The specificity of natural habitats of menyanthes trifoliata L. In peat bogs of the central part of eastern Poland

Abstract

Menyanthes trifoliata L. is one of plant species with medicinal properties which are harvested in Poland only from natural stands and at the same time it is a partially protected species. Due to the potential need to grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, an attempt was made to determine the optimal conditions for its growth in natural habitats with no human pressure. The aim of the present study was to determine habitat conditions in natural stands of the species M. trifoliata based on an analysis of selected physico-chemical groundwater factors. The obtained results showed that the following factors might have been important for the numbers and thus the condition of the populations of the species studied: N total , P total , electrolytic conductivity, and pH. To grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, appropriate soil conditions should be created, under which the ranges of concentration values of the determined limiting factors should be within the limits of their mean values found at the sites with the most numerous populations of this species: N total from 4.16 to 27.4 mg ·dm-3 ; P total from 0.93 to 0.14 mg ·dm-3 ; CON from 70.4 to 112 μS·cm-1 ; and pH from 5.23 to 5.55.

Full text

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
- 849 -
APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
THE SPECIFICITY OF NATURAL HABITATS OF MENYANTHES
TRIFOLIATA L. IN PEAT BOGS OF THE CENTRAL PART OF
EASTERN POLAND
SERAFIN, A.1 ‒ POGORZELEC, M.2* ‒ BRONOWICKA-MIELNICZUK, U.3
1Department of General Ecology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin
Leszczyńskiego 58, 20-068 Lublin, Poland
2Department of Hydrobiology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin
Dobrzańskiego 37, 20-262 Lublin, Poland
(phone: +48-81-461-0061 ext.304)
3Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science,
University of Life Sciences in Lublin
Głęboka 28, 20-612 Lublin, Poland
*Corresponding author
e-mail: magdalena.pogorzelec@up.lublin.pl
(Received 14th Jun 2016; accepted 8th Mar 2017)
Abstract. Menyanthes trifoliata L. is one of plant species with medicinal properties which are harvested
in Poland only from natural stands and at the same time it is a partially protected species. Due to the
potential need to grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, an attempt was made to determine the optimal
conditions for its growth in natural habitats with no human pressure. The aim of the present study was to
determine habitat conditions in natural stands of the species M. trifoliata based on an analysis of selected
physico-chemical groundwater factors. The obtained results showed that the following factors might have
been important for the numbers and thus the condition of the populations of the species studied: Ntotal,
Ptotal, electrolytic conductivity, and pH. To grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, appropriate soil conditions
should be created, under which the ranges of concentration values of the determined limiting factors
should be within the limits of their mean values found at the sites with the most numerous populations of
this species: Ntotal from 4.16 to 27.4 mg ·dm-3; Ptotal from 0.93 to 0.14 mg ·dm-3; CON from 70.4 to 112
μS·cm-1; and pH from 5.23 to 5.55.
Keywords: bogbean, peat bog, phytotherapy, groundwater, Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland
Introduction
The latest biochemical research on phytotherapy confirms that natural active
substances exhibit multifaceted effects, have no aggressive impact on the patient’s
body, and provide a full range of readily available vitamins, enzymes, biocatalysts,
immunostimulants as well as micro- and macronutrients (Brinkmann et al., 2007;
Buettner et al., 2009; Oliveira et al., 2012; Senderski, 2015). Due to significantly lower
production costs and the absence of the need to patent this type of products, the use of
herbs is additionally becoming more widespread across the world (Bayles, 2007;
Buettner et al., 2009; Mahmood and Malik, 2012).
The efficacy of phytotherapeutic treatments is primarily associated with the quality of
herbal materials which should meet increasingly higher requirements, in particular those
relating to the content of biologically active substances and the amount of contaminants of
various kinds (Ruzik-Kuklińska, 2010; Seidler-Łożykowska et al., 2015).

