Abstract
The major environmental gradients underlying plant species distribution were outlined in two climatically and bio-geographically contrasting mires: a Swedish bog in the boreo-nemoral zone, and an Italian bog in the south-eastern Alps. Data on mire morphology, surface hydrology, floristic composition, peat chemistry and pore-water chemistry were collected along transects from the mire margin (i.e., the outer portion of the mire in contact with the surrounding mineral soil) towards the mire expanse (i.e., the inner portion of the mire). The delimitation and the extent of the minerotrophic mire margin were related to the steepness of the lateral mire slope which, in turns, controls the direction of surface water flow. The mineral soil water limit was mirrored in geochemical variables such as pH, alkalinity, Ca2+, Mg2+, Al3+, Mn2+, and SiO2 concentrations in pore-water, as well as Ca, Al, Fe, N and P contents in surface peat. Depending on regional requirements of plant species, different species were useful as fen limit indicators at the two sites. The main environmental factors affecting distribution of habitat types and plant species in the two mires were the acidity-alkalinity gradient, and the gradient in depth to the water table. The mire margin – mire expanse gradient corresponds to a complex gradient mainly reflected in a differentiation of vegetation structure in relation to the aeration of the peat substrate.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
R. Aerts J.T.A. Verhoeven D.F. Whigham (1999) ArticleTitlePlant mediated controls on nutrient cycling in temperate fens and bogs Ecology 80 2170–2181
R. Alber R. Bragazza L.and Gerdol (1996) ArticleTitleEin Beitrag zur Moortypologie am südlichen Rand des Sphagnum-Moorareals in Europa Phyton (Horn, Austria) 36 107–125
S.E. Allen (1989) Chemical Analysis of Ecological Materials Blackwell Scientific Publication, OxfordUK
H. Almquist-Jacobson D.R. Foster (1995) ArticleTitleToward an integrated model for raised-bog development: theory and field evidence Ecology 76 2503–2516
M. Austin T. Smith (1989) ArticleTitleA new model for continuum concept Vegetatio 83 35–47
B.L. Bedford M.R. Walbridge A. Aldous (1999) ArticleTitlePatterns in nutrient availability and plant diversity of temperate North American wetlands Ecology 80 2151–2169
R.J. Belland D.H. Vitt (1994) ArticleTitleBryophyte vegetation patterns along the environmental gradients in continental bogs Ecoscience 2 395–407
L. Bragazza (1997) ArticleTitleSphagnum niche diversification in two oligotrophic mires in the southern Alps of Italy Bryologist 100 499–515
L. Bragazza R. Gerdol (1999) ArticleTitleEcological gradients in some Sphagnum mires in the southeaster Alps (Italy) Applied Vegetation Science 2 55–60
L. Bragazza R. Gerdol (2002) ArticleTitleDoes the gradient in nutrient availability coincide with the acidity-alkalinity gradient in Sphagnum-dominated peatlands? Journal of Vegetation Science 13 473–482
L. Bragazza R. Gerdol H. Rydin (2003) ArticleTitleEffects of mineral and nutrient input on mire bio-geochemistry in two geographical regions Journal of Ecology 9 417–426
S.D. Bridgham J. Pastor J.A. Janssens C. Chapin T.J. Malterer (1996) ArticleTitleMultiple limiting gradients in peatlands: a call for a new paradigm Wetlands 16 45–65
C. Chagué-Goff W.S. Fyfe (1996) ArticleTitleGeochemical and petrographical characteristics of a domed bog, Nova Scotia: a modern analogue for temperate coal deposits Organic Geochemistry 24 141–158
R.S. Clymo P.M. Hayward (1982) The ecology of Sphagnum. A.J.E. Smith (Eds) Bryophyte Ecology Chapman and Hall London, Great Britain 229–289
D.J. Cooper E. Andrus R. (1994) ArticleTitlePatterns of vegetation and water chemistry in peatlands of the west-central Wind River RangeWyoming, U.S.A Canadian Journal of Botany 72 1586–1597
A.W.H. Damman (1995) ArticleTitleMajor mire vegetation units in relation to the concepts of ombrotrophy and minerotrophy: a worldwide perspective Gunneria 70 23–34
G.E. Du Rietz (1949) ArticleTitleHuvudenheter och huvudgränser i svensk myrvegetation Svensk Botanisk Tidskrift 43 274–309
Du Rietz G. E. 1950. Phytogeographical excursion to the Ryggmossen mire near Uppsala. Excursion guide A II b3. July 10, 1950. Seventh International Botanical Congress, Stockholm, Sweden.
