Patterns in Biomass and Cover of Aquatic Macrophytes in Lakes

Abstract

A quantitative analysis of biomass and cover of both submerged and emergent macrophytes in 139 lakes reported in the literature revealed that biomass and cover of emergent macrophytes are, on average, proportional to the lake area, but that the biomass and cover of submerged plants are proportionally reduced with increasing lake size. Underwater light was found to be the best descriptor of the cover and biomass of submerged plants. Conversely, emergent macrophytes are most strongly affected by lake morphometry, and in particular by its average slope. The predictability of the abundance of emergent and submerged macrophytes from these environmental factors stresses the predominant role that they play in macrophyte ecology and confirms the existence of strong patterns in the abundance of aquatic plants worldwide.