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Wetland Plant Diversity in a Coastal Nature Reserve in Italy: Relationships with Salinization and Eutrophication and Implications for Nature Conservation

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Abstract

Wetlands are important centers of biodiversity. Coastal wetlands are subject to anthropogenic threats that can lead to biodiversity loss and consequent negative effects on nature conservation. We investigated relationships between wetland vegetation and habitat conditions in a coastal Nature Reserve in Northern Italy that has undergone seawater intrusion and eutrophication for several decades. The wetland vegetation in the Nature Reserve consisted of nine communities of hygrophytic and helophytic vegetation and five communities of waterplant vegetation. The hygrophytic and helophytic communities were arranged according to a salinity gradient, from salt-free habitats to strongly saline habitats. The saline habitats had high nutrient levels, due to the influx of nitrate-rich saltwater from an adjacent lagoon. The waterplant communities were all typical of freshwater habitats. Water-table depth and concentration of dissolved nutrients in the water were the main factors structuring waterplant vegetation. The main driver of future changes in the wetland vegetation of the Nature Reserve is the ongoing increase in salinity levels which may enhance expansion of halophilic species and communities, thus outcompeting locally rare freshwater species. If nutrient, especially nitrate, load further increases in the next future, this may exert negative effects on wetland species and communities preferring nutrient-poor habitats.

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Acknowledgements

Prof. Giuseppe Castaldelli provided useful data and comments on nitrate loads. Dr. Roberta Marchesini did the chemical analyses. Mrs. Lorella Dell’Olmo and Dr. Roberta Marchesini assisted in drawing the maps. Mr. Mauro Menghini helped during the field work. All are kindly acknowledged. We wish to thank two anonymous reviewers for constructive criticism on a previous version of the paper. This study was partly financed by a Grant of Ferrara University to RG.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d’Este 32, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Renato Gerdol

  2. Botanical Garden, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I d’Este 32, 44121, Ferrara, Italy

    Lisa Brancaleoni

  3. Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via La Pira 4, 50121, Florence, Italy

    Lorenzo Lastrucci & Daniele Viciani

  4. Carabinieri per la Biodiversità di Punta Marina, Lungomare C. Colombo, 21, 48122, Punta Marina, Ravenna, Italy

    Giovanni Nobili & Michele Ravaglioli

  5. Istituto Comprensivo “Bentivoglio”, Via Salvo D’Acquisto 5/7, 44028, Poggio Renatico, Ferrara, Italy

    Mauro Pellizzari

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  1. Renato Gerdol
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  2. Lisa Brancaleoni
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Correspondence to Renato Gerdol.

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Gerdol, R., Brancaleoni, L., Lastrucci, L. et al. Wetland Plant Diversity in a Coastal Nature Reserve in Italy: Relationships with Salinization and Eutrophication and Implications for Nature Conservation. Estuaries and Coasts 41, 2079–2091 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-018-0396-5

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