Spatial and temporal variation of community composition and species cover following dune restoration in the Devesa de Albufera (Valencia, Spain).

Plant populations were reintroduced to the coastal dune bar of the Devesa de Albufera from 1988 to 2004; different coastline sections received different species composition and cover. With the aim to detect spatial and temporal variation of floristic diversity, we compared current species composition and cover across the length of the Devesa and across the dune bar with those imposed at the time of restoration. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) detected significant differences both across the dune faces and across the coast sections. Differences across the dune faces reflect the sea-inland ecological gradient and resulted from a spatial rearrangement of plant populations: <i>Calystegia soldanella</i>, <i>Achillea maritima</i> and <i>Polygonum maritimum</i> prefer the windward face; <i>Malcolmia littorea</i> and <i>Lagurus ovatus</i> the leeward. Differences across coast sections are related to those at restoration time, with a slow trend towards the homogenization of plant communities. At the current level of anthropic pressure, the plant cover is likely to evolve following the trends pointed out in this research.

1988至2004年，研究人员将植物种群重新引种至阿尔武费拉德韦萨（Devesa de Albufera）的沿海沙丘带；不同海岸线区段配置了差异化的物种组成与植被盖度方案。本研究以探测植物区系多样性的时空变异为目标，将当前德韦萨全域及沙丘带各段的物种组成与植被盖度，与修复初期设定的基准值进行对比。非度量多维尺度分析（Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling, NMDS）结果显示，沙丘坡面与海岸线区段均存在显著差异。沙丘坡面的差异反映了海洋-内陆的生态梯度，其成因在于植物种群的空间重分布：*Calystegia soldanella*、*Achillea maritima*与*Polygonum maritimum*偏好迎风坡面；*Malcolmia littorea*与*Lagurus ovatus*则更适应背风坡面。海岸线区段的差异与修复初期的设定值相关，植物群落正呈现缓慢的均质化趋势。在当前的人为干扰压力水平下，植被盖度大概率将遵循本研究揭示的趋势进行演替。