Synecology of Cutandia maritima (L.) Barbey, a rare psammophytic species along the Montenegrin Coast (East Adriatic Coast)

Abstract

Cutandia maritima is a circum-Mediterranean species that inhabits sandy dunes along the coast line. It is fairly frequent on the western Adriatic coast but fairly rare and possibly even non-native in the east. In Croatia, it was discovered in 1990 in Crnika Bay on the island of Rab, which was considered until 2005 to be the only site on the eastern Adriatic coast from the Gulf of Trieste in the north to Corfu in the south. In 2009, the species was briefly reported for Velika plaža (Long Beach) in Ulcinj (Montenegro) but without details about the habitat type and synecology. The aim of this paper is thus to provide a deeper insight into the ecology and synecology of C. maritima in the eastern Adriatic part of the distribution area. On Velika plaža in Ulcinj, the species was found along the whole sea-inland gradient of sand dunes, in various types of vegetation:

Distribution of alien species along sand dune plant communities zonation

“…Although the coastal dunes on Velika plaža in Ulcinj are frequently cited as one of the best preserved psammophilous ecosystems in the eastern Adriatic (31,32), various anthropogenic disturbances have started significantly to transform the natural potential vegetation. According to spatio-temporal analysis of the major habitat types in the area, the anthropogenic impact has been increasing since 1950.…”

Coastal sand dune vegetation of Velika plaža (Montenegro)

“…Recently several studies for different purposes were conducted to present the impact of alien species (Stešević et al 2017a(Stešević et al , Šilc et al 2019, trampling (Šilc et al 2017), and litter on vegetation (Šilc et al 2018) as well as human impact in general (Šilc et al 2016b), but a complete overview of vegetation communities has never been made. According to several authors (Trinajstić 1989a, Mijović 1994, Mijović et al 2006 only two plant communities were reported for Velika plaža: Cakilo-Xanthietum italici and Euphorbio paraliae-Agropyretum junceiformis; however, recent studies (Šilc et al 2019(Šilc et al , Stešević et al 2017b have suggested that the vegetation of Velika plaža is much more diverse.…”