Macrophytes in the assessment of river ecological condition on the example of Pszczynka River (Silesian Upland) (original) (raw)
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Macrophyte development in unimpacted lowland rivers in Poland
Hydrobiologia, 2010
Freshwater classification according to the Water Framework Directive (WFD) is based on estimation of the deviation between biological elements found on river stretch in comparison with communities detected in the same river type under reference conditions (undisturbed and near-natural habitats). We present analyses to describe macrophyte development in pristine lowland rivers and to reveal the variation among various stream types. The study is based on a country-wide survey of Poland with a dataset of 642 sites on 367 water courses. Surveyed rivers covered the whole lowland area of Poland. Field surveys were conducted using the Polish macrophyte approach, which enabled calculation of several macrophyte metrics. Firstly, a numerical index MIR (Macrophyte Index for Rivers) was computed, which reflects river degradation, especially eutrophication. Furthermore, five diversity metrics were calculated. Each survey, in addition to macrophyte assessment, was supplemented by a complex suite of environmental records. Reference conditions were defined using four criteria: (1) catchment land use, (2) hydromorphological features, (3) water quality and (4) biological assessment. The selected reference lowland rivers included 40 sites. To classify plant data, two-way indicator species analysis Twinspan was used. This resulted in distinguishing four endclusters which were heterogeneous according to plant composition: organic rivers and three types of siliceous rivers (small with sandy substrate, small with stony substrate and large rivers). The differentiation of environmental factors between river types was confirmed by a variance analysis (ANOVA). Furthermore, the environmental database was explored with principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA principal components were analysed against river types with the canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Finally botanical differences between identified river types have been detected, using botanical metrics the share of different macrophyte groups and relationships with particular species were defined.
Plants
Macrophytes are important elements of aquatic ecosystems that grow in or near water. Their taxonomic composition, species diversity, depth, and density are indicators of environmental health; as such, Macrophytes are used to assess the ecological status of water bodies. Under the aim of assessing the ecological status of the Klina River in Kosovo, a survey was conducted at eight sampling sites along the river course to analyze macrophyte composition, diversity, density, and cover. Three samples were collected at each sampling site from early June to late September. The following macrophyte indices were used to assess the ecological status of the river: Macrophyte Index for Rivers (MIR), River Macrophyte Nutrient Index (RMNI), and River Macrophyte Hydraulic Index (RMHI). Our sampling area included the upper reaches of the river where no organic pollution was detected (oligotrophic), the middle reaches where polluted water from farms is discharged into the river, and the lower reaches...
Limnologica, 2004
A new assessment system for macrophytes and phytobenthos in German rivers meeting the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) of the European Community is described. Biocoenotic types based on biological, chemical and hydromorphological data from over 200 river sites covering the main ecoregions, hydromorphological stream types and degradation forms have been defined. For developing a classification system the quality element macrophytes and phytobenthos was divided into three components: macrophytes, benthic diatoms and remaining phytobenthos. For macrophytes seven types including one subtype, for benthic diatoms 14 types including three subtypes and for the remaining phytobenthos five river types were identified. The benthic vegetation at reference condition was described for most of the river types. Degradation is characterised as deviation in benthic vegetation species composition and abundance from the reference biocoenosis. For classification in five ecological status classes, several metrics were developed and used in combination with existing indices. For some of the described river types additional investigations are necessary before a classification system can be developed.
Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems, 2014
macrophytes, lakes, rivers, plant ecology, ecological assessment Nous avons analysé la composition spécifique et l'abondance de macrophytes, la chimie de l'eau et les paramètres hydromorphologiques de tous les principaux tronçons des rivières et les lacs du bassin versant de la rivière de plaine Wel, en Pologne. Nous avons étudié, (i) les facteurs hydromorphologiques et physicochimiques qui expliquent le mieux la composition des espèces de macrophytes, Article published by EDP Sciences K. Szoszkiewicz et al.: Knowl. Managt. Aquatic Ecosyst. (2014) 415, 08 écologie végétale, évaluation écologique
2009
Aquatic macrophytes are essential ecological components wherever they occur in water bodies. Spatial, but above all temporal changes are typical of macrophyte vegetation in running waters. these processes are much more dynamic than in the case of terrestrial vegetation and influence the diversity, abundance, structure, and distribution of macrophytes. changes are effected by various factors, but environmental influences (mainly artificial in cultivated landscapes) are extremely important. running waters are very dynamic ecosystems, and river hydrology, morphology, nutrient status, disturbances, and pollution are often varying factors that strongly affect aquatic macrophytes (Janauer and dokulil, 2006; Lacoul and Freedman, 2006). In addition to these changes, various biological interactions (e.g., competition) can be important as well. In central Europe, temporal changes of macrophyte species and vegetation in running waters have been studied by many authors (
Drivers of macrophyte development in rivers in an agricultural area: indicative species reactions
Central European Journal of Biology, 2012
The ecological drivers of macrophyte development in a lowland agricultural area were tested based on a 2008 survey on the Wkra River catchment. Our survey was carried out in the rivers of an agricultural area with relatively high concentrations of both nitrates and phosphates in the water. By using the Polish macrophyte method, we were able to calculate several botanical metrics. Canonical ordination analyses used to relate biological data to environmental variables such as physical and chemical parameters of water, surface water velocity or river width, were carried out using CANOCO for Windows. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that pH and alkalinity were the parameters best correlated with the distribution of macrophytes and values of macrophyte indices. The recorded values of the Macrophyte Index for River in the Wkra River and its tributaries reflected their good and moderate ecological status (the Water Framework Directive scale). Despite the fact that nutrient concentrations in the water were relatively high and that most of the sites represented eutrophic conditions, the results of this survey showed that non-nutrient parameters may play an important role in explaining aquatic plant occurrence in rivers that have been subjected to eutrophication.
