EPPO Global Database

EPPO Reporting Service no. 11 - 2018 Num. article: 2018/231

Alien plants in Mediterranean wetlands


The Mediterranean region has a high sensitivity to invasions by invasive alien plants due to the biogeographic, climatic and socio-economic conditions of the region.   Within this region, inland wetlands are one of the most invaded habitats and the vulnerability of these habitats is increasing due to anthropogenic pressures.  The present study was located in the western Mediterranean basin and included the Valencian area, the Balearic Islands (Spain) and Sardinia (Italy).   To collect data on the presence of alien plants in wetlands in each region, herbarium data and unpublished field surveys over the last ten years were coupled with data from online databases to prepare a check list for each region.  In total, 380 alien plants from 89 families were recorded from wetlands in the region with the Valencian area containing the largest number of species (312) followed by the Balearic Islands (151) and Sardinia (134).  Invasive alien plant species comprised 77 species and 9 of these were common to all three areas (Table 1).


Table 1. Nine invasive alien plants common to wetlands in Valencian area, Balearic Islands and Sardinia


Species

Family

EPPO List

Native range

Ailanthus altissima

Simaroubaceae

Invasive Alien Plants

Asia

Arundo donax

Poaceae


Asia

Cortaderia selloana

Poaceae

Invasive Alien Plants

South America

Oxalis pes-caprae

Oxalidaceae

Invasive Alien Plants

South Africa

Symphyotrichum squamatum

Asteraceae


Central/South America

Cyperus involucratus

Cyperaceae


Asia

Ricinus communis

Euphorbiaceae


Africa

Mirabilis jalapa

Nyctaginaceae


North & Central America

Eichhornia crassipes

Pontederiaceae

A2 List

South America



Sources

Mayoral O, Mascia F, Podda L, Laguna E, Fraga P, Rita J, Frigau L, Bacchetta G (2018) Alien plant diversity in Mediterranean wetlands: a comparative study within Valencian, Balearic and Sardinian floras. Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici. DOI: 10.15835/nbha46210470.