Multi-scale analysis of environmental constraints on macrophyte distribution, floristic groups and plant diversity in the Lower Paraná River floodplain

Morandeira, Natalia Soledad; Kandus, Patricia

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2015.01.006

Cited by 21 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Our results support previous studies which suggest that, in freshwater systems, local driving factors (chemical, physical or biological) seem to be of overriding importance in determining whether or not macrophyte diversity at an individual site is depressed below the optimal level within a given geographical region (e.g. Baattrup-Pedersen, Szoszkiewicz, Nijboer, O'Hare, & Ferreira, 2006;Bando et al, 2015;Chappuis et al, 2012;Kennedy et al, 2015;Lang & Murphy, 2012;Morandeira & Kandus, 2015;Rolon & Matchik, 2006;Schneider et al, 2015;Tapia Grimaldo et al, 2016). Physical size of individual rivers, however, seemed to be of little importance in influencing a-diversity.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Recently, there has been a major effort to improve understanding of the drivers of biogeographical distributions and diversity of freshwater macrophyte species, some (but by no means all) of which have broad planetary distributions (e.g. Alahuhta et al., ; Bornette, Amoros, & Lamouroux, ; Carvalho, Bini, Diniz‐Filho, & Murphy, ; Chappuis, Ballesteros, & Gacia, ; Chappuis, Gacia, & Ballesteros, ; Heikkinen, Leikola, Fronzek, Lampinen, & Toivonen, ; Kennedy et al., , ; Lang & Murphy, ; Makkay, Pick, & Gillespie, ; Morandeira & Kandus, ; Murphy et al., ; Ranieri, Gantes, & Momo, ; Redekop, Hofstra, & Hussner, ; Santamaría, ; Tapia Grimaldo et al., ). Most of these studies have examined macrophyte diversity and distributions in cool‐temperate river and lake systems, with least attention being paid to warm‐water river macrophyte communities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental drivers of freshwater macrophyte diversity and community composition in calcareous warm‐water rivers of America and Africa

et al. 2017

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This study assessed the hypothesis that spatial and environmental drivers of river macrophyte diversity and community composition differ in relative importance in calcareous river systems located in warm regions of America versus Africa. We collected aquatic vegetation and spatio‐environmental data, during 2006–11, from >200 hardwater rivers, and associated floodplain waterbodies, located up to 30° north or south of the Equator, in México, Trinidad, Brazil, Argentina, U.S.A. (Florida), South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. Species rarefaction procedures were used to assess the impacts of differing sampling effort in the two continents upon estimation of γ‐diversity (“species pool”). We then used a cluster analysis approach (two‐way indicator species analysis: TWINSPAN) to classify samples into groups based upon species composition. Variation in species richness, community composition and six spatial and environmental variables, among samples making up these groups, were compared using ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis procedures. Regression trees and redundancy analysis were used to infer the relative importance of spatial and environmental drivers in explaining variation in local species richness and species community composition between the two continents. Sorensen's index (Cs) was calculated to estimate species turnover (β‐diversity) between African and American samples. In total, 378 macrophyte taxa were recorded, with no significant difference in mean macrophyte α‐diversity between African and American sites, but with evidence for high species turnover between the two continents (Cs = 0.17). Rarefaction analysis confirmed the existence of a larger macrophyte species pool in the hardwater rivers sampled in Africa compared to America. TWINSPAN classification identified seven sample end‐groups, only one of which contained a mix of sites from both continents. PERMANOVA and non‐metric multidimensional scaling ordination analysis confirmed significant differences in community composition present in these sample‐groups. There were substantial differences between the sample‐groups for α‐diversity, and for spatial and environmental variables. The high species turnover between Africa and America may be accounted for by geographical segregation, along with differences in aquatic habitat characteristics, and varying long‐distance dispersal capacities of individual species. The relative importance of spatial and physicochemical drivers (latitude, pH, altitude, alkalinity and electrical conductivity but not flow) differed between the continents in influencing variation in both macrophyte diversity and community composition. Latitude was a significant, although nonlinear and rather complex, spatial driver of macrophyte α‐diversity in both American and African hardwater rivers. Water chemistry variables varied in relative importance as drivers of macrophyte α‐diversity for African and American sites individually, and for all sites combined, but pH and/or electrical conductivity were more important than alkalinity in each cas...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental drivers of freshwater macrophyte diversity and community composition in calcareous warm‐water rivers of America and Africa

