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Can the structure of a riparian forest remnant influence stream water quality? A tropical case study

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Abstract

In rural areas, riparian forest remnants can be very important for the maintenance and improvement of stream water quality. We evaluated if a forest remnant influenced stream water quality, and if these results were influenced by forest structure. We sampled reaches from 140 m upstream of the remnant edge until 600 m within the forest remnant. Electric conductivity (EC) and ammonium concentrations decreased as the stream flowed through the remnant, whereas dissolved oxygen, total phosphorus (P), total dissolved P, organic P, and silicate concentrations increased along the remnant. Variation in forest structure was due to a gradient in forest stratification versus tree height and diameter at breast height, and a gradient in tree density versus basal area. More stratified parts of the forest, with smaller trees, resulted in lower EC values and concentrations of total nitrogen and nitrite, whereas higher density of trees resulted in lower levels of total and dissolved P, creating heterogeneity at very local scales. The overall mean influence of this riparian forest remnant improved stream water quality, suggesting that forest remnants have local effects that can be important when managing stream water quality at larger spatial scales.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all the people who helped in the field work, L.E. Moschini for the map, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support (Procs. 480181/2010-1, 308630/2010-6), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for the scholarship to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, CP 676, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13565-905, Brazil

    Janaína de F. Fernandes

  2. Departamento de Ciências Ambientais - DCAm, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, Rodovia Washington Luís, km 235, CP 676, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13565-905, Brazil

    Andréa L. T. de Souza & Marcel O. Tanaka

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  1. Janaína de F. Fernandes
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  2. Andréa L. T. de Souza
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  3. Marcel O. Tanaka
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Correspondence to Marcel O. Tanaka.

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Handling editor: David Dudgeon

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de F. Fernandes, J., de Souza, A.L.T. & Tanaka, M.O. Can the structure of a riparian forest remnant influence stream water quality? A tropical case study. Hydrobiologia 724, 175–185 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-013-1732-1

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