Abstract

PERALTA-PELAEZ, Luis Alberto  and  MORENO-CASASOLA, Patricia. Plant diversity in wetland vegetation from interdune lakes in central Veracruz, Mexico. Bol. Soc. Bot. Méx [online]. 2009, n.85, pp.89-99. ISSN 0366-2128.

Dune lakes of the coast of Veracruz, Mexico, are shallow freshwater lakes with suitable conditions for the establishment of herbaceous and arboreal wetlands. Most of the vegetation of the surrounding dunes has been transformed into pastures for grazing lands and sugar cane plantations. The objective of this paper is to describe and compare structure, composition and diversity of the wetland vegetation of 15 dune lakes in the rural area. Environmental parameters (pH, salinity, size, depth and number of dry months) were taken into account. Plant diversity of these lakes comprise 46 families (27 strictly aquatic) and 82 species, among them Sagittaria lancifolia, Pontederia sagittata, Ceratophyllum demersum. Species richness fluctuated between 5 and 33 species. The classification resulted in nine floristic wetland groups, three of them with grass species from the surrounding areas (Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa pyramidalis). Ordination separated lakes based on pH and number of dry months. Management plans should be developed together with the owners to maintain both the use of these lakes and the composition and structure of their wetlands.

Keywords : Diversity; wetland; dune lakes; shallow lakes; aquatic vegetation.