Alien plants in Mediterranean wetlands
The Mediterranean region has a high sensitivity to invasions by invasive alien plants due to the biogeographic, climatic and socio-economic conditions of the region. Within this region, inland wetlands are one of the most invaded habitats and the vulnerability of these habitats is increasing due to anthropogenic pressures. The present study was located in the western Mediterranean basin and included the Valencian area, the Balearic Islands (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy). To collect data on the presence of alien plants in wetlands in each region, herbarium data and unpublished field surveys over the last ten years were coupled with data from online databases to prepare a check list for each region. In total, 380 alien plants from 89 families were recorded from wetlands in the region with the Valencian area containing the largest number of species (312) followed by the Balearic Islands (151) and Sardinia (134). Invasive alien plant species comprised 77 species and 9 of these were common to all three areas (Table 1).
Table 1. Nine invasive alien plants common to wetlands in Valencian area, Balearic Islands and Sardinia
Species | Family | EPPO List | Native range |
Ailanthus altissima | Simaroubaceae | Invasive Alien Plants | Asia |
Arundo donax | Poaceae | Asia | |
Cortaderia selloana | Poaceae | Invasive Alien Plants | South America |
Oxalis pes-caprae | Oxalidaceae | Invasive Alien Plants | South Africa |
Symphyotrichum squamatum | Asteraceae | Central/South America | |
Cyperus involucratus | Cyperaceae | Asia | |
Ricinus communis | Euphorbiaceae | Africa | |
Mirabilis jalapa | Nyctaginaceae | North & Central America | |
Eichhornia crassipes | Pontederiaceae | A2 List | South America |
Sources
Mayoral O, Mascia F, Podda L, Laguna E, Fraga P, Rita J, Frigau L, Bacchetta G (2018) Alien plant diversity in Mediterranean wetlands: a comparative study within Valencian, Balearic and Sardinian floras. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici. DOI: 10.15835/nbha46210470.