E. Du Rietz G. (1954) ArticleTitleDie Mineralbodenwasserzeigergrenze als Grundlage einer natürlichen Zweigliederung der nord- und mitteleuropäischen Moore Vegetatio 5-6 571–585
F. Fliri (1975) Das klima der Alpen im raume von Tirol Universitätsverlag Wagner Innsbruck, Austria
J.P. Frahm W. Frey (1987) Moosflora Ulmer StuttgartGermany
R. Gerdol (1995) ArticleTitleCommunity and species-performance patterns along an alpine poor-rich mire gradient Journal of Vegetation Science 6 175–182
L.D. Gignac D.H. Vitt (1990) ArticleTitleHabitat limitations of Sphagnum along climatic, chemical and physical gradients Bryologist 93 7–22
P.H. Glaser J.A. Janssens D.I. Siegel (1990) ArticleTitleThe response of vegetation to chemical and hydrological gradients in the Lost River peatlandNorthern Minnesota Journal of Ecology 78 1021–1048
H. Glaser P. (1992) ArticleTitleRaised bogs in eastern North America – regional controls for species richness and floristic assemblages Journal of Ecology 80 535–554
H. Glaser P. D.I. Siegel E.A. Romanowicz Y.P. Shen (1997) ArticleTitleRegional linkages between raised bogs and climategroundwaterand landscape of north-western Minnesota Journal of Ecology 85 3–16
E. Gorham (1950) ArticleTitleVariation in some chemical conditions along the borders of a Carex lasiocarpa fen community Oikos 2 217–240
E. Gorham (1957) ArticleTitleDevelopment of peatlands Quaternary Review of Biology 32 145–166
E. Gorham S.J. Eisenreich J. Ford M.V. Santelman (1985) The chemistry of bog waters W. Stumm (Eds) Chemical Processes in Lakes Wiley New York, NY, USA
G. Gran (1952) ArticleTitleDetermination of the equivalence point in potentiometric titration Analyst 77 661–671
L. Heikurainen J. Päivänen J.and Sarasto (1964) ArticleTitleGround-water table and water content in peat soil Acta Forestalia Fennica 77 1–18
M.L. Heinselman (1970) ArticleTitleLandscape evolution, peatland types, and the environment in the Lake Agassiz Peatlands Natural AreaMinnesota Ecological Monographs 33 236–261
M.R. Hoosbeek N. van Breemen H. Vasander A. Buttler F. Berendse (2002) ArticleTitlePotassium limits potential growth of bog vegetation under elevated atmospheric CO2N deposition Global Change Biology 8 1130–138
H.A.P. Ingram (1982) ArticleTitleSize and shape in raised mire ecosystems: a geophysical model Nature 297 300–303
N. Malmer (1962) ArticleTitleStudies on mire vegetation in the Archaean area of southwestern Götaland (south Sweden) I. Vegetation and habitat conditions on the Åkhult mire. Opera Botanica 7 1–322
N. Malmer (1986) ArticleTitleVegetational gradients in relation to environmental conditions in north-western European mires Canadian Journal of Botany 64 375–383
N. Malmer D.G. Horton D.H. Vitt (1992) ArticleTitleElement concentrations in mosses and surface waters of western Canadian mires relative to precipitation chemistry and hydrology Ecography 15 114–128
W.J. Mitsch J.G. Gosselink (2000) Wetlands John Wiley New York, USA
S.F. Mullen J.A. Janssens E. Gorham (2000) ArticleTitleAcidity of and the concentrations of major and minor metals in the surface waters of bryophytes assemblages from 20 North America bogs and fens Canadian Journal of Botany 78 718–727
R.H. Økland T. Økland K. Rydgren (2001) ArticleTitleA Scandinavian perspective on ecological gradients in north-west European mires: reply to Wheeler and Proctor Journal of Ecology 89 481–486
S. Pignatti (1982) Flora d’Italia Edagricole Bologna, Italia
F. Proctor M.C. (1994) ArticleTitleSeasonal and shorter-term changes in surface-water chemistry on four English ombrogenous bogs Journal of Ecology 82 597–610
M.C.F. Proctor (1995) The ombrogenous bog environment. B. Wheeler S. Shaw R. Fojt R. Robertson (Eds) Restoration of Temperate Wetlands John Wiley ChichesterUK
A.S. Reeve D.I. Siegel P.H. Glaser (1996) ArticleTitleGeochemical controls on peatland pore-water from the Hudson Bay Lowland: a multivariate statistical approach Journal of Ecology 181 285–304
H. Rydin A.J.S. McDonald (1985) ArticleTitleTolerance of Sphagnum to water level Journal of Bryology 13 571–578
H. Rydin H. Sjörs M. Löfroth (1999) ArticleTitleMires Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 84 91–112
M.V. Santelmann (1991) ArticleTitleInfluences on the distribution of Carex exilis: an experimental approach Ecology 72 2025–2037
G.R. Shaver M. Melillo (1984) ArticleTitleNutrient budgets of marsh plants: efficiency concepts and relation to availability Ecology 65 1491–1510
W. Shotyk (1988) ArticleTitleReview of the inorganic geochemistry of peats and peatland waters Earth Science Review 25 95–176
W. Shotyk (1996) ArticleTitlePeat bog archives of atmospheric metal deposition: geochemical evaluation of peat profiles, natural variations in metal concentrations, and metal enrichment factors Environmental Review 4 149–183
H. Sjörs (1948) ArticleTitleMyrvegetation i Bergslagen Acta Phytogeographica Suecica 21 1–299
H. Sjörs (1952) ArticleTitleOn the relation between vegetation and electrolytes in north Swedish mire waters Oikos 2 241–258
H. Sjörs U. Gunnarsson (2002) ArticleTitleCalcium and pH in north and central Swedish mire waters Journal of Ecology 90 650–657
InstitutionalAuthorNameSMHI (1998) Väder och vatten Nordköpping Sweden
L. Söderström L. Hedenäs (1998) ArticleTitleChecklista över Sveriges mossor Myrinia 8 58–90
InstitutionalAuthorNameStatistica (2002) StatSoft Inc Tulsa OklahomaUSA
R.J. Summerfield (1972) ArticleTitleBiological inertia: an example Journal of Ecology 60 793–798
T. Tahvanainen T. Sallantaus R. Heikkilä K. Tolonen (2002) ArticleTitleSpatial variation of mire surface water chemistry and vegetation in north-eastern Finland Annales Botanici Fennici 39 235–251
D. Tait B. Thaler (2000) ArticleTitleAtmospheric deposition and lake chemistry at a high mountain site in the eastern Alps Journal of Limnology 59 61–71
C.J.F. ter Braak P. Smilauer (1998) CANOCO reference manual and user’s guide to Canoco for Windows: software for canonical ordination (version 4) Microcomputer Power IthacaNY, USA
Thunmark S. 1942. Uber rezente Eisenocker und ihre Mikroorganismengemeinschafte. Bullettin of the Geological Institute of Uppsala, 29.
T.G. Tutin V.H. Heywood N.A. Burges D.M. Moore D.H. Valentine S.M. Walters A. Webb (1964–1980) Flora EuropaeaVoll I −V Cambridge University Press UK
N.R. Urban S.J. Eisenreich (1988) ArticleTitleNitrogen cycling in a forested Minnesota bog Canadian Journal of Botany 66 435–449
D.H. Vitt L. Chee W. (1990) ArticleTitleThe relationships of vegetation to surface water chemistry and peat chemistry in fens of AlbertaCanada Vegetatio 89 87–106
D.H. Vitt S.E. Bayley T.L. Jin (1995) ArticleTitleSeasonal variation in water chemistry over a bog-rich fen gradient in Continental Western Canada Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 52 587–606
G. Vivian-Smith (1997) ArticleTitleMicrotopographic heterogeneity and floristic in experimental wetland communities Journal of Ecology 85 71–82
D.J. Wagner J.E. Titus (1984) ArticleTitleComparative desiccation tolerance of two Sphagnum mosses Oecologia 62 182–187
R. Wagner (1969) ArticleTitleNeue Aspekte zur Stickstoffanalytik in der Wasserchemie Vom Wasser 36 263–318
G.J. Waughman (1980) ArticleTitleChemical aspects of the ecology of some south German peatlands Journal of Ecology 68 1025–1046
E.D. Wells (1996) ArticleTitleClassification of peatland vegetation in Atlantic Canada Journal of Vegetation Science 7 847–878
B.D. Wheeler M.C.F. Proctor (2000) ArticleTitleEcological gradients, subdivision and terminology of north-west European mires Journal of Ecology 88 187–203
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bragazza, L., Rydin, H. & Gerdol, R. Multiple gradients in mire vegetation: a comparison of a Swedish and an Italian bog. Plant Ecol 177, 223–236 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-2182-2
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-2182-2