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Pristine aquatic systems in a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site of the Brazilian Cerrado

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Abstract

The maintenance of limnological monitoring programs in the Cerrado Domain is crucial as a provision of useful information about temporal variations in land use and their respective water quality responses, considering its importance as water source for different Brazilian hydrographic basins. The purpose of this research was to describe limnological variables of low-order lotic systems located in the Cerrado Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site (Environmental Protection Area (APA) Gama and Cabeça de Veado, Federal District of Brazil). Altogether, nine different streams were considered in this study. Samplings were conducted between 2010 and 2012, concentrated in the dry and rainy seasons. The sampling sites were generally characterized by low nutrient concentrations (e.g., medians, TP = 14.8 μg L−1, TN = 20.0 μg L−1, NO3 = 13.8 μg L−1) and slightly acidic waters (median, pH = 5.3), with quite low electrical conductivity values (median = 6.4 μS cm−1). However, water quality degradation as a response to diffuse pollution was reported in some sampling points (e.g., Onça and Gama streams), expressed by relatively higher N and P concentrations, which were probably highlighted by the good water quality of the data set as whole. Although there was a trend to higher values of nitrogen forms during the dry season, significant statistical differences between the seasonal periods were reported only for the variables temperature and dissolved silica, which were higher in the dry and rainy season, respectively. The streams located in the preserved areas inside the ecological stations of APA Gama and Cabeça de Veado can still be considered good examples of reference lotic systems in the Cerrado Domain; notwithstanding, this study reported incipient signs of water quality degradation which cannot be overlooked in future limnological monitoring.

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Acknowledgments

This study was sponsored by the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) (Process 558233/2009-0). We give our thanks to the Catholic University of Brasília (UCB) for the scholarships granted to undergraduate students and for the chemical analysis (especially to the environmental engineers Rodrigo Zollini and Diego Nascimento); Francisco Diogo Rocha Sousa for the maps of the study area; the Department of Ecology of the University of Brasília (UnB) for the transport during field work; and the administration staffs of FAL, RECOR, and JBB for their support within these areas. We are also grateful to our colleagues from Grupo de Estudos de Ecossistemas Aquáticos (GEEA) involved in field and laboratory work, especially to the undergraduate students.

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  1. Catholic University of Brasília, Universidade Católica de Brasília (UCB), Curso de Biologia, Sala E-10, QS 07, Lote 01, EPCT, DF, CEP 71966-700, Taguatinga, Brazil

    Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca & Luciana de Mendonça-Galvão

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  1. Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca
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  2. Luciana de Mendonça-Galvão
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Correspondence to Bárbara Medeiros Fonseca.

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Fonseca, B.M., de Mendonça-Galvão, L. Pristine aquatic systems in a Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) site of the Brazilian Cerrado. Environ Monit Assess 186, 8683–8695 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-014-4035-8

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