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Determinants of alpha and beta vascular plant diversity in Mediterranean island systems: the Ionian islands, Greece
Author(s) -
Valli AnnaThalassini,
Kougioumoutzis Konstantinos,
Iliadou Eleni,
Panitsa Maria,
Trigas Panayiotis
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
nordic journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.333
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1756-1051
pISSN - 0107-055X
DOI - 10.1111/njb.02156
Subject(s) - archipelago , beta diversity , insular biogeography , mediterranean climate , endemism , ecology , biological dispersal , vascular plant , biology , mediterranean islands , phytogeography , alpha diversity , seed dispersal , species diversity , biogeography , taxon , species richness , demography , sociology , population
The Ionian archipelago is the second largest Greek archipelago after the Aegean, but the factors driving plant species diversity in the Ionian islands are still barely known. We used stepwise multiple regressions to investigate the factors affecting plant species diversity in 17 Ionian islands. Generalized dissimilarity modelling was applied to examine variation in the magnitude and rate of species turnover along environmental gradients, as well as to assess the relative importance of geographical and climatic factors in explaining species turnover. The values of the residuals from the ISAR log 10 ‐transfomed models of native and endemic taxa were used as a measure of island floristic diversity. Area was confirmed to be the most powerful single explanatory predictor of all diversity metrics. Mean annual precipitation and temperature, as well as shortest distance to the nearest island are also significant predictors of vascular plant diversity. The island of Kalamos constitutes an important plant diversity hotspot in the Ionian archipelago. The recent formation of the islands, the close proximity to the mainland source and the relatively low dispersal filtering of the Ionian archipelago has resulted in islands with a flora principally comprising common species and a low proportion of endemics. Small islands keep a key role in conservation of plant priority sites.