Revista de Biología Tropical ISSN Impreso: 0034-7744 ISSN electrónico: 2215-2075

OAI: https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rbt/oai
Seasonal Dynamics of the Shoreline Vegetation in the Zapatosa Floodplain Lake Complex, Colombia
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Keywords

Cesar River
flood pulse
littoral
macrophytes
Magdalena River
shallow lakes
bimodal seasonality
Rio Cesar
pulso de inundación
litoral
macrófitos
Rio Magdalena
ciénagas
estacionalidad bimodal

How to Cite

Schmidt-Mumm, U., & Janauer, G. (2014). Seasonal Dynamics of the Shoreline Vegetation in the Zapatosa Floodplain Lake Complex, Colombia. Revista De Biología Tropical, 62(3), 1073–1097. https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v62i3.12005

Abstract

Floodplain lakes and associated wetlands in tropical dry climates are controlled by pronounced and severe seasonal hydrologic fluctuations. We examined the plant community response to a bimodal flooding pattern in the Zapatosa Floodplain Lake Complex (ZFLC), northern Colombia. We measured floristic and quantitative change in four sampling periods emphasizing seasonal differences in plant abundance and life-form structure. Of 79 species identified in the lake complex, 52 were used to characterize eight community types via classification and ordination procedures. Results show that community structure does not change significantly during the flooding/receding stages. But maximum drawdown phase significantly disrupts the aquatic community structure and the exposed shorelines become colonized by ruderal terrestrial plants. Early rainfalls at the beginning of the wet season are emphasized as an important feature of plant regeneration and community development. The general strategy of the ZFLC vegetation can be framed into the flood pulse concept of river-floodplain systems. Thus, plant communities are mainly responding to disturbances and destruction events imposed by extreme water level fluctuations.
https://doi.org/10.15517/rbt.v62i3.12005
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