Riparian and aquatic vegetation in Mediterranean-type streams (western Iberia)

Abstract

Floral composition and structural patterns displayed by the aquatic and riparian vegetation in Mediterranean-type streams show distinctive features when compared to mesic fluvial systems. In this paper we sum up two decades of studies on the ecology of riparian and aquatic vegetation in western Iberia (Portugal). We present results concerning the structural patterns of the riparian woody vegetation, its variation in space and time, and its role in fluvial processes. We give an overall description and ecological appraisal of the riparian and aquatic flora and its complex relationships with abiotic drivers from both the river corridor and the drainage basin. We also describe our observations of floral disturbances derived both from natural and human causes. We have taken various approaches to assessing ecological quality using river plants, and these are also reviewed. The overall results obtained in these last twenty years are discussed as a contribution to future research needs.