Vegetation and ecological characteristics of the northernmost salt marshes of the European continent

• Published in: Nordic journal of botany Vol. 37; no. 7
• Main Authors: Dítě, Daniel, Dítě, Zuzana, Hájková, Petra, Šuvada, Róbert
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.07.2019; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic region; Barents Sea; botanical composition; Brackish water; Caricion glareosae; coastal vegetation; coasts; Composition; Estuaries; Estuarine environments; Finnmark; Flooding; Geomorphology; Gravel; Habitat preferences; Habitats; historical records; latitude; Norway; phytosociology; Plantago maritima; Puccinellion phryganodis; Rivers; salinity; Salt marshes; Sandy soils; soil; Species composition; Vegetation; Barents Sea; Norway; Arctic region
• DOI: 10.1111/njb.02334
• ISSN: 0107-055X

We surveyed 17 locations of salt marshes along the Barents Sea coast in northern Norway (Finnmark, Nordkinnhalvøya and Varangerhalvøya), where 86 phytosociological relevés were recorded and analyzed. Two main vegetation groups were identified: Caricion glareosae and Puccinellion phryganodis, both alliances belonging to the class Juncetea maritimi, order Puccinellietalia phryganodis. The first, Caricion glareosae (upper marshes) is subject to shorter‐term flooding and is saturated by brackish water in river estuaries on sandy or sandy gravel soils. Four units were distinguished: Festuceto‐Caricetum glareosae, Caricetum mackenzie, Caricetum salinae and the Plantago maritima × borealis community. The second group (lower marshes on fine muddy surface, higher salinity, inundated for a longer period directly by the sea) belongs to the alliance Puccinellion phryganodis which encompasses two units: the associations Caricetum subspathaceae and Puccinellietum phryganodis. The floristic composition and habitat preferences of each vegetation cluster are described and our study revealed that there are no significant differences in the vegetation composition of salt marshes beyond the Arctic line and the southern subarctic sites. The observed variations are related to the geomorphology of the sites rather than to their latitude. The comparison of historical records with our recent data demonstrates the great stability of habitat conditions and species composition. The salt marshes studied meet all criteria of good quality and we found no evidence for any threatening trends like those seen in most other habitats in Europe.