Searching for Optimal Substitute Habitats for Plants by Biological Experiments—A Case Study of the Endangered Species Aldrovanda vesiculosa L. (Droseraceae)

Abstract

The selection of appropriate locations for the reintroduction of endangered plant species is an important process, because it usually influences the success of the conservation. The aim of this study was to select the optimal substitute habitats for Aldrovanda vesiculosa, taking into account the influence of physical–chemical factors (light intensity, temperature, pH, concentration of dissolved forms of nitrogen and cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR) on the efficiency of plant growth. Water analysis and field observations of the habitats of six lakes in Eastern Poland typified as potential substitute habitats for aldrovanda were carried out. The results of the experiments showed that both the concentration and the form in which nitrogen compounds are present in the environment were the factors limiting the growth rate and condition of plants. The second factor that caused the inhibition of aldrovanda growth was microcystin-LR. It was found that the habitat conditions in Lake Brzeziczno were within the ecological tolerance of the species. Particularly important was the low content of mineral compounds and the available forms of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. Therefore, the probability of development of toxic cyanobacteria, the metabolites of which may affect the growth of A. vesiculosa, is also minimal.