Habitat and growth conditions of the rare Potamogeton hybrids: P. x sparganifolius Least. ex Fr. and P. x nericius hagstr. in the Drawieński National Park

Abstract

The two pondweed taxa, new for the Polish flora, were found in the Drawa River in the Drawieński National Park (north-western Poland). Patches of P. x sparganiifolius started about 400 m below the mouth of the left-bank tributary, the Korytnica River, and ended about 5.5 km further downstream. The population colonized mainly a sandy substrate with varied particle size, moderately deep water, and moderate water flow rate. The patches were very dense and composed nearly exclusively of P. x sparganiifolius. They occurred mainly in the main current of the Drawa, and were up to several dozen metres long. By contrast, P. x nericius was found only in a small creek with stagnant water, at the edge of a patch dominated by P. x sparganiifolius, on a substrate composed of mud and sand, at the depth of 40-60 cm.