Current and historical diversity and new records of wetland plants in Crete, Greece

摘要

A list of uncommon plants of wet or seasonally moist habitats of Crete is presented (72 vascular plants, 10 bryophytes, 5 charophytes), based on a survey of 50 localities, most of them in western Crete. For each species new records are compiled and precise locality data ire given. For most plant occurrences frequency estimates are provided. Recorded here as new to Crete are Anagallis minima, Callitriche brutia, Myosotis sicula, Chiloscyphus polyanthus, Philonotis calcarea, Chara galioides and Nitella tenuissima. Several records are the first of a taxon in one of the four Cretan prefectures. Continuity and change in the species composition of wetlands are discussed based on comparisons with historical records. Cretan wetlands are currently under threat due to over-exploitation of water resources from springs and streams. Especially coastal marshes are critically endangered as a result of the expansion of urban settlements and tourist resorts, through neglect of traditional grazing and cutting, and due to administrative mismanagement and detrimental agricultural practice.