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BY-NC-ND 3.0 license Open Access Published by De Gruyter June 12, 2011

Long-term monitoring of an invasion process: the case of an isolated small wetland on a Mediterranean Island

  • Bruno Foggi EMAIL logo , Lorenzo Lastrucci , Daniele Viciani , Giorgio Brunialti and Renato Benesperi
From the journal Biologia

Abstract

Invasions of Typha (cattail) and/or Phragmites (common reed) in wetland ecosystems result in changes in species richness, diversity and composition of vascular plants. These invasions are particularly harmful in lakes where threatened species and/or communities are found. The spread of two species of Typha (T. angustifolia and T. latifolia) and of Phragmites australis in the Stagnone Lake, on Capraia Island (Tuscan Archipelago — Mediterranean sea) was studied. We report this progressive invasion, documented by means of a series of vegetation maps (1991, 1995, 1998 and 2009). The expansion rate of the three invasive helophytes and the shrinking of the aquatic communities were studied using a GIS system. The impact of the spread of these three species on the floristic characteristics of the plant communities and the lake vegetation in general, was analysed by means of 15 plots of 1 m2 in 2000 and in 2009. Statistical analysis of the two series shows a significant change in the floristic composition of the communities as a result of the invasion process. Many important groups of species, such as many aquatic species, decrease in number and in cover value.

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Published Online: 2011-6-12
Published in Print: 2011-8-1

© 2011 Slovak Academy of Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

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