Hydrophyte composition of dune lakes and its relationship to land-use and water physicochemistry in Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract

Coastal dunes include several habitats, including dune lakes. These habitats are valuable environmental assets. We analysed the impact of the surrounding land use on plant species composition, vegetation structure and water quality of 15 dune lakes in the coast of Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico. The physical and chemical characteristics were determined for water during both the dry and rainy seasons, and vegetation was sampled once. Ammonium, nitrate, orthophosphate and total phosphorus varied between seasons and among lakes. Multivariate analysis revealed a gradient from lakes in a good state (water and wetland vegetation) to degraded lakes. These lakes fall into two groups: the first one has five lakes with a higher nutrient content, and surrounded by land where livestock is pastured and sugarcane is grown. The vegetation of these lakes consists of a combination of aquatic plants and flood-tolerant grasses introduced to feed cattle (Cynodon dactylon, Pennisetum purpureum, Setaria geniculata). Oligotrophic and mildly eutrophic lakes are characterised by little human activity, and aquatic species predominate (Cabomba palaeformis, Nymphaea ampla, Acrostichum aureum). Rural activities such as sugarcane cultivation and cattle rearing are likely the main factors causing changes in water enrichment and affecting the composition and structure of wetland vegetation. Management measures should be implemented to recover these areas and prevent further deterioration.

Relationship among physicochemical conditions, chlorophyll-a concentration, and water level in a tropical river–floodplain system

“…Increasing levels of inorganic nutrients (N and P) have also been linked with falling and rising water levels during both transition conditions (i.e., Brito et al 2014). Under THWL and TLWL, maximum concentrations of NH 4 (≤ 0.51 mg L −1 ) remained low due to its fast oxidation, and therefore not associated with high values (≥ 1 mg L −1 ) recorded in other ecosystems (Peralta et al 2014;de Wilde et al 2015). The NO 3 and PO 4 concentrations observed for TLWL were greater than 1 mg L −1 and 0.310 mg L −1 , respectively, which are relatively high for aquatic ecosystems according to the OECD (1982) and Zhu et al (2015).…”

Libros INECOL

“…En el mapa de la figura 5 pueden verse las zonas más bajas topográficamente del municipio. (Leentvaar, 1997;Grootjans et al, 1998;Peralta-Peláez, 2007, Peralta-Peláez y Moreno Casasola, 2009Peralta-Peláez et al, 2014). En estos cuerpos de agua, sobre todo en los márgenes y en las zonas más someras se establecen humedales, es decir el conjunto de plantas macrófitas que forman popales, tulares, vegetación flotante y selvas inundables.…”

Biodiversity, distribution, ecology and management of non-native weeds in Mexico: a review

“…& Chase. They have documented the invasion (Castillo & Moreno-Casasola, 1996), explored the impact of cattle ranching practices on the invasion (Travieso-Bello, Moreno-Casasola, & Campos, 2005), and studied the relationships of hydroperiod and water physicochemical properties with competition among hydrophytes in the marsh (López-Rosas & Moreno-Casasola, 2012; Peralta-Pelaez, Moreno-Casasola, & López-Rosas, 2014). This group used these studies and others in restoration ecology (López-Rosas, Moreno-Casasola, & Espejel-González, 2015) to reverse the invasion by E. pyramidalis with partial success and they continue the restoration efforts (see the management section).…”