In: Phyton, 52 Fasc. 1 (2012), S. 39-72, with 5 figures

Keywords: Lindernia dubia, Lindernia procumbens, Linderniaceae, Antirrhinaceae, Scrophulariaceae s. l. – Fishpond management, neophyte, seed bank, seed dispersal, threatened species, wetland vegetation. – Flora of the Czech Republic.

Summary

ŠUMBEROVÁ K., LOSOSOVÁ Z., DUCHÁCEK M., HORÁKOVÁ V. & FABŠICOVÁ M. 2012. Distri-bution, habitat ecology, soil seed bank and seed dispersal of threatened Lindernia procumbens and alien Lindernia dubia (Antirrhinaceae) in the Czech Republic. – Phyton (Horn, Austria) 52 (1): 39–72, with 5 figures.


Using recent data on wetland flora, vegetation, soil seed bank and seed dispersal, gathered in various parts of the Czech Republic, we compared the distribution and ecology of two wetland an-nuals, the native and threatened Lindernia procumbens (KOCKER) PHILCOX and the alien L. dubia (L.) PENNELL. While L. procumbens was documented in 16 localities in the Czech Republic, L. dubia only occurred in 9. The size of well-established populations of L. dubia, amounting to thousands of individuals, is, however, much larger than that of L. procumbens populations. Large differences in the population size of both species are also reflected in the density of the soil seed bank and the seed dispersal potential. We found that the alien L. dubia is able to colonize habitats with a broader range of moisture conditions and a longer duration of substrate exposure, i.e. with a higher cover of perennial plants. For L. procumbens, large inter-annual fluctuations in the size of populations are typical, as well as the preference for habitats with a short summer drainage. Both species survive unsuitable climatic or habitat conditions in the soil seed bank. Three populations of L. procumbens were only found due to the seed bank analysis because this species did not occur in the vegetation of the studied ponds. We found that small seeds of both Lindernia species can be spread by water and on rubber boots. For L. dubia, we also confirmed seed dispersal via vehicles used in fish farming. Source populations in fish storage ponds can help the survival of threatened L. procumbens in fishpond areas, but they also drive the invasion of neophyte L. dubia.