A floodplain-scale lake classification based on characteristics of macroinvertebrate assemblages and corresponding environmental properties

Abstract

Floodplain lakes have been experiencing great pressures by human activities, and ecological functions in different types of lakes show different degrees of degradation. For facilitating conservation and management of different types of floodplain lakes, it is necessary to classify the lakes into similar groups according to certain standards. In this study, on basis of consideration of macroinvertebrate assemblages and corresponding environmental properties, the Yangtze floodplain lakes were classified into three major types grouping five groups of lakes: (1) river-disconnected lakes (algal lakes, macrophytic-algal transition lakes, and macrophytic lakes), (2) semi-connected lakes (oxbow lakes), (3) river-connected lakes. The classification of floodplain lakes mainly reflects the gradients of trophic and hydrological connectivity. The key factors structuring macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Yangtze floodplain lakes were mainly hydrological (connectivity rating, water depth), trophic (total phosphorus, macrophytes biomass) and morphometric (development of lake shoreline). Among the floodplain lakes, ecological status of river-connected lakes, where biodiversity, biomass and production of macroinvertebrates reached maxima, has been confirmed to be the best. From the view of conservation and management of the entire floodplain lakes, it is suggested that protecting the remnants of river-connected lakes, controlling eutrophication and linking disconnected lakes freely with the mainstream are crucial.