Abstract
The Lakes Amvrakia and Ozeros (W. Greece) belong to the western chain of Greek wetlands running along the coast of the Ionian Sea. They are both natural lakes belonging to the Natura 2000, Site of Community Importance (pSCI) and are characterized by high ecological value. Wet meadows are typical habitat types of these wetland ecosystems which are in contact with rural ecosystems which they interact with. Due to the high conservation value of these habitat types, in the framework of this study the flora of the wet meadows was recorded and a floristic analysis concerning chorology, life forms and habitat preferences was made. A total number of 152 taxa was found in the wet meadows of both lakes from which only 47 taxa were common. The families with the greatest number of species were Fabaceae (22 taxa), Asteraceae (14 taxa) and Poaceae (9 taxa) for the wet meadow vegetation of the Lake Amvrakia and Fabaceae, Poaceae (17 and 13 taxa, respectively) for the Lake Ozeros. In both lakes the prevalence of the Therophytes is evident, while the life forms of Chamephytes and Aquatics were absent from the Lake Amvrakia. From the results of the canonical correspondence analysis among species, sampling plots and selected environmental variables, a clear separation between species and sampling plots was found, presenting strong correlation with specific edaphic parameters (pH, CaCO3, EC, , Total N, SOC and ). These edaphic properties, as a result of natural and anthropogenic interventions, seem to play an important role in the wet meadows plant species distribution pattern.
Highlights
Wetlands in the Mediterranean basin are of particular importance from an ecological point of view
Lake Amvrakia is a deep mesotrophic lake (Chalkia et al, 2012), which belongs to the sulphate type, having the highest concentration of sulphates among the Greek lakes (Overbeck et al, 1982; Zacharias et al, 2002), which derive from extensive gypsum sediments especially in its western banks
Flora Field research on the wet meadows of the Lakes Ozeros and Amvrakia revealed a total number of 152 taxa from which one (1) was Pteridophyte and 151 were Spermatophyta belonging to Angiosperma
Summary
Wetlands in the Mediterranean basin are of particular importance from an ecological point of view. They support many animals and plant species of high conservation values while at the same time they offer the opportunity for numerous human activities. They provide a unique habitat for many rare species whose development depends on the seasonal or permanent flooding. The consequent changes in land uses promote an increase in nutrient load causing at the same time a decrease in rare plants in the wetland communities (Ellenberg 1988; Moore et al, 1989). In Greece, a severe degradation took place in Lake Stymfalia during the last decades due to agricultural activities in the surrounding areas (Papastergiadou et al, 2007)
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