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
Where there is no anthropogenic pressure, herbal plants, evolutionarily adapted to
their natural habitats, are characterized by a natural content and proportion of
biologically active components. Therefore, medicinal products manufactured from such
plants according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) optimally fulfil the definition
of a natural plant medicine that complies with the WHO recommendations (Borkowski,
1994; Drozd, 2012).
Hence, harvesting plants from natural habitats with a limited impact of human
activity or from organic crops grown under semi-natural conditions is a major
alternative for securing high-quality herbal raw materials.
If an herbal raw material is harvested from natural stands, there are certain
limitations and restrictions associated with terrain obstacles, applicable legislation in the
case of nature conservation areas, and a relatively small amount of raw material thus
obtained. Organic crops in the case of which the natural values of the physico-chemical
factors of the habitat of a particular species are maintained present an attractive
alternative in this respect, confirmed by scientific research, especially relative to
conventional crops. The evidence of this can be the significantly higher contents of
many biologically active substances, e.g. quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, and luteolin
as well as the following phenolic acids: gallic, chlorogenic, caffeic, ferulic, and sinapic,
in numerous herbal plants (e.g. Melissa officinalis L., Rosmarinus officinalis L., Mentha
arvenis L., Salvia officinalis L.) grown under semi-natural conditions relative to
conventional crops (Kazimierczak et al., 2012). In many cases, a similar relationship
applies to the dry matter content in herbal raw materials obtained from organic crops
(Seidler-Łożykowska et al., 2008; Kazimierczak et al., 2011; Kazimierczak et al., 2012).
Conventional galenic medicines, frequently with a several-century-long tradition of
effective therapeutic use, compounded from herbal ingredients that have been collected
from natural habitats often have an increased content and naturally specific composition
of active substances and hence their multifaceted therapeutic functions depend on
obtaining herbal raw material from wild stands or from organic crops grown under
semi-natural conditions.
Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata L.) is one of plant species with medicinal properties which
are harvested in Poland only from natural stands. This is a perennial plant with a thick
cylindrical rhizome, with nodes and internodes, which belongs to the family Menyanthaceae
(Hewett, 1964; Piękoś-Mirkowa and Mirek, 2006; Balcer-Żbikowska, 2012).
M. trifoliata is native to the northern hemisphere and the temperate circumpolar zone
of Europe, Asia, and North America, growing on the edges of marshes, transition mires
and raised bogs as well as in acidic wet sedge meadows, marshy meadows, and drainage
ditches (Hewett, 1964; Balcer-Żbikowska, 2012).
Leaves of this species gathered during flowering of plants are used as herbal
material; they contain iridoid and secoiridoid glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, phenolic
acids (ferulic, chlorogenic, caffeic, benzoic, salicylic), coumarins, triterpenes, and small
amounts of alkaloids (Kohlmünzer, 2000; Matławska, 2008). Bogbean leaf infusions are
used internally and they cause increased gastric juice secretion, regulate digestive
processes through cholagogic activity, and have toning-up, anti-inflammatory,
antirheumatic, antimigraine, purgative, and antiscorbutic properties (Lewkowicz-
Mosiej, 2003; Balcer-Żbikowska, 2012; Senderski, 2015).
Bogbean is a perennial plant, a hydrophyte belonging to the Holoarctic, circumboreal
element, which prefers cool, wet, acidic, oligotrophic sites with moderate light
conditions on organogenic soils associated with raised bogs or transition mires. As a

