Beloslava Genova1, Nikolay Velev1, Gana Gecheva2, Stoyan Georgiev3, Borislav Grigorov4, Constantin Mardari5, Momchil Nazarov1 and Kiril Vassilev1
1 Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Sofia, Bulgaria,
2 Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Faculty of Biology, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
3 Agricultural Academy, Field Crops Institute, Chirpan, Bulgaria
4 Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia, Bulgaria
5 Anastasie Fătu Botanic Garden Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Iași, Romania
Genova, B., Velev, N., Gecheva, G., Georgiev, G., Grigorov, B., Mardari, C., Nazarov, M. & Vassilev, K. (2024). Syntaxonomy, ecology and distribution of the Potamogeton genus in Bulgaria. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., 30 (Supplement 1), 23–30
The research aims to provide a comprehensive review of the syntaxonomy, ecology and distribution of the Potamogeton communities in Bulgaria. A dataset of 171 relevés, collected across the country according to the Braun-Blanquet approach was analysed. Hierarchical clustering was performed with the PC-ORD software package using the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity and the flexible beta clustering algorithm for classification analyses. The diagnostic species were determined by calculating the Phi-coefficient and only the statistically significant values were considered.
The syntaxonomical diversity is represented by 1 class, 1 order, 2 alliances and 10 associations (Potamogetonetum pusilli*, Potamogetonetum berchtoldii*, Potamogetonetum crispi, Potamogetonetum lucentis, Potamogetonetum natantis, Potamogetonetum nodosi, Potamogetonetum pectinati, Potamogetonetum perfoliati*, Potamogetonetum trichoidis*, Scirpo fluitantis-Potametum polygonifolii*). The most wide-spread associations are Potamogetonetum nodosi and Potamogetonetum natantis. Five associations are recorded for the first time for the territory of the country.