Environmental Factors as Predictors of Aquatic Macrophyte Richness and Composition in Wetlands of Southern Brazil |
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Authors: | Ana Silvia Rolon Leonardo Maltchik |
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Institution: | 1. Ecology and Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems, Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos, UNISINOS, 93022-000, S?o Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
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Abstract: | The main goal of this study was to determine how much variation in macrophyte richness and composition is explained by wetland
area, altitude, water conductivity, and nitrate and total phosphorus concentrations in wetlands in southern Brazil, and to
compare these variations in two wetland subsystems (palustrine and lacustrine). A total of 126 wetlands were sampled distributed
in two subsystems: 87 palustrine and 39 lacustrine wetlands. A total of 153 species of aquatic macrophytes was found in wetlands
of southern Brazil and the mean number of macrophyte species per site was 8.7 (range 1–23). From the variables tested, the
altitude and area were the only predictor of macrophyte richness and explained 23.1% of variation in richness. The two first
axes generated by CCA explained only 4.4% of the variation in the aquatic macrophytes distribution. The macrophyte richness
was similar across lacustrine and palustrine subsystems. While altitude, area and conductivity explained 33.2% of variation
in macrophyte richness in the palustrine subsystem, none of the variables were associated with macrophyte richness in the
studied lacustrine wetlands. |
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Keywords: | macrophyte richness wetlands environmental variables Brazil Neotropical region |
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