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
result of the changes in water relations in many areas (drainage, irrigation), both the
numbers of stands and the number of individuals of this species in these stands are
gradually decreasing (Zarzycki et al. 2002; Balcer-Żbikowska, 2012). On account of
this, the species is partially protected in Poland (the Regulation of the Minister of
Environment of 20 January 2012).
Due to the potential need to grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, an attempt was made
to determine the optimal conditions for its growth in natural stands with no human
pressure. The aim of the study presented in this paper was to determine habitat
conditions based on an analysis of selected abiotic environmental factors in natural
stands of the M. trifoliata population in the Polesie Podlaskie region.
Procedures
This study was conducted in the peat bogs of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland located in
Polesie Podlaskie (Poland). During the first stage of the study, six sites were selected where
the M. trifoliata population occurred and which were located within nature conservation
areas or in their vicinity (Fig. 1). Study areas of 100 m2 (10 m x10 m) each were designated
in the following lake-bog complexes: Lake Bikcze (B), Lake Karaśne (K), Lake Długie (D),
Lake Moszne (M), and the mid-forest bogs Blizionki (BZ) and Dekowina (DK). The study
sites varied in terms of the abundance of the M. trifoliata population, as measured by the
percentage contribution of its individuals to the phytocoenosis.
Figure 1. Location of the study sites in the Polesie Podlaskie region
(B - Bikcze, M - Moszne, K - Karaśne, D - Długie, BZ - Blizionki, DK – Dekowina)
The coordinates were determined for the central part of the stand where the
population occurred (B – N 51o22.771’ E 023o02.588’; K – N 51o25.994’
E 023o06.239’; D – N 51o27.103’ E 023o10.299’; M – N 51o27.612’ E 023o07.251’; BZ
– N 51o25.649’ E 023o04.176’; DK – N 51o26.689’ E 023o31.368’) and soil piezometers
(a 1 m long perforated PVC pipe with a diameter of 10 cm buried in the soil) were
installed there to collect bog water samples.

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
Each year over the period 2011-2013, laboratory analyses of piezometric water
sampled were carried out seven times during the following seasons: spring, summer,
and autumn. The tests were made at the Central Agro-Ecological Laboratory of the
University of Life Sciences in Lublin using certified methods; testing included 14
physico-chemical parameters of the bog water: electrolytic conductivity (CON), pH, the
amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), the content of nitrogen fractions: total
nitrogen (Ntotal), ammonium nitrogen (N-NH4), nitrates (N-NO3), nitrites (N-NO2), and
of phosphorus fractions: total phosphorus (Ptotal), phosphates (P-PO4), as well as the
content of sulfates (S-SO4) and major cations: potassium (K), sodium (Na), calcium
(Ca), and magnesium (Mg).
Additionally, the study of the habitats was complemented by determining the species
composition of the phytocoenoses at the study sites. The Jaccard similarity indices
(Piernik, 2009) were also calculated for all phytocoenoses investigated.
The study results were statistically analyzed using direct ordination methods (RDA).
Environmental variables were selected assuming a correlation factor of >±0.6 between
the variables as the rejection criterion (Zuur et al., 2007).
We decided to apply the square root transformation and standardization on NTotal,
PTotal, and CON and the log(x)+1 (for x>0) transformation on the species. The
redundancy analysis results are visualized in a triplot ordination diagram. All three
explanatory variables explain 68.05 % of the total variation. The first two RDA axes
explain 49.9 % of the total variation in the species data. Due to the lack of normality of
distribution and the heterogeneity of variance across the data sets of the parameters
investigated, the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was employed to compare the
distributions of their values in the particular habitats. R 3.0.2 software (R Core Team
2016) was used for all statistical analyses and the vegan package 2.0-8 (Oksanen et al.,
2016) for multivariate investigations.
Results and discussion
The peat bogs of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lakeland form a characteristic habitat
associated with the variety of the hydrological network, a specific microclimate
corresponding to tundra, and low pressure of human activity. In combination with the
typological diversity of the bogs themselves, these facts determine the possibility of the
occurrence of many plant species that are environmentally valuable and useful to
humans. One of them is the species M. trifoliate, whose therapeutic efficacy has been
confirmed by the tradition of its use and by pharmacological investigations (Hegi, 1926;
Drobnik and Drobnik, 2007; Martz et al., 2009).
During the observations conducted over the period 2011-2013, it was found that the
bogbean population numbers varied depending on the site. Numerous M. trioliata
populations were found in the bog-lake complexes of the lakes Bikcze and Długie (B
and D) as well as in the Dekowina bog (DK), where their percentage contribution to the
phytocoenoses at these study sites was more than 15 %. At the other study sites, the
percentage of M. trifolata in the phytocoenosis was much lower (from 1 % at sites K
and BZ to 2 % at site M).
In each case, the species composition of the phytocoenoses at the study sites was
characterized by the occurrence of species such as Carex rostrata, Equisetum limosum,
Betula pubescens and other herbal plants like Oxycoccus palustris and Comarum

