Spatial variation of woody riparian vegetation across the riverbank topographic gradient in Mediterranean rivers: species and growth categories

The composition and structure of riparian vegetation are linked to the natural hydrological variability and variation of environmental parameters in several spatial scales. The objective of this study is to determine the relationship between the spatial distribution of the woody riparian vegetation with the variation in the river-bank topographic gradient, verifying whether this variation was significant between species and/or growth categories. Specifically, our research examined the location of the woody species with respect to the thalweg along two reaches of the Jarama River, in Central Spain. The positioning variables of each individual and distance and elevation above the thalweg were evaluated for four growth categories using statistical analysis. This study revealed that the positioning of the species along reaches is not random and differs with the species and growth categories. In addition, pairs and groups of species were specified in the different growth categories using similar positioning patterns with respect to the thalweg. Topographical preference ranges of the riparian species and groups of the Jarama River were also obtained. The integration of data relative to the distribution of species along the topographic gradient can be very useful in identifying species with a preference for specific locations and can also contribute to the success of the measures adopted to restore these frequently highly degraded environments.

FERNANDEZ SANTAMARINA Ana;  MAGDALENO Fernando;  UDIAS MOINELO Angel; 

2016-01-19

WILEY-BLACKWELL

JRC95609

1535-1459,   

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/rra.2983/epdf,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC95609,   

10.1002/rra.2983,