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Analysis of floristical and environmental gradients in the longitudinal profile of the Loire (France). The use of riparian plant species for a biotypological river‐zone classification
Author(s) -
Wisskirchen R.,
Kisteneich S.,
Krause S.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
feddes repertorium
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.24
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1522-239X
pISSN - 0014-8962
DOI - 10.1002/fedr.19981090311
Subject(s) - floristics , riparian zone , willow , abundance (ecology) , geography , ecology , vegetation (pathology) , estuary , riparian forest , environmental science , woodland , hydrology (agriculture) , species richness , habitat , geology , biology , geotechnical engineering , medicine , pathology
The composition of riverbank vegetation at the French Loire was sampled in regular intervals along the longitudinal river profile. Distribution and abundance if 58 selected species of the willow and poplar woodlands, reed beds and adjacent therophyte communities are described from source to estuary. The longitudinal profile of the Loire can be divided by key species groups into four floristically and ecologically defined sections. Their boundaries mainly fall together with changes of water regime characteristics. The connections between species arrangement and major environmental factors (soil and water parameters) are investigated exemplarily for Therophyte communities colonizing riverbanks. The change of species composition (mathematically expressed as “floristic change index”) along the river shows a highly significant monotounous trend and is correlated with changes of pH and electrical conductivity of the soil.