Abstract
River valleys are considered natural corridors for migration of plant species, however, there is a lack of studies confirming higher colonisation rates of plant species in these areas. We compare plant species-richness between ancient and recent forests, and those located in a river valley with those located in the surrounding landscape. We hypothesise that, close to a river, higher plant species-richness will be associated with recent forests thus indicating a higher colonisation rate. The study area includes part of the Elbe River Valley and its surrounding landscape in the Czech Republic. We sampled an equal number of recent and ancient forests but lying at different distances from the river. We used generalised linear models to test the effect of distance from the river in dependence upon forest continuity (recent/ancient forest) on two plant species-richness categories, i.e. richness of forest species and overall species richness. In the surrounding landscape, higher richness of forest species was associated with ancient forests, whereas overall species richness was comparable. In the river valley, richness of forest species as well as overall species richness was higher in the recent forests. Recent forests in the river valley were more saturated by plant species than those in the surrounding landscape, indicating that in the river valley the colonisation rate of plant species is higher. These results confirm the importance of river valleys as natural corridors for migration of plant species.
The Effect of Landscape on the Diversity in Urban Green Areas
