Abstract
The reservoirs of the upper Juramento basin (Cabra Corral and El Tunal) and the Salí-Dulce basin (El Cadillal, Río Hondo, and Escaba) show certain peculiarities due to their geographical location, basin morphology and limnological features. Such peculiaritieswere compared duringsignificant algal bloom periodsbetween 2002 and 2008, by analyzing the mainphysicochemical parameters and ecological attributes of the phytoplankton assemblagesusing standard methods. Tucumán reservoirs were different in most variables showing higher values of conductivity, nutrients and algal biomass.Regarding the hydrological cycle, El Cadillal exhibited the lowest biomass average (2.74 mg Chl.m-3) during maximum water flows, whereas the Cabra Corral lacustrine zone exhibited the highest biomass average (63.36 mg Chl.m-3) during minimum water flows. For the same period, the Cabra Corral lacustrine zone exhibited lower phytoplankton diversity and richness (1.37 and 9, respectively), in accordance with dinophyte blooms of Ceratium sp. In all reservoirs, the following biological variables showed a significant contrast in the hydrological cycle: highest phytoplankton biomass during minimum water flows (35.68 mg Chl-a m-3) vs. waterfloods (13.68 mg Chl-a m-3) (T = 3.42, P = 0.001). During minimum water flows, richness (14.30 sp.) and equitability (0.51) were lower vs. waterfloods (20.23, 0.59, respectively) (T = 2.36; P = 0.0196), as a result of the allochthonous nutrients provided by the main tributaries.Management of the reservoirs’hydrometric levels during dry season determines the deterioration of the waterquality with increased algal blooms. In order to ensure the systems’ sustainability, eutrophication must be controlledwithprograms to reduce diffuse nutrient loads and to treat residential and agroindustrial effluents, particularly in Sali-Dulce basin.
Highlights
The physicochemical composition of lentic water bodies is influenced by human activities and the interactions between climatic and geochemical variables in the drainage basin zone (Bu, Meng, Zhang, & Wan, 2014)
This paper compared the water quality status and phytoplankton biomass in the Cabra Corral (CC) and El Tunal (ET) reservoirs of the upper Juramento basin (UJB) and in the El Cadillal (EC), Escaba (Es) and Río Hondo (RH) reservoirs of the Salí-Dulce basin (SDB), in order to establish the relative level of deterioration
The nomenclature used to denote the hydrological cycle stages is E for the period of minimum water flows and C for waterfloods
Summary
The physicochemical composition of lentic water bodies is influenced by human activities and the interactions between climatic and geochemical variables in the drainage basin zone (Bu, Meng, Zhang, & Wan, 2014). The singular hydro-climatic conditions of the region and the morphometric characteristics of these reservoirs make them even more vulnerable to disturbance agents, such as rural and urban anthropogenic activities which significantly influence the processes that determine This region features two important basins: the endorheic Salí-Dulce basin (Tucumán province) and the Juramento basin (Salta province). Previous isolated studies have been conducted on the reservoirs dating back more than ten years (Tracanna et al, 1991; Tracanna, Seeligman, & Mirande, 1996; Tracanna et al, 1999, 2006, Tracanna, Martínez De Marco, Taboada, Mirande, & Isasmendi, 2014a, Tracanna, Seeligmann, Mirande, Martínez De Marco, & Isasmendi, 2014b; Salusso, 2005, 2010; Salusso & Moraña, 2000, 2014a, b), simultaneous studies comparing the reservoirs of both basins have not yet been published Given that these reservoirs bear considerable economic and ecological importance, this study is aimed at characterizing the water quality in five reservoirs of the two different systems, in order to provide information for their management and monitoring. This paper compared the water quality status and phytoplankton biomass in the Cabra Corral (CC) and El Tunal (ET) reservoirs of the upper Juramento basin (UJB) and in the El Cadillal (EC), Escaba (Es) and Río Hondo (RH) reservoirs of the Salí-Dulce basin (SDB), in order to establish the relative level of deterioration
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