Biodiversity & Ecology

English

Abstract: The database was created to investigate the relationship between species composition, community distribution and physical-chemical parameters in Italian volcanic lakes in order to assess the structural heterogeneity and spatial distribution of these plant communities. We collected data on presence and coverage of macrophyte species in 9 Italian volcanic lakes (Mezzano, Bolsena, Vico, Bracciano, Martignano, Albano, Nemi, Grande di Monticchio and Piccolo di Monticchio) and measured the physical-chemical parameters of the water in each basin. We sampled 170 transects in the lakes. Transects were laid from the shore in a perpendicular direction, down to the maximum depth of macrophyte growth. Our results allowed us to identify the macrophyte communities in Italian volcanic lakes as well as their distribution. The macrophyte species composition of the lakes was found to differ reflecting the influence of environmental factors at two different scales: local (within-lake) and regional (between-lakes). Volcanic lakes are dominated by Chara meadows as deep "limestone lakes" of Central Europe. In high status of conservation three types of Chara community are present at different depth zones. This report describes the available content in the vegetation-plot database Macrophytes of Italian Volcanic Lakes Database (GIVD ID EU-IT-007).