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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
palustre. However, the species similarity index for these phytocoenoses rarely exceeded
0.5, which suggests a high variation of the flora between the habitats studied (Table 1).
Table 1. Values of the Jacckard similarity index between study sites
(B- Bikcze, M- Moszne, K- Karaśne, D- Długie, BZ- Blizionki, DK- Dekowina)
In the case of M. trifoliata and many other medicinal plants, environmental
variability deserves special attention among the factors affecting the content of
bioactive substances and raw material content during plant growth. It is related to the
effects of climatic factors (e.g. sunlight duration, temperature, day length, rainfall) and
edaphic (soil and habitat) factors, i.e. fertility, pH, water relations, soil structure, the
amount of organic matter, or the content of different elements in the soil solution
(Kazimierczak et al., 2010; Senderski, 2015).
Plants occurring in natural habitats with a low impact of anthropogenic pressure are
evolutionarily adapted to the complex of environmental factors that undergo certain small,
constant fluctuations in their intensity in specific climate zones. If their values oscillate
within the limits of ecological tolerance, the physiological homeostasis mechanisms will
allow the plant life strategy to be implemented effectively (Falińska, 2004).
The values of the physico-chemical habitat factors, which were investigated in
groundwater during the period 2011-2013, were supposed to present a fuller picture of
the habitat preferences of the species studied. Unfortunately, due to significant
deviations of single results, the mean values of most of the factors (e.g. Ntotal, Ptotal, S-
SO4, DOC, CON, Na, and Ca) were sometimes outside the range of the normal
distribution of observations, giving a slightly misleading notion of the intensity of a
specific character (Table 2). The ranges of the values of some factors (i.e. Ntotal, Ptotal,
CON, and pH) depending on the site sometimes varied, additionally displaying a broad
amplitude of ecological tolerance of bogbean (Fig. 2).
Table 2. Values of the physico-chemical factors of piezometric water at all
the study sites with preliminary statistical analysis
B-M
0.38
M-D
0.54
D-K
0.54
K-BZ
0.38
BZ-DK
0.33
B-D
0.51
M-K
0.52
D-BZ
0.41
K-DK
0.46
B-K
0.56
M-BZ
0.31
D-DK
0.46
B-BZ
0.34
M-DK
0.43
B-DK
0.46
FACTOR
min
max
median
mean
SD
V%
NTotal
0.05
182.8
7.14
22.56
35.48
157
N-NH4
0.10
5.00
0.21
0.75
1.17
157
N-NO3
0.05
0.12
0.05
0.05
0.01
24
N-NO2
0.10
0.68
0.10
0.15
0.13
89
PTotal
0.04
1.78
0.34
0.42
0.40
96
P-PO4
0.10
4.55
0.10
0.53
0.86
162
S-SO4
0.10
40.19
0.27
2.15
6.70
311
DOC
16.90
84.10
42.54
45.15
18.46
41
CON
32.60
381.30
105.10
129.04
85.06
66
pH
4.62
6.50
5.50
5.61
0.45
8
Na
3.30
249.60
6.70
18.53
43.92
237
K
0.85
9.55
3.16
3.76
2.29
61
Ca
0.96
75.10
17.10
24.26
18.36
76
Mg
0.14
6.03
1.88
2.05
1.34
65

