Comparison of recent vegetation and diaspore banks along abiotic gradients in brackish coastal lagoons

Abstract

Submerged vegetation and diaspore banks were investigated in three shallow brackish lagoons along the German southern Baltic Sea coast. The distribution of vegetation and diaspores was analysed at three depths (0.5, 1.0, 1.5 m) on three transects in each lagoon along salinity and nutrient gradients. Thirteen taxa of submerged vegetation were identified in three lagoons: 8 angiosperms and 5 charophytes. The diaspore analysis yielded 11 taxa of submerged diaspore types: 7 angiosperm taxa and 4 charophyte taxa groups. Salinity and nutrient gradients are the key factors governing the distribution of the vegetation and diaspore banks here. Statistical analysis (SIMPER) of vegetation and diaspore bank show differences in dissimilarities, i.e. Bray-Curtis similarities subtracted from 100, between the lagoon parts and between the lagoons. These differences increased with increasing intensity of the salinity and nutrient gradients. We argue that the diaspore bank reflects the former vegetation gradients shaped primarily by salinity gradients, whereas the present vegetation gradients are more affected by eutrophication. Vegetation surveys and diaspore bank analyses therefore supplement each other, and their combined use provides insight into former as well as recent gradients in the vegetation and the factors governing these gradients.