Indicative features of macrophyte communities in the assessment of anthropogenic load on aquatic ecosystems

Abstract

Studying structural and functional biodiversity in relation to various environmental factors is currently extremely relevant because aquatic ecosystems are a significant source of biological diversity and make up a significant part of the biological productivity of the Earth, they perform many functions, and they are valuable and important for the stability of biotic communities. With this in mind, the task to determine the floristic composition of the Teteriv ecological corridor as a prototypical river landscape in the northern part of Ukraine, to analyse the structural and functional features of the species diversity of macrophytes therein, and to dissect this diversity into its component parts according to its place of origin, its life form, and its relationship to environmental factors was set. The number of species and their predicted coverage in areas with different anthropogenic pressures within the Teteriv ecological corridor were analysed within ecological zones based on the study's findings. It was demonstrated that the integrated ecological indicator of water quality was crucial to the growth of phytocenoses in high-anthropogenic-load regions. The communities may survive in environments where dissolved oxygen is low, muddy sediments are abundant, and anaerobic processes predominate in the transformation of substances. Additionally, they can propagate in floodplains, wet swampy ecotopes, and other environments where water is present for extended periods of time. Most of these communities are not picky about their habitat, as they may thrive in a variety of situations, including slightly acidic or neutral substrates, varying amounts of nitrogen and minerals in the soil, and mild salinization of the plant life. An increase in the number of representatives of individual ecogroups can attest to changes in the ecological state of aquatic ecosystems and have practical significance in detecting increased anthropogenic pressure on aquatic ecosystems