et al. 2017

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“…Both maps were quite homogeneous without much noise (i.e., zones of vegetation were identifiable). The zonation of vegetation is typical in wetland ecosystems, where abiotic constraints are important for plant community development, and has been described for the study area [18]. The classification products obtained with the shallow and the steep incidence angle scenes were coincident in 30.0% (a concordance of 17.8% in comparison with the randomly expected concordance, as estimated by the Kappa index).…”

Section: Comparison Between Incidence Angles and Accuracy Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 81%

Mapping Plant Functional Types in Floodplain Wetlands: An Analysis of C-Band Polarimetric SAR Data from RADARSAT-2

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The inclusion of functional approaches on wetland characterizations and on biodiversity assessments improves our understanding of ecosystem functioning. In the Lower Paraná River floodplain, we assessed the ability of C-band polarimetric SAR data of contrasting incidence angles to discriminate wetland areas dominated by different plant functional types (PFTs). Unsupervised H/α and H/A/α Wishart classifications were implemented on two RADARSAT-2 images differing in their incidence angles (FQ24 and FQ08). Obtained classes were assigned to the information classes (open water, bare soil and PFTs) by a priori labeling criteria that involved the expected interaction mechanisms between SAR signal and PFTs as well as the relative values of H and α. The product obtained with the shallow incidence angle scene had a higher accuracy than the one obtained with the steep incidence angle product (61.5% vs. 46.2%). We show how a systematic analysis of the H/A/α space can be used to improve the knowledge about the radar polarimetric response of herbaceous vegetation. The map obtained provides novel ecologically relevant information about plant strategies dominating the floodplain. Since the obtained classes can be interpreted in terms of their functional features, the approach is a valuable tool for predicting vegetation response to floods, anthropic impacts and climate change.

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“…More than 80 % of the surface is covered by herbaceous plant communities (Salvia et al 2009): emergent hydrophytic broadleaf prairies (i.e., Polygonum spp., Ludwigia elegans, Alternanthera philoxeroides, Eichhornia spp. ); marshes dominated by equisetoid plants in permanently flooded areas (Schoenoplectus californicus and Cyperus giganteus); tall marshes dominated by Scirpus giganteus in tidal wetlands; and grasslands of tall graminoids (i.e., Hymenachne spp., Panicum elephantipes, Coleataenia prionitis), medium graminoids (Echinochloa spp., Bromus catharticus), and short graminoids < 0.5 m (Cynodon dactylon, Luziola peruviana, Leersia hexandra, Paspalum vaginatum) (Malvárez 1997;Kandus et al 2003;Kandus and Malvárez 2004;Quintana et al 2005;Morandeira and Kandus 2015;Magnano et al 2013).…”

Section: Geomorphology and Hydrologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Paraná River Delta

Kandus¹,

Quintana²

2016

The Wetland Book

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The Paraná River Delta region is a huge mosaic of wetlands. It covers over 17,500 km 2 on the final 330 km of the Lower Paraná River basin, between 60 39 0 W, 32 6 0 S south of Diamante City, and 58 30 0 W, 34 30 0 S, next to Buenos Aires City, the Capital City of Argentina. This delta is formed in a complex littoral developed mainly during the last 6000 years BP although some former processes took place during the Late Pleistocene and early Holocene periods. This region is characterized by a high environmental heterogeneity which provides a variety of habitats, all freshwater wetlands, for a productive and rich biodiversity and a wealth of

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Multi-scale analysis of environmental constraints on macrophyte distribution, floristic groups and plant diversity in the Lower Paraná River floodplain

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

Environmental drivers of freshwater macrophyte diversity and community composition in calcareous warm‐water rivers of America and Africa

Environmental drivers of freshwater macrophyte diversity and community composition in calcareous warm‐water rivers of America and Africa

Mapping Plant Functional Types in Floodplain Wetlands: An Analysis of C-Band Polarimetric SAR Data from RADARSAT-2

The Paraná River Delta

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