Abstract
This study aims to describe the floristic composition and analyze the influence of flood pulse on the biomass of four species of aquatic macrophytes, Eichhomia azurea, E. crassipes, Pistia sti'atiotes and Salvinia auriculata, and during a hydrological cycle in a meander lake in the Brazilian Pantanal. We identified 42 taxa, 34 genera and 25 families. The richest families were Araceae, Onagraceae and Poaceae with four species each; 14 families had only one species. Ludwigia was the most representative genus (four species). The life forms that were represented by the greatest number of taxa were emergent, followed by amphibious and free-floating. Biomass of ali species showed signifícant differences during the study period in the two sampling regions (p < 0.05). Although not presenting a pattem in temporal biomass variation of ali species, the biomass of both E. azurea and E. crassipes was related to fluctuating water levels of the lake.
Key words:
biomass; connectivity; floodplain; species richness; seasonality