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Drivers of plant species composition of ecotonal vegetation in two fishpond management types

Wetlands Ecology and Management volume 29, pages 93–110 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Plants play an important role in fishpond littorals, but little is known about factors influencing their presence and growth patterns. We surveyed vegetation of reed bed and exposed bottom zones in ponds used for rearing of common carp fry (nursery pond) and ongrowing to market size (main pond). Plant species diversity and functional diversity and plant species cover and functional cover were assessed. We found no significant differences in spring and summer surveys. When data of the analysed vegetation zones were combined, nursery and main ponds showed significant differences in plant species diversity and species cover. Analysis of the vegetation zones revealed that (i) regardless of fishpond management type, exposed bottoms and reed beds significantly differed in plant species cover and functional cover; (ii) plant species diversity and species cover of exposed bottom zones differed between nursery and main ponds; and (iii) no assessed characteristics differed significantly between nursery pond reed bed and main pond reed bed zones. Zone width and shoreline slope exerted greatest impact on development of reed beds, whereas fishpond management type and surrounding land use were the most important factors determining vegetation of exposed bottoms. Partial summer drainage supported plant species diversity and functional diversity as well as cover of typical species of reed beds and exposed bottoms in both fishpond types. Our results are applicable to preservation of fishpond biodiversity as well as to the management and conservation of other shallow water bodies.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic under the project PROFISH (CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000869) and CENAKVA (LM2018099), by the Czech Science Foundation projects (14-36079G—Centre of Excellence PLADIAS and 17-09310S); and by the Czech Academy of Sciences (RVO 67985939). The authors thank B. Drozd, R. Gebauer and M. Rutegwa for help with field work, and fish farmers of Rybářství Hluboká CZ s.r.o. and Blatenská ryba s.r.o. Further, we thank the editors and the reviewers for the valuable comments and suggestions on our manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, CENAKVA, Institute of Aquaculture and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Na Sádkách 1780, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Kateřina Francová

  2. Department of Vegetation Ecology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Lidická 25/27, 602 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Kateřina Šumberová

  3. Department of Experimental and Functional Morphology, Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Dukelská 135, 379 82, Třeboň, Czech Republic

    Andrea Kučerová

  4. Faculty of AgriSciences, Mendel University in Brno, Zemědělská 1665/1, 613 00, Brno, Czech Republic

    Michal Šorf

  5. Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice, Branišovská, 1760, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Michal Šorf, Stanislav Grill & Jaroslav Vrba

  6. Institute of Hydrobiology and Aquatic Ecosystem Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Gregor Mendel Straße 33/DG, 1180, Vienna, Austria

    Norbert Exler

  7. Institute of Hydrobiology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Sádkách 702/7, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Vrba

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  1. Kateřina Francová
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  2. Kateřina Šumberová
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Francová, K., Šumberová, K., Kučerová, A. et al. Drivers of plant species composition of ecotonal vegetation in two fishpond management types. Wetlands Ecol Manage 29, 93–110 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-020-09770-9

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Keywords

  • Central Europe
  • Fish farming
  • Land use
  • Reed beds
  • Threatened species
  • Wetland plants