Climate Change and Wetland Ecosystems: The Effects on Halophilous Vegetation Diversity in Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk Natura 2000 Site (Malta)

Gianmarco Tavilla (), Arthur Lamoliere, James Gabarretta, Vincent Attard, Jonathan Henwood, Darrin T. Stevens, Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo, Pietro Minissale, Veronica Ranno, Maria Adamo, Valeria Tomaselli, Saverio Sciandrello and Sandro Lanfranco
Additional contact information
Gianmarco Tavilla: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Arthur Lamoliere: Institute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
James Gabarretta: Nature Trust-FEE Malta, Wied Ghollieqa Environment Centre, Lower Level, Car Park 1, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
Vincent Attard: Nature Trust-FEE Malta, Wied Ghollieqa Environment Centre, Lower Level, Car Park 1, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta
Jonathan Henwood: Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), MRS 1441, Marsa, Malta
Darrin T. Stevens: Environment and Resources Authority (ERA), MRS 1441, Marsa, Malta
Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Pietro Minissale: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Veronica Ranno: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Maria Adamo: National Research Council of Italy, Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (CNR-IIA), c/o Interateneo Physics Department, 70125 Bari, Italy
Valeria Tomaselli: Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”, 70125 Bari, Italy
Saverio Sciandrello: Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
Sandro Lanfranco: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Climate change poses a fundamental threat to the wetlands. The Mediterranean basin is a biodiversity hotspot, and wetlands are important for maintaining this status. The current study evaluated the halophilous vegetation diversity of one of the most relevant Maltese wetlands, Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk Natura 2000 site, also identified under the Water Framework Directive. A vegetation analysis was carried out according to the Braun–Blanquet approach. The processed dataset included both data from the literature and unpublished data. To quantify vegetation structure and diversity, a hierarchical classification (Chord distance; Ward linkage) and diversity and ecological indices were performed. Diachronic analysis of the taxonomic diversity indices and the Ellenberg indicator values were taken into account. We used an NMDS analysis to assess the ecological fingerprint of the vegetation. In addition, we provided an actual vegetation map for Il-Ballut ta’ Marsaxlokk, based on drone orthophotos. We identified five EU Directive habitats in the study area (1150*, 1310, 1410, 1420, and 92D0) of which one (1150*) was reported for the first time. The ecological fingerprint of the halophilous vegetation has undergone changes over time, particularly due to increasing temperatures. In fact, the results showed that nutrients and temperature were the strongest environmental drivers of the site. The results and methodology of this study demonstrate how vegetation studies can serve as tools to improve knowledge, management actions, and landscape planning of Natura 2000 sites.

Keywords: diversity indices; drone monitoring; Ellenberg indicator values; habitat directive; island; landscape resilience; Mediterranean; phytosociology; salt marsh; vascular flora (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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