El marjal Pego-Oliva: evolución temporal de la flora de macroalgas

Abstract

The Marjal Pego-Oliva is one of the most important littoral wetlands of the Spanish Mediterranean slope and functions as a refuge for aquutic plant communities, which are very restricted in distribution, in a Spnnish or even European context. Human settlements have occupied this zone since Bronze Age and nowadays some Roman and Moorish ruins can still be observed. This wetland is located in the area of highest rainfall of all the Autonomous Community of Valencia. The special climatic characteristics of the area explain the presence of species with tropical affinities. Citrics and rice are the main crops of the region. A gradient of salinity can be observed in the wetland from freshwater to saltwater influencing the plant and algal communities living there. The macroalgae diversity is high, although algal communities have never been studied in depth. Macroalgae data obtained in the last twenty years were compared in an attempt to understand changes experienced by the wetland and to improve control measures to protect the area. The wetland is suffering various impacts, despite it being designated as a protected area (i.e. Natural Park). Species richness has clearly been underestimated. This is in part due to the complexity of the system, with a great number of temporary habitats, and partly to the total absence of data available of some algae groups. © Asociación Española de Limnología.