The grass vegetation of watercourses as a biodiversity refuge in an agricultural landscape

摘要

The quantitative analysis of the vegetation of watercourses in the agricultural landscape in the Odra valley (Poland) is presented. The quantitative participation of a given species was measured by multiplying the length of watercourse sections by thepercentage cover of the species. A total of 134 km of watercourses was analysed. Of the 164 plant species observed, 22% were grasses, although their quantitative participation was 39%. The most abundant species were Calamgrostis epigejos and then Phragmites australis. The majority of grass species were apophytes, and only 12% were antropophytes. The dominance of native species that form specific semi-natural assemblages in this anthro-pogenically disturbed habitat highlights the potential of riparian vegetation to maintain biodiversity as well as provide ecosystem services in modem agriculturallandscapes.