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Quantifying plant species diversity in coastal dunes: a piece of help from spatially constrained rarefaction

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Abstract

Since coastal dunes are one of the most vulnerable landscapes in Europe, their maintenance requires specific conservation and monitoring programmes. In this paper, the coastal dune systems of two natural parks located in central Italy were analyzed aiming at: (1) assessing diversity patterns of all vascular species, endemic and alien taxa in plant communities along the coast-to-inland gradient; (2) comparing these patterns between coastal sections characterized by different dynamical processes (accreting, stable and erosive coasts); and (3) testing the differences induced by the methodological approach used to characterize these patterns. Twenty-one transects were randomly positioned perpendicular to the shoreline in the whole coastal area (30 km in length), and the full spectrum of plant communities was sampled. Patterns of plant diversity were assessed using spatially explicit methods, namely spatial constrained rarefaction (SCR), able to avoid the confounding effect of spatial autocorrelation. The results show that species richness varied significantly between plant communities along the coast-to-inland gradient with the highest values at the level of mobile dunes and transition dunes. Species richness was significantly higher in stable coastal dunes than those found in accreting and in erosive dunes. In fact, sand dynamics (accumulation as well as erosion) create periodic vegetation disturbances affecting composition variability and succession. The SCR methodology avoided overestimation of species richness when compared to classical rarefaction curves. Our findings pinpointed that coastal plant communities create a highly spatially structured mosaic in which mobile dunes represent the highest compositional heterogeneity. Local managers are encouraged to consider these results for planning adequate conservation strategies.

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Abbreviations

SCR:

spatially constrained rarefaction

MSRM:

Migliarino San Rossore Massaciuccoli Regional Park

MP:

Maremma Regional Park

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli Regional Park and the Maremma Regional Park for permission to conduct this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Luca Ghini 13, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Daniela Ciccarelli

  2. Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Via L. Girgieri 10, 34127, Trieste, Italy

    Giovanni Bacaro

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  1. Daniela Ciccarelli
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  2. Giovanni Bacaro
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Correspondence to Daniela Ciccarelli.

Additional information

Nomenclature

Checklist of the Italian vascular flora (Conti et al. 2005, 2007) for plant species.

Appendix 1

Appendix 1

Floristic List of the Vascular Species, in Alphabetical Order, Found in All Transects. Information on the Status of Alien Species, Endemic or Red List Species Followed Rossi et al. (2013) and Ciccarelli et al. (2014).

Achillea maritima (L.) Ehrend. & Y.P.Guo subsp. maritima

Ammophila arenaria (L.) Link subsp. australis (Mabille) Laínz

Anthemis maritima L.

Arundo donax L. [alien species]

Avena sterilis L. s.l.

Briza maxima L.

Bromus sterilis L.

Cakile maritima Scop. subsp. maritima

Calystegia soldanella (L.) Roem. & Schult.

Catapodium balearicum (Willk.) H. Scholz

Cerastium ligusticum Viv.

Chamaesyce peplis (L.) Prokh.

Crucianella maritima L.

Cuscuta scandens Brot. subsp. cesattiana (Bertol.) Greuter & Burdet [alien species]

Cutandia maritima (L.) Barbey

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.

Daphne gnidium L.

Dittrichia viscosa (L.) Greuter s.l.

Echinophora spinosa L.

Elaeagnus angustifolia L. [alien species]

Elymus farctus (Viv.) Runemark ex Melderis subsp. farctus

Erigeron canadensis L. [alien species]

Eryngium maritimum L.

Euphorbia paralias L.

Helichrysum stoechas (L.) Moench

Hypochaeris radicata L.

Juniperus oxycedrus L. subsp. macrocarpa (Sibth. & Sm.) Neilr.

Lagurus ovatus L. s.l.

Limbarda crithmoides (L.) Dumort. s.l.

Lolium rigidum Gaudin s.l.

Lotus hirsutus L.

Matthiola sinuata (L.) R. Br.

Medicago littoralis Loisel.

M. marina L.

Odontites luteus (L.) Clairv.

Oenothera biennis L. [alien species]

Ononis variegata L.

Pancratium maritimum L.

Parapholis incurva (L.) C.E. Hubb.

Phleum arenarium L. subsp. caesium H. Scholz

Pinus pinaster Aiton s.l. [dubitative alien species]

Plantago coronopus L. subsp. coronopus

P. arenaria Waldst. & Kit.

Polygonum maritimum L.

Pseudorlaya pumila (L.) Grande

Pycnocomon rutifolium (Vahl) Hoffmanns. & Link

Raphanus raphanistrum L. s.l.

Reichardia picroides (L.) Roth

Rubia peregrina L.

Salsola kali L.

Seseli tortuosum L.

Silene canescens Ten.

S. niceensis All.

S. otites (L.) Wibel s.l.

Smilax aspera L.

Solidago litoralis Savi [endemic, status EN]

Spartina versicolor Fabre

Sporobolus virginicus Kunth

Tamarix gallica L.

Teucrium polium L. subsp. polium

Verbascum sinuatum L.

Vulpia fasciculata (Forssk.) Fritsch

Xanthium orientale L. subsp. italicum (Moretti) Greuter [alien species]

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Ciccarelli, D., Bacaro, G. Quantifying plant species diversity in coastal dunes: a piece of help from spatially constrained rarefaction. Folia Geobot 51, 129–141 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12224-016-9249-9

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