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The vegetation of the Special Reserve Mali Ston Bay, south Dalmatia, Croatia

The Mali Ston Bay is enclosed by the Pelješac Peninsula and the mainland in the South Croatia, the southeastern Adriatic coast. It is 21 km long and has a maximum breadth of 2.2 km. The Bay was declared by Croatian Government as a Special Natural Reserve in 1983. The surface area of the Reserve is 48.4 km2, and reaches the maximum altitude of 471 m a.s.l. A small area is occupied by 24 islets with range of their surfaces from 190 m2 to 25 ha. The maximum sea depth is 28 m. As a part of the Pelješac Peninsula, the Bay belongs to a Important Plant Areas (IPAs) in Croatia and the NATURA 2000 European Ecological Network important for the conservation of species and habitat types. According to the Bioclimatic Classification of Europe, the Bay belongs to the Mediterranean pluviseason-oceanic bioclimate, and it is located within the lower mesomediterranean belt. The vegetation of the mesoMediterranean Fraxino orni- Quercion ilicis Biondi, Casavecchia et Gigante in Biondi et al. 2013 occupies the largest surface areas in the Mali Ston Bay. This study was based on 21 relevés used from the available literature and 145 vegetation relevés recently collected in the field using Braun-Blanquet approach. The European syntaxonomic framework of the EuroVegChecklist (EVC) was applied. The aim of the study was to provide a first phytosociological description of the plant communities occurring in the Mali Ston Bay, define their syntaxonomic position and importance in the Mediterranean context. Altogether, 36 plant associations, two subassociations, and two stands were identified and classified within 23 alliances, 22 orders, and 20 vegetation classes. Ruderal and weed plant communities, i.e., those that have not yet been sufficiently investigated in the coastal part of Croatia, were also included in the survey. For more practical point of view, ecological stability of the Mali Ston Bay mainland is a prerequisite for development and successful economic activities related to the shellfish farming. Anyway, tability is greater if the catchment area is covered by forest cover. Urbanization of the area and ncreased activity on the mainland increase the risk of import alien species which might change the current structure of both the terrestrial and marine communities. From a merely scientific standpoint, comparable research of all islets will be required (only three were fully investigated) for a more complete understanding and a rational management of this complex system and important regional resource.

Mediterranean climate ; numerical analysis ; syntaxonomy ; phytosociological relevés ; Quercetea ilicis ; vegetation diversity

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