Rare and endangered plant species and associations in the Moravica river (Serbia)

Abstract

The Moravica is a river in the southeast of Banat (Vojvodina Province, Serbia). This relatively small river is characterised by great floristic richness. A total of 87 taxa were found in the Moravica River. It is a sanctuary for some plant species that are rare and endangered both in Serbia and in Europe. Fifty-five species are on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and forty-five species are on the European Red List of Vascular Plants. Species Acorus calamus L., Alisma gramineum Gmel., Iris pseudacorus L., Marsilea quadrifolia L., Potamogeton fluitans Roth. and Utricularia vulgaris L. are protected or strictly protected by law in Serbia. Some of these rare species form stands of aquatic and semiaquatic vegetation rare both in Banat and in Serbia in general, such as: Lemnetum (minori) - trisulcae Den Hartog 1963, Potametum nodosi Soó (1928) 1960, Segal 1964, Acoreto - Glycerietum aquaticae Slavnić 1956, Rorippo - Oenanthetum (Soó 1927) Lohm. 1950, Pop 1968, and Bolboschoenetum maritimi continentale Soó (1927) 1957 subass. marsiletosum quadrifoliae Ljevnaić-Mašić (2010). Because of its great diversity of flora and vegetation, the Moravica River could be a potential Important Plant Area (IPA) in the future. Unfortunately, strong anthropogenic influence is a threat to this unique flora and vegetation, so appropriate and timely measures for protecting the aquatic ecosystem need to be implemented.

Keywords

• diversity
• flora
• rare and protected plant species
• the Moravica River
• vegetation