Abstract
Habitat studies were conducted on three rare plant communities dominated by <em>Nuphar pumila</em>, <em>Nymphaea candida </em>and <em>Hydrilla verticillata </em>in lakes of north-eastern Poland. The comparison of habitat properties of these three types of phytocoenoses with those of <em>Nuphar lutea </em>common in the area under study was also performed. It was demonstrated that the plant communities studied were ecologically distinct. The habitats of the phytocoenoses of <em>N. pumila </em>differed most significantly from those of the other phytocoenoses. They often inhabited softer waters poor in Mg<sup>2+</sup>, dissolved SiO<sub>2</sub>, but rich in total Fe, PO<sub>4</sub><sup>3−</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>, and were associated with acidic substrates containing lower levels of Ca2+ and Na+, but greater amounts of total Fe and NO3−. The differences in the habitats of <em>H. verticillata </em>and <em>N. candida </em>phytocoenoses were most pronounced in the case of four properties of water: Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, Cl<sup>−</sup>, and Mg<sup>+</sup>. Their values were lower in waters of the <em>H. verticillata </em>phytocoenoses. The habitats of all the three types of rare phytocoenoses differed considerably from those of <em>N. lutea</em>. The most significant differences were found between the <em>N. lutea </em>and <em>N. pumila </em>phytocoenoses and the smallest differences were between the patches of <em>N. lutea </em>and <em>N. candida</em>. The properties of water were more important in differentiating the habitats of the phytocoenoses studied than the substrate properties. Due to alkalization and increase in water hardness in the lakes studied the stands of <em>N. pumila </em>are among the most threatened. The patches of <em>N. candida </em>and <em>H. verticillata</em>, which occur in waters with a wider range of hardness and tolerating a slight increase in trophy, can still continue to persist in the lakes for a long time.
Highlights
The north-eastern area of Poland (Lithuanian Lake District) is dominated by a postglacial landscape with diverse geological landforms left behind by retreating glaciers
The present work aimed at determining the degree to which they differed with respect to their ecology from the phytocoenoses of N. lutea, which are common in Poland
Studies were conducted on 18 phytocoenoses of N. pumila from 5 lakes, 14 phytocoenoses of H. verticillata from 7 lakes, 30 phytocoenoses of N. candida from 11 lakes and 17 phytocoenoses of N. lutea from 16 lakes
Summary
The north-eastern area of Poland (Lithuanian Lake District) is dominated by a postglacial landscape with diverse geological landforms (terminal moraines, sanders and eskers) left behind by retreating glaciers. These are accompanied by forests and numerous lakes supporting a rich vegetation [1]. In addition an attempt has been made to predict the chances of survival of the phytocoenoses of N. pumila, N. candida and H. verticillata in lakes of the area under study
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