Environmental drivers of plant assemblages: are there differences between palustrine and lacustrine wetlands? A case study from the northern Apennines (Italy)

Abstract

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 (relevés), 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.

Remnants of naturalness in a reclaimed land of central Italy

“…This is in accordance with other Tuscan wetlands under a strong anthropogenic pressure (Lastrucci et al 2010(Lastrucci et al , 2014. Palustrine and lacustrine plants and plant communities might respond differently to different environmental factors (Angiolini et al 2019).…”

“…Bonari G, Fiaschi T, Chytrý K, Biagioli M, Angiolini C (2019) Coriaria myrtifolia-dominated vegetation: Syntaxonomic considerations on a newly found community type in Tuscany (Italy). Plant Sociology 56(2): 99-112. https://doi.org/10.7338/pls2019562/07 Cannucci S, Angiolini C, Anselmi B, Banfi E, Biagioli E, Castagnini P, Centi C, Fiaschi T, Foggi B, Gabellini A, Lastrucci L, Lattanzi E, Scoppola A, Selvi F, Viciani D, Bonari G (2019)…”

“…In Tuscany, information at the species level is usually easily available as it is embedded in floristic online databases (i.e., Wikiplantbase # Toscana -Peruzzi and Bedini 2015 onwards;Peruzzi et al 2017a), where data arising from studies on a different scale (Arrigoni 2016(Arrigoni -2018Bonari et al 2016Bonari et al -2019Cannucci et al 2019), as well as herbarium specimens and field observations, are stored. This data availability has also facilitated the study of the patterns of Tuscan floristic richness (D'Antraccoli et al 2019).…”

Contribution to the knowledge of aquatic vegetation of montane and submontane areas of Northern Apennines (Italy)

“…Several vegetation types identified in the study area can be referred to as habitats of conservation interest (Biondi et al 2009(Biondi et al , 2012. Though generally small and partially of artificial origin, the investigated wetlands are crucial to increase species and habitat diversity (Landi et al 2009;Viciani et al 2010Viciani et al , 2018 and to support a habitat network able to preserve the hygrophilous species assemblages of the mountain wetland systems of woody environments (Flinn et al 2008;Angiolini et al 2019).…”

“…While the Alps are relatively rich in wetlands, the Apennines are rather poor in freshwater ecosystems. The latter ones are also often fragmented and floristically impoverished, due the progressive loss of hygrophilous boreal species along the north-south gradient (Angiolini et al 2019). Moreover, especially at relatively low elevations, many Apennine wetlands result in being widely associated with anthropogenic activities, being partially or totally of artificial origin (Gerdol and Tomaselli 1993).…”