Dear Colleagues,

The importance of freshwater and different inland aquatic ecosystems is becoming increasingly clear, and species living in these habitats are often threatened by human impact. Indeed, we sometimes witness the destruction of important wetlands or aquatic biotopes before we are able to appreciate their flora.

In addition, aquatic flora is often poorly known, probably because most “classic” botanists often stop at the edge of the land/water border.

The aim of this Special Issue is to invite people studying the aquatic plants (and charophytes) of inland waters to contribute to building a better knowledge base of these ecosystems, with basic research (involving taxonomy or ecology) or applied research (involving the management of aquatic plants, or their use in assessing the quality of water or the quality of the environment), with a special focus on floating and submersed macrophytes (i.e., hydrophytes). Invasive alien aquatic species, of course, are also a possible subject.

Dr. Angelo Troia
Guest Editor

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•  macrophytes
•  hydrophytes
•  charophytes
•  wetlands
•  aquatic habitats
•  aquatic plants
•  biogeography
•  plant conservation
•  plant ecology
•  plant dispersal
•  plant distribution

• Macrophytes in Inland Waters: From Knowledge to Management in Plants (12 articles)

Title: Biodiversity, ecology and distribution of Mediterranean Charophytes in southern Italy
Authors: Alessandro Bellino and Daniela Baldantoni
Affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biology “Adolfo Zambelli”, University of Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II, 132, Fisciano, 84084, Salerno, Italy
Abstract: Charophytes are amongst the most endangered primary producers in freshwater and coastal ecosystems. In spite of the extensive researches on the group and its ecological and conservational relevance, still scarce information is available on Mediterranean environments, especially rivers and small water reservoirs, where Charophytes face challenging summer drought and changes in hydrological regimes, as well as pervasive anthropogenic pressures. The research aimed, through 3 years of field observations, detailed analyses of populations traits and extensive characterization of the colonized environments, to foster the understanding of the distribution, biodiversity and ecology of Charophytes from an area of exceptional environmental value and still uninvestigated in relation to its Charophyte flora, the southern Campania region (Italy). Overall, 17 populations were discovered, belonging to 4 taxa of the Chara genus, C. globularis, C. gymnophylla, C. vulgaris and C. vulgaris var. papillata, reduced to 12 populations and to the first 3 taxa at the end of the study. Species occupied different ecological niches and colonized environments such as rivers and small ponds, with environment-dependent morphotypes. The occurrence of few taxa with wide distribution, with concerning meta-population dynamics, suggests ongoing constraints on Charophyte biodiversity in the area, favoring opportunistic species able to benefit from temporary refugia.