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Diversity and stability of aquatic macrophyte community in three shallow lakes associated to a floodplain system in the South of Brazil.

2005; Associação Interciencia; Volume: 30; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

0378-1844

Leonardo Maltchik, Gislaine Roberto de Oliveira, Ana Silvia Rolon, Cristina Stenert,

Soil erosion and sediment transport

SUMMARY The floodplain systems are important wetland classes in southern Brazil, but studies about the effects of flood pulses on the biota are still scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the effects of floods on the richness, biomass and diversity of macrophytes in three shallow lakes over an annual cycle (2001-2002) under different flooding regimes. The number of flood events was different among the three studied shallow lakes. The lowest resistance to disturbance by flood and the absence of dominance were observed in the lake with the highest number of flood events. Macrophyte stability and diversity were not related. The results indicate the importance of the flooding regime (number of flood events, even short duration ones) on the macrophyte stability and composition in shallow lakes of southern Brazil.