The synanthropisation of vascular plant flora of mires in the coastal zone (Kashubian Coastal Region, N Poland) – range, reasons for, and spatial characteristics

Abstract

The paper deals with symptoms, directions and actual state of anthropic transformation of the flora in various ecological types of peatlands in the coastal zone. The main purpose of the work was to define phases and characteristic features of flora’s change in particular mires types and point the reasons for this process. The research was conducted in eastern part of Polish Baltic Coast (Kashubian Coastal Region). Contemporary flora was recorded in 2000-2004. The floristic list was completed with all data from former research. Chosen features of environment were analysed using topographic and geological maps and aerial photographs. Correlation between flora differentiation and some features of environment were analysed with multivariate analyses (DCA, PCA, RDA,CA) and GIS technique. There were 958 species recorded in the total flora of studied area, 93 among them became locally extinct. The big share in contemporary flora have synanthropic species and plants of wide ecological amplitude. Geographically alien species stand for 24% of nowadays flora. The results show that due to anthropic pressure, coastal raised bogs and fens are presently a mosaic of secondary habitats with very high floristic diversity, however raised bog habitats are more resistant to alien species expansion than fens. Despite deep flora disturbances, such as eurytopisation or allochtonisation, contemporary flora of coastal peatlands still has some characteristic features connected with geology, ecological differentiation and geobotanical location.