Floristic composition in temporary fresh water rockpools

Abstract

A typical landscape feature in the Maltese islands is karstic terrain, where during the wet season (from September/October until April/ May) freshwater rockpools form. These temporary freshwater rockpools are home to a handful of aquatic and amphibious plants which soon die out when the dry season approaches. The objectives of the study were to record the floristic composition of these pools with particular attention to the overall floristic species richness and to the abundance of species and how these may be related to environmental factors. It was found that there are differences in species composition between pools be attributed to, amongst other factors, to their level of isolation. Dissimilarities in species area coverage were correlated with water depth and hydroperiod patterns.