Wetlands of southern Europe and North Africa: Mediterranean wetlands

Abstract

Wetlands of the south of Europe and north Africa extend from Bulgaria to the Iberian Peninsula, and from Tunisia to Morocco. The three main environmental factors explaining the distribution of the wetlands are climate, topography and geology, and tides. The authors describe river deltas, coastal lagoons, riverine floodplains, inland freshwater lakes, man-made reservoirs, athalassic salt basins, intertidal systems, permanent river channels, and seasonally-flooded river channels. Factors determining the ecological characteristics of the emergent and submerged vegetation of Mediterranean wetlands are identified and their impacts on the composition of the vegetation are analyzed. Six vegetation categories have been determined: halotypic vegetation, emergent reedswamp communities, riverine forests, dwarf rush communities, and submerged and floating vegetation of freshwater habitats. Invertebrates, fish, birds, and mammals occurring in Mediterranean wetlands are listed and the factors responsible for their presence or absence are analyzed. Most Mediterranean wetlands are overexploited and degraded, and few are protected. Many organisms depending on these wetlands are threatened with extinction. -from Authors