Aquatic Botany, 1984
Wiegleb, G., 1984. A study of habitat conditions of the macrophytic vegetation in selected river systems in Western Lower Saxony (Federal Republic of Germany). Aquat. Bot., 18: 313-352. In connection with a ph.ytosociological survey of running water macrophytes in Lower Saxony, ecological investigations were carried out in selected river systems. Within these systems, 43 sampling sites were studied. The vegetation of the sampling sites was classified by means of cluster analysis into 7 groups, 3 of which occurred on the diluvial plains and 2 in the coastal marsh area only. Forty-one parameters were measured 3-7 times covering 2 vegetation periods. In the first instance, the structure of the data was carefully studied by bivariate correlation analysis and factor analysis. A high number of significant correlations was detected, which indicates difficulties in ecological interpretation. Temporal variation of the parameters measured was also studied, and they were classified into 3 groups according to stability. For a study of the relationships between the vegetation and the ecological parameters, the data set was split into 5 subsets (physical data, water chemical data, interstitial water chemical data, sediment characteristics, and a mixed set of simple field data). The relationships of each subset to the vegetation was studied separately using cluster analysis. The mixed data set FIELD showed the highest degree of similarity to the vegetation clustering. Analysis of variance was carried out in order to find out which variables differ most among the vegetation types. The best differentiation qualities were shown by some physical and water chemical parameters (oxygen content, turbitity, current velocity, acidity, calcium). This result can only be interpreted ecologically in connection with the intercorrelations observed. The ecological behaviour of some species of medium frequency was also studied in detail by means of analysis of variance. The means of all parameters for occurrence and non-occurrence were compared. In the case of Ranunculus peltatus Schrank, MyriophyUum alterniflorum DC and Elodea canadensis Michx., several differentiation variables could be detected. Finally, the zonation of two rivers was studied in detail by comparing the vegetation sequence with important physical and chemical parameters. The interaction between these parameter groups is clearly shown. Physical parameters like current velocity are responsible for the basic zonation, whilst chemical parameters can modify the zones to a large extent. The necessity for a comprehensive approach to such types of data sets, including profound structural data analysis, is stressed in the discussion. The special problem of relating phytosociological and ecological data is discussed. The methods used are explained and possible objections are noted. The difficulties of using the habitat ecological results for bioindication pur
Diversity of Macrophytes and Environmental Assessment of the Ljubljanica River (Slovenia)
Diversity, 2021
The present research aimed to determine the diversity of macrophyte taxa in the Ljubljanica River and its relationship with environmental parameters. In each of the 19 river sections, the presence and abundance of plant taxa were recorded, and basic physical and chemical parameters were measured. Additionally, selected environmental parameters were assessed using a modified version of the Riparian, Channel and Environmental (RCE) method. We compared the obtained data set with survey data from the year 2004. In 2019, a total of 34 macrophyte taxa were recorded. The dominant taxa with the highest abundance were Sparganium emersum, Callitriche sp., and the invasive alien species Elodea canadensis. The species richness and diversity of macrophytes decreased with distance from the source, an increase in pH, and alterations of the riverbed structure due to interference in the riverine ecosystem in the lower part of the Ljubljanica River and its catchment. The comparison of 2004 and 2019 s...
Patterns of aquatic macrophyte species composition and distribution in Bulgarian rivers
Turkish Journal of Botany
Introduction Aquatic macrophytes are considered photosynthetic organisms of freshwater habitats, easily seen with the naked eye, that are normally found growing in or on the surface of water, or where soils are flooded or saturated long enough. These plants have evolved some specialised adaptations to an anaerobic environment. They are represented in 7 plant divisions: Cyanobacteria, Chlorophyta, Rhodophyta, Xanthophyta, Bryophyta, Pteridophyta, and Spermatophyta (Chambers et al., 2008). Macrophytes may be floating, floating-leaved, submerged, or emergent (Sculthorpe, 1967), and may complete their life cycle in water (still and flowing) or on hydric soils (inundated and noninundated). Aquatic communities reflect anthropogenic influence and are very useful for detecting and assessing human impacts (Solak et al., 2012). Aquatic macrophytes as primary producers and habitat providers are important component of river ecosystems. Their compositional patterns are sensitive to a number of factors such as water flow velocity and level, eutrophication, pollution, and additional pressures. As stipulated by the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC (European Union, 2000) they are an obligatory element in the monitoring of ecological river quality. Macrophytes were included in assessment methods: French Indice Biologique Macrophytique en Riviere, German Reference Index, British Mean Trophic Rank, and Dutch Macrophyte Score (Birk et al., 2006). While high ecological status is determined via dominance of reference species in typespecific vegetation density, it is very important to determine whether patterns of aquatic macrophyte composition and distribution including cases of depopulation are a result of anthropogenic pressure or natural habitat variables. Local habitat characteristics determine river macrophyte communities, particularly light availability, current velocity, sediment patterns, and nutrient supply (Birk & Willby, 2010). Both hydrologic dynamics and human impact expressed as land-use types are found to be responsible for the variability of aquatic macrophyte assemblages along the Danube corridor in Slovakia (Otahelová et al., 2007). Light condition is another important factor determining macrophyte species composition (Hrivnák et al., 2006). Substrate type also