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
Table 3. Mean values of the physico-chemical factors of groundwater at the sites
representative of the occurrence of M. trifoliata over the period 2011-2013
Study site
B (Bikcze)
D (Długie)
FACTOR
mean
median
SD
V%
mean
median
SD
V%
NTotal
27.46
18.62
26.93
98
4.16
3.39
5.09
122
N-NH4
0.76
0.22
1.02
134
0.20
0.20
0.10
51
N-NO3
0.05
0.05
0.01
14
0.05
0.05
0.01
14
N-NO2
0.10
0.10
0.00
4
0.16
0.10
0.17
93
PTotal
0.93
0.65
0.52
56
0.14
0.06
0.11
82
P-PO4
1.40
0.74
1.56
112
0.17
0.10
0.17
101
S-SO2
2.22
0.18
5.05
227
0.85
0.18
1.67
196
DOC
50.43
54.23
17.22
34
28.49
25.95
6.59
23
pH
5.23
5.30
0.28
5
5.55
5.70
0.24
4
CON
70.46
72.20
27.43
39
112.41
107.60
8.48
8
Na
13.82
11.00
12.33
89
11.17
5.00
13.81
124
K
5.64
5.33
2.54
45
2.27
1.60
2.08
92
Ca
7.14
5.18
5.82
82
20.42
17.00
6.88
34
Mg
1.68
0.77
1.61
96
1.73
1.44
0.99
57
Table 4. Values of Kruskal-Wallis test statistics, p – values, and multiple comparison results
for the factor values observed at the particular sites (column I – type of the factor studied;
column II – values derived from the test statistics; column III - p-values; column IV - multiple
comparison results; the sites for which significant differences were found at a significance
level of 0.05 are marked in color; Na, K, Mg, S-SO4, N-NO2, N-NO3 - no significant statistical
differences)
FACTOR
Kruskal-
Wallis χ2
statistics
p-value
Multiple comparison test after Kruskal-Wallis
B-BZ
B-D
B-DK
B-K
B-M
BZ-D
BZ-
DK
BZ-K
BZ-M
D-DK
D-K
D-M
DK-K
DK-
M
K-M
I
II
III
IV
N
21.622
0.0006178
CON
28.913
2.412· 10-5
P
29.73
1.667· 10-5
pH
25.524
0.0001104
N-NH4
17.513
0.003624
P-PO4
27.917
3.778· 10-5
DOC
15.271
0.009267
Ca
17.642
0.003431
Similar value ranges at all the sites investigated were only found for N-NO3 and Na
ions. At study site B, where M. trifoliata occurred in greatest numbers, the parameters
Ntotal, N-NH4, and S-SO4 had much higher mean values compared to the other sites.
However, they were lower than those for study site D, which was also characterized by
a high proportion of the studied species in the phytocoenosis.
The study results also revealed that the concentrations of the tested phosphorus
fractions and K ions were much higher at the study site located on Lake Bikcze relative
to the other sites, whereas the pH, CON as well as Ca and Mg ions had slightly lower

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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
values (see Table 2-4, Fig. 2). In the case of study site D, only the content of Na, Mg,
and N-NO3 ions as well as the pH had similar values to those found for the site on Lake
Bikcze (study site B). Correspondingly lower values of the concentrations in the tested
water samples were also found for Ntotal, N-NH4, Ptotal, P-PO4, S-SO2, K ions, and DOC,
while correspondingly higher values were found for N-NO2, Ca ions, and electrolytic
conductivity (see Table 2-4, Fig. 2).
Figure 2. Distribution of values of the investigated chemical factors of piezometric groundwater
at the study sites in 2011–2013 (The box-and-whisker plots show the distribution of
observations. The bottom and top of the box indicate the first and the third quartiles,
respectively. The horizontal line across the central region of the box represents the median. The
mean value of the data is marked by a filled square. The whiskers are drawn to the most
extreme observations that are located no more than 1.5 times the inter quartile range away
from the box. Any observation not included between the whiskers is plotted as an outlier with an
circle. When there are no outliers, the whiskers indicate the minimum and maximum values. The
abbreviations of the selected study sites are used to label tick marks on the x -horizontal axis.
The x axis label provides the p-value derived from the Kruskal-Wallis test)
The high contribution of M. trifoliata to the phytocoenoses at study sites B and D
allows us to consider the set of the values of the investigated physico-chemical factors
of the habitat in this location to be appropriate for the growth and development of the
species in question (see Table 2).

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
A more in-depth statistical analysis gives more complete information on the habitat
relationships with regard to the physico-chemical parameters. An analysis was
conducted of the variation in the distribution of the values of the investigated factors at
the particular sites based on the Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple comparisons at a
significance level of 0.05 (Table 4).
Statistically significant differences were observed in the case of the distribution of
the values of Ntotal, Ptotal, and electrolytic conductivity as well as of pH, N-NH4, P-PO4,
DOC and Ca, which means a variation in the distribution of the values of the factors at
the particular study sites. If we assume a 5% significance level for the results of the
Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) tests, it is found that in the case of the parameters N-NO2, N-
NO3, S-SO4 as well as K, Na, and Mg the distribution of each of the above-mentioned
factors is invariant in relation to the sites studied. This may form the basis for the
supposition that the above specified parameters do not affect the condition of the
species studied – they are not limiting factors.
Statistically significant differences between the highest number of pairs of study sites
(≥ 3) related to the following parameters: Ntotal, Ptotal, electrolytic conductivity, and pH
(Fig. 2); these are the factors that may affect the condition of the M. trifoliata
population. In particular, the higher concentration of Ntotal and Ptotal as well as the
reduced values of pH and CON can be considered to be a set of conditions promoting
the proper functioning of individuals of the species studied, which is also translated into
its numerous occurrence.
The data set was next subjected to DCA, as implemented in the decorana function,
which showed a first-axis gradient length of 1.56 in standard deviation units.
Therefore, RDA was undertaken by applying the rda function in the vegan package
(Oksanen et al., 2016).
Due to the specificity of RDA analysis, the number of physico-chemical parameters
was reduced. A high value of the correlation coefficient was adopted as the criterion of
exclusion and the following three environmental variables were included in further
analysis: Ntotal, Ptotal, and CON.
The ordination analysis included 41 species (found at all the study sites), 6 study
sites, and 3 selected environmental variables. We decided to apply the square root
transformation and standardization on Ntotal, Ptotal, and CON and the log(x)+1 (for x>0)
transformation on the species. The redundancy analysis results are visualized in
ordination diagrams (Fig. 3-4). All three explanatory variables explain 69.94% of the
total variation. The first two RDA axes explain 50.40% of the total variation in the
species data (RDA1= 25.65%, RDA2 =24.75%). The results of the forward selection
and permutation tests indicate that Ntotal is significantly related to the species data (p <
0.05). There is also a significant CON effect (p < 0.05) and Ptotal effect (p< 0.1). We can
also clearly observe three groups: group 1 (sites: M, D), group 2 (sites: B, K, BZ), group
3 (site DK) – Fig. 3.
The distances between the sites approximate Euclidean distances. Thus, the sites
ordinated closer together can be expected to have a similar species composition and
similar variable values. The triplot (Fig. 4) indicates a small positive correlation
between Ntotal and Ptotal and a similar magnitude, but a negative correlation between
Ntotal and CON.

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
Figure 3. Biplot of the RDA with fitted site scores and species (herbal plants detailed) as labels,
scaling=1
Figure 4. Triplot of the RDA with fitted site scores, species and environmental variables as
arrows, scaling=2
Conclusions
1. Menyanthes trifoliata is a species characterized by a wide range of ecological
tolerance with respect to most abiotic environmental factors corresponding to stands
evolutionarily preferred by this species.
2. Among the 14 physico-chemical soil factors investigated, the following might have
been the limiting factors: Ntotal, Ptotal, electrolytic conductivity, and pH.
3. The high contribution of individuals of the studied species to the phytocoenoses at
the study sites on the lakes Bikcze and Długie allows us to consider the set of the
values of the physico-chemical factors of the habitat in this location to be appropriate
for the proper growth and development of the population.
4. To grow organic crops of M. trifoliata, appropriate soil conditions should be created,
under which the ranges of concentration values of the determined limiting factors
should be within the limits of their mean values found at the sites with the most
numerous populations of this species: Ntotal from 4.16 to 27.4 mg ·dm-3; Ptotal from
0.93 to 0.14 mg ·dm-3; CON from 70.4 to 112 μS·cm-1; and pH from 5.23 to 5.55.

Serafin et al.: The specificity of natural habitats of Menyanthes trifoliata L. in peat bogs
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APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 15(3): 849-859.
http://www.aloki.hu ● ISSN 1589 1623 (Print) ● ISSN 1785 0037 (Online)
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15666/aeer/1503_849859
 2017, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary
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