Authors: Landi, Marco; Angiolini, Claudia

Source: Belgian Journal of Botany, Volume 139, Number 2, December 2006 , pp. 220-232(13)

Publisher: Royal Botanical Society of Belgium

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the importance of the variation of environmental variables (geomorphological, topographical and climatic factors) along the longitudinal profile of a braided stream for the distribution of plant species and communities at a local scale. This was achieved by means of a case study in central Italy. Vegetation data from the river bed were grouped according to floristic and ecological affinities as follows: semi-aquatic, helophytic, hygrophilous pioneer grasses, synantropical grasses, mesohygrophilous and pioneer grasses, garigues, hygrophilous shrubs, thermophilous shrubs, xerothermophilous shrubs and grasses, hygrophilous forest and thermophilous forest. A clear division between herbaceous and woody communities was observed along the first DCA axis and was interpreted as a transversal gradient of the stream due to decreasing flooding. Canonical Correspondence Analysis suggested that altitude, distance from sea and bed width are the most important environmental variables explaining community distribution along the longitudinal profile. However, on this local scale, partial CCA showed that the abiotic variables explained 49.6% of the species data variation. This result, together with the lack of a correlation between environmental factors and DCA axes 1 and 2, suggests that factors other than those included in the analysis, and probably only marginally linked to the longitudinal gradient, influenced the distribution of communities as well. On a local scale, we observed that there was no variation in the floristic composition of the coenoses along the longitudinal gradient. Consequently there is no vicariance of communities in terms of climate and/or biogeographic region. Along the longitudinal profile we found, however, the presence of coenoses that were ecologically (hard wood and soft wood) or structurally (dominance of woods, garigues, or pioneer coenoses) different in terms of geomorphological and topographical variables.

Keywords: BRAIDED STREAM; CENTRAL ITALY; LOCAL SCALE; LONGITUDINAL GRADIENT; ORDINATION METHODS; PLANT COMMUNITIES

Document Type: Regular paper

Publication date: 2006-12-01

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• The Belgian Journal of Botany (now known as Plant Ecology and Evolution) is an international journal open to all fields of plant sciences. Please note, however, that papers restricted to purely nomenclatural matters or to floristical data of only local interest will not be accepted. The Journal appears in one volume of two issues per year. It publishes reviews, original research papers, short notes, letters to the editor, and book reviews. Click here for current issues of this journal
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