Alien plants of coastal dune habitats in southern Spain

Distribution of alien species along sand dune plant communities zonation

“…It depends also on the methodology used; some studies mention only species found in vegetation plots (23,57), while others also report the results of floristic surveys (25,28). Nevertheless, the number is low, and differences are present mostly in the cover and frequency of species.…”

“…A different pattern is observed in the Mediterranean, where herbaceous sand dune plant communities are most invaded. In some cases, mobile dunes of the Ammophiletea class (28,57), or transitional dunes of the Crucianelletalia maritimae order (23), are reported to be the most invaded communities. There are contradictory reports of climax vegetation being very invaded (28), or macchia at the end of sand dune zonation, with the least number of aliens species (57).…”

“…In some cases, mobile dunes of the Ammophiletea class (28,57), or transitional dunes of the Crucianelletalia maritimae order (23), are reported to be the most invaded communities. There are contradictory reports of climax vegetation being very invaded (28), or macchia at the end of sand dune zonation, with the least number of aliens species (57). On Velika plaža, shrub vegetation was never present at the distant end of the sand dunes from the sea, and zonation ends with wetland or riparian vegetation (80).…”

“…Nevertheless, it has been shown that in Atlantic dunes (NE Europe), shrub and woody communities are more invaded (26,28). Shrubs are also the predominant aliens in these dunes; Rosa rugosa in particular is known as an invader of dunes in northern Europe (77,78), such as (e.g., Hippophae rhamnoides) in Ireland (20).…”

“…This fact, and constant disturbances (natural and anthropogenic), make sand dunes a good object for the study of alien invasion and a rich body of literature has recently become available (22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28). Sand dunes are one of the most invaded habitats (29) but different habitats along a steep gradient are invaded differently (30).…”