Plant species diversity of the wet meadows under natural and anthropogenic interventions: The case of the Lakes Amvrakia and Ozeros (W. Greece)

The Lakes Amvrakia and Ozeros (W. Greece) belong to the western chain of Greek wetlands running along the coast of the Ionian Sea. They are both natural lakes belonging to the Natura 2000, Site of Community Importance (pSCI) and are characterized by high ecological value. Wet meadows are typical habitat types of these wetland ecosystems which are in contact with rural ecosystems which they interact with. Due to the high conservation value of these habitat types, in the framework of this study the flora of the wet meadows was recorded and a floristic analysis concerning chorology, life forms and habitat preferences was made. A total number of 152 taxa was found in the wet meadows of both lakes from which only 47 taxa were common. The families with the greatest number of species were Fabaceae (22 taxa), Asteraceae (14 taxa) and Poaceae (9 taxa) for the wet meadow vegetation of the Lake Amvrakia and Fabaceae, Poaceae (17 and 13 taxa, respectively) for the Lake Ozeros. In both lakes the prevalence of the Therophytes is evident, while the life forms of Chamephytes and Aquatics were absent from the Lake Amvrakia. From the results of the canonical correspondence analysis among species, sampling plots and selected environmental variables, a clear separation between species and sampling plots was found, presenting strong correlation with specific edaphic parameters (pH, CaCO3, EC, , Total N, SOC and ). These edaphic properties, as a result of natural and anthropogenic interventions, seem to play an important role in the wet meadows plant species distribution pattern.