The Lagoon of Patok ( sq, Laguna e Patokut) is a

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') ...

of the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

on the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

in the central

coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

Created during the

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

period, this area was characterized by a geo-morphologic dynamism. Its development spanned four phases, which correspond to the formation of four lagoons, separated by littoral cordons. The fourth lagoon is the current one. A fifth lagoon (the current outer lagoon) is in an active formation process, also influenced by a rapid development of the littoral cordon in the western part. The whole area is flat and characterized by an intensive tectonic process and numerous underground water bodies. During the second half of the twentieth century, human activities played an important role in the changes of this ecosystem through activities such as drainage, dam construction and deforestation. The area's physical and geographical characteristics are the main basis for its development potential. It has a relatively mild winter and fresh summer. The sun shines for an average of 2,479 hours per year. The average annual temperature is 15.5 °C, and average annual rainfall is .

Biodiversity

Schilf_am_Zugang_zur_Fussgaengerbruecke_von_Patog_-_Albanien

The physical characteristics and habitat diversity of the lagoon are closely related to the

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

of the wetland complex. The most common marine plants are the underwater meadows of fucus virsoides and

posidonia oceanica ''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free f ...

. The vegetation is mainly characterized by microalgae, driven by nitrogen and phosphorus availability. One indicator of this condition is the large amount of diatoms. The macrophages of the lagoon belong to

chlorophyta Chlorophyta or Prasinophyta is a taxon of green algae informally called chlorophytes. The name is used in two very different senses, so care is needed to determine the use by a particular author. In older classification systems, it refers to a ...

and pheophyta. The grasslands of phanerogams cover about 40% of the lagoon. They are mainly zostera noltei, but in the shallow waters ruppia spiralis is found. This

phytocoenosis Phytosociology, also known as phytocoenology or simply plant sociology, is the study of groups of species of plant that are usually found together. Phytosociology aims to empirically describe the vegetative environment of a given territory. A spec ...

has an important role in the lagoon. Dringolf

The

hygroscopic Hygroscopy is the phenomenon of attracting and holding water molecules via either absorption or adsorption from the surrounding environment, which is usually at normal or room temperature. If water molecules become suspended among the substan ...

and hydrophilic vegetation covers a considerable area of the lagoon's peripheral parts. They are dominated by the three main associations of ''

Phragmites ''Phragmites'' () is a genus of four species of large perennial reed grasses found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Taxonomy The World Checklist of Selected Plant Families, maintained by Kew Garden in L ...

'', '' Typha'' and ''

Scirpus ''Scirpus'' is a genus of grass-like species in the sedge family Cyperaceae many with the common names club-rush, wood club-rush or bulrush (see also bulrush for other plant genera so-named). They mostly inhabit wetlands and damp locations. Taxo ...

''. Halophilous vegetation is most common in the northern and southern parts. This vegetation belongs to several associations, of which the most important are those with '' Arthrocaulon'' and ''

Juncus ''Juncus'' is a genus of monocotyledonous flowering plants, commonly known as rushes. It is the largest genus in the family Juncaceae, containing around 300 species. Description Rushes of the genus ''Juncus'' are herbaceous plants that superfic ...

''. The vegetation of the dunes is mainly found in the western part, with diverse species. The shores of the lagoon are dominated by ''

Tamarix The genus ''Tamarix'' (tamarisk, salt cedar, taray) is composed of about 50–60 species of flowering plants in the family Tamaricaceae, native to drier areas of Eurasia and Africa. The generic name originated in Latin and may refer to the Tam ...

'', Konopica Vitex and ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of the ...

'' berries. Angespueltes_Holz_am_Strand_vor_Patog

The

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

of the lagoon and its

catchment basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, the ...

—including surrounding freshwater bodies, canals, marshes, estuaries and shores—are characterized by a variety of groups and species, from

molluscs Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is estim ...

to mammals to crabs and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s. Many fish species are of economic interest. Amphibians and reptiles are found more in forests, swamps and canyons around the lagoon. Many '' Caretta'' water turtles live on the shore near the lagoon and the green turtle ''

Chelonia mydas The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

'' is also present.

References

{{Portal bar, Wetlands Patok Wetlands of Albania Geography of Lezhë County Tourist attractions in Lezhë County Important Bird Areas of Albania Albanian Adriatic Sea Coast

Biodiversity

See also

References