Tall Herb Fringe Vegetation on Banks of Montenegrin Rivers as a Habitat Type of European Importance

Abstract

River valleys are known to be of high natural value; however, they are exposed to a strong human influence. Anthropogenic changes are evident in the structure and species composition of plant assemblages; therefore, vegetation is a very good indicator of the state of the environment. Convolvuletalia sepium tall herb communities are a natural component of riverside vegetation; they are protected in the EU (habitat 6430), yet have been very poorly studied, especially in SE Europe. Information regarding the geographical distribution of these communities, and their floristic composition and threats, along with effective conservation and restoration strategies, remains insufficient; therefore, this study was aimed at a comprehensive investigation of tall herbs. The paper presents results of the first detailed study of this group of communities in Montenegro. Classification of 70 vegetation samples (relevés) using the UPGMA produced six clusters corresponding to plant communities which were included in the Dorycnio recti-Rumicion conglomerati. Two of them were ranked as associations: Mentho longifolii-Pulicarietum dysentericae and Rubo sancti-Eupatorietum cannabini, the latter new to science. Others (communities of Rubus caesius, Rubus caesius-Eupatorium cannabinum, Helianthus ×laetiflorus, and Helianthus tuberosus) were left without a syntaxonomic rank. The ordination analysis with the CANOCO software confirmed the authors’ hypothesis that the variability of the vegetation patches studied was related to the land use type and river size. Relevés taken in watercourses flowing through built-up areas were dominated by invasive alien species (IAS). Vegetation samples taken in heavily flooded areas, along the Zeta, one of the largest rivers surveyed, had a simplified species composition. Studies in Montenegro should be continued. Moreover, comparative studies of the Convolvuletalia sepium communities described in the Mediterranean region are also necessary. Attention is drawn to the overly narrow interpretation of habitat 6430 in the lowlands, as it lacks a representation of Mediterranean tall herbs.