observed in stream bryophyte communities of 'cool temperate and moist' and 'warm temperate and mesic' bioclimatic regions has already been described in previous studies. For instance, Vieira et al (2016a) reported the coexistence of several boreal, oceanic, temperate and Mediterranean bryophyte elements in European Mediterranean-type streams. The occurrence of bryophyte species with distinct biogeographical affinities in the same watercourse might be explained by the wide distribution ranges and potentially high dispersal ability of many European bryophyte species (Kyrkjeeide et al, 2014).…”

Section: Spatial Patterns and Bryophyte And Habitat Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Determinants of stream bryophyte community structure: bringing ecology into conservation

Monteiro

Vieira

2017

Freshwater Biology

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Summary Bryophytes play an important role in headwater stream ecosystems sensitive to human pressures. The high number of bryophyte species listed as threatened in Europe suggests that further efforts to conserve fluvial bryophyte diversity are needed. Investigations of the spatial ecology of bryophyte diversity should help identifying priority areas for conservation of fluvial bryophytes and their habitats. Seasonal temperate headwater streams were sampled at their southern edge distribution in Portugal, within and outside protected areas, at two spatial scales: stream segments and microhabitats. The environmental variables best explaining richness and diversity patterns, as well as the number of threatened species, were identified by partial least square regression. The selection of the best sites for conservation was achieved through the development of a new Index of Fluvial Bryological and Hydrogeomorphological Signature (IFBHS). At the stream segment scale, bryophyte community structure was highly influenced by hydrogeomorphological variables, in particular by hydrological features. At the microhabitat scale, high current velocity constrained bryophyte richness and diversity. The prioritised sites identified through the application of the IFBHS exhibited exceptional bryological richness, high levels of endemism and red‐listed species, as well as unique fluvial microhabitats. Hydrological regime was identified as a major environmental driver of bryophyte community structure in seasonal headwater streams of southern temperate Europe, and this is of particular concern given projected scenarios of climate change and human‐induced flow regime alterations. Prioritised stream segments for fluvial bryophyte and habitat conservation were not only located within protected areas, reinforcing the need to enhance the effectiveness of Natura 2000 Network and national protection areas.

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“…On the other hand, in middle and lower river sections dominated by unstable substrates of smaller fractions, bryophytes are confined to larger rocks or periodically flooded river margins and are subject to intensive competition with vascular plants, leading to lower cover or complete absence of bryophytes [5,7]. Furthermore, bryophytes make a particularly significant component of vegetation in highly seasonal and intermittent Mediterranean rivers [8], primarily due to a set of diverse adaptations enabling desiccation tolerance during dry periods, as well as endurance for mechanical stress from strong flash flows. In such conditions of impermanent flows, freshwater bryophyte assemblages are characterized by a higher share of hygrophyte and drought-tolerant species [8,9], whereas rheophytes dominate the vegetation of streams and rivers with permanent flows [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Gradients Shaping the Freshwater Bryophyte Communities of Croatia (Western Balkans)

Rimac

Alegro

Šegota

et al. 2022

Plants

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A comprehensive field survey of 527 sites on 293 watercourses across Croatia revealed 76 sites (14.42%) in which bryophytes were the dominant part of the macrophyte vegetation. Using classification and ordination analyses, we obtained five community types segregated across the gradients of several climatic, physiographic and water chemistry parameters. The Didymodon tophaceus–Apopellia endiviifolia and the Berula erecta-Cratoneuron filicinum communities were mostly confined to the clean and basic karstic rivers of the Dinaric Ecoregion under the influence of the Mediterranean climate, with the Didymodon tophaceus–Apopellia endiviifolia community being a tufa-forming community associated with the seasonally dry watercourses of small catchment areas and cascades along the larger karstic rivers, while the Berula erecta–Cratoneuton filicinum community was mostly associated with rivers with larger catchment areas and permanent flow. On the other hand, the Oxyrrhynchium hians–Chiloscyphus pallescens community and the Fissidens pusillus–Veronica beccabunga community were associated with eutrophic water restricted to small rivers of the Pannonian Ecoregion under the influence of the temperate climate and flowing over silicate bedrock. The most represented and widespread in Croatia was the Cinclidotus community, displaying the widest ecological range in the study. It was mostly associated with the relatively clean karstic rivers of large catchment areas belonging to the Dinaric Ecoregion, with the majority of the sites under the influence of a temperate climate with higher precipitation during the warm period of the year. The geographical patterns of the freshwater bryophyte communities showed that the relatively clean, fast and cold karstic rivers belonging to the Dinaric Ecoregion provide habitats that harbour a greater diversity of bryophyte communities than the watercourses of the Pannonian Ecoregion, where bryophyte-dominated communities are restricted to a small number of small lowland and semi-montane rivers and predominantly occupy periodically flooded microhabitats such as river margins.

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Bryophyte communities of Mediterranean Europe: a first approach to model their potential distribution in highly seasonal rivers

Cited by 14 publications

References 69 publications

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

Macrophyte and macroinvertebrate patterns in unimpacted mountain rivers of two European ecoregions

Determinants of stream bryophyte community structure: bringing ecology into conservation

Environmental Gradients Shaping the Freshwater Bryophyte Communities of Croatia (Western